By Gerry Fraley
The Dallas Morning News
January 5, 2011
IRVING -- If the Cowboys stay on track and install Jason Garrett as coach today, they should first take a moment to silently give thanks.
It was on this day one year ago that the Cowboys were saved from making a mistake that would have sent the franchise reeling into the dark ages. They will get a second chance with Garrett.
This day marks the first anniversary of the Washington Redskins hiring its latest celebrity coach: Mike Shanahan. Had a few games gone differently in the 2009 season, Shanahan could have landed with the Cowboys.
They got into the playoffs a year ago by winning their final three games. The late surge and one playoff win convinced owner-general manager Jerry Jones to bring back coach Wade Phillips for this season.
Phillips did not make it to Thanksgiving. In a mercy firing, Jones dumped him in November with the club at 1-7. It became a lost season, but that's a small price for the Cowboys to pay.
They salvaged something from the season by getting a full look at Garrett for eight games as interim coach and the extra parting gift of the ninth overall pick in this year's draft. Most of all, they are not stuck in a bad marriage with Shanahan.
The Redskins gave Shanahan a five-year contract as executive vice president and coach at a reported total salary of $35 million. The first season suggested this will be a disastrous pairing.
Washington went 6-10, putting Shanahan at 30-34 in his last four seasons. Wade Phillips has a better record (37-27) for his last 64 games as a head coach.
Shanahan installed his son as offensive coordinator, a risky move because it suggests nepotism no matter how qualified the son might be. Shanahan compounded the bad decision of trading for quarterback Donovan McNabb with a clumsy benching late in the season. The Shanahan vs. defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth drama distracted the team.
After the season-ending loss, Shanahan talked about "a good draft" helping the Redskins return to contention. Check Shanahan's draft history with Denver. If the Redskins have a good draft, it will be Shanahan's first in a while.
All of this serves to support Jones' apparent decision to go with Garrett.
Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden and Brian Billick are this year's version of Shanahan. Like Shanahan, they have won a Super Bowl. Like Shanahan, they have been out of the game for a while. Like Shanahan, they have name recognition.
That's not worth what it once was. Shanahan's troubles add to the growing evidence the celebrity coach is not worth the expense.
Consider the field for the playoffs, which begin Saturday. Of the 12 clubs in the tournament, nine have first-time head coaches. The exceptions are New England's Bill Belichick, Seattle's Pete Carroll and Indianapolis' Jim Caldwell.
Belichick, Carroll and Caldwell are quality coaches who have appeared in a Super Bowl or a collegiate national title game. The unmistakable trend is toward the Garrett-type coach: Young, aggressive and stubborn.
"I'm pleased that he has had a positive experience since we've made the change," Jones said of Garrett after Sunday's season-ending win at Philadelphia. "It does help me with what Jason is about."
Jones' appearance on the NFL Network's pre-game show when the Cowboys played at Arizona on Christmas night caused a stir. Jones mentioned no coach had ever won a Super Bowl with two teams, adding that he liked a challenge. Jones-ologists took that to mean he wanted a celebrity coach to attempt to be the first two-team Super Bowl winner.
Jones was saying it's difficult for a Super Bowl-winning coach to get the needed drive and hunger back after a layoff. Jones wanted a young, lean and ambitious coach to get the franchise up and running again, not a 58-year-old name who has been to the mountaintop. Washington hired that guy.
