What Changes Do The Cowboys Need? OC, Discipline, & Accountability

By:  Bobby Shores

Image Courtesy of DallasNews.com

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett has a long history with the Dallas Cowboys. From his dad being a longtime scout for the team, to his 8 years as a backup (2nd & 3rd stringer) to Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, to his 2007 hiring that has led to his current role, it has been an interesting ride with America's Team. Prior to his coaching exploits, Garrett had achieved "folk hero" status in Dallas as Aikman's backup when he led the team to a 1994 Thanksgiving Day come from behind win over a young Brett Favre led Green Bay Packers by throwing for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns. He then bounced around the league holding a clipboard for a few years before being hired (prior to the head coach being hired) by Jerry Jones as the Cowboys offensive coordinator, with all of 2 years coaching experience....coaching quarterbacks for the Dolphins.

Fast forward....Wade Phillips was fired as head coach of the Cowboys in 2010 after a 1-7 start; Jason Garrett was named "interim" head coach and finished the season 5-3, which was good enough to make him the 8th head coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. It was widely believed that the quick turnaround orchestrated by Garrett was due to the immediate organizational and tempo changes. So how come those changes are not carrying over into his first full season?

Let's Fix The Cowboys Offense First...Simpler Than You May Think

The Cowboys offense has been....well....erratic since Garrett took over, finishing 2nd, 18th, 14th, 7th, and this year they are currently ranked 13th in what I perceive to be the most important straight up offensive category, points scored. To put that in perspective, teams like the 'Niners, Jets, and Ravens are all averaging more points per game, and those teams are routinely ridiculed as being the most "offensively challenged" in the NFL.

So why was Garrett's best year statistically his first year, has he just gotten worse, or was there something else involved? In my opinion it was because Garrett did not handle all the playcalling duties during the 2007 season. That year, current Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was the Cowboys offensive line coach/assistant head coach/running game coordinator who was heavily involved with the in-game direction of the offense. As soon as Sparano left for Miami following the 2007 season and Garrett has had sole responsibility of the the offense, they have struggled, particularly in scoring....

Editors Note: Take a look at the "Scoreability" statistics from my friends at Cold Hard Football Facts (CHFF), it is basically how well a team turns yards into points and is a great way to tell how efficient an offense is, or how inefficient an offense is as the Cowboys found out in 2009, having the second most yards in the NFL does not matter if you can't turn those yards into points....

I believe he needs playcalling help, particularly he seems to lack creativity in the red zone and other big moments. He reminds me of that really smart kid in high school, the one who is really book smart but has no common sense, he always knew what the book said to do but when things got hectic or out of control and he needed to improvise or "think outside the box" he froze. Which is precisely what happened to Garrett on Sunday against the Cardinals. I don't need to go over the details unless you have been living under a rock.

So what do they do? Hire Garrett's former mentor Norv Turner, not only is he an exceptional quarterbacks coach who I believe can get Tony Romo over the hump he has been stuck on for years, his offenses are always near the top of the league. Yes, I know that Turner is currently employed as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, but unless they go on an incredible run while Tim Tebow succumbs to satan's temptations, he will be fired and most likely have to go down to being an offensive coordinator for a couple of years.

This marriage works out well for both sides, Turner gets to come back home where he had his greatest success as the offensive coordinator of the 90's Cowboys dynasty (and where Jerry Jones nearly hired him over Phillips), where he coached Garrett, and since they already run Turner's offense here there would be little transition. Garrett will be able to focus more on being a head coach (organizational & discipline issues) and less about having to be the head coach AND offensive coordinator. We know that the Cowboys already have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball which would be very attractive to Turner.

One other benefit that having Turner on the staff gives the Jerry Jones is if Garrett does not work out then he will have 2 guys in Rob Ryan and Norv Turner that would seemingly be able to make the jump to the #1 spot.

Other Cowboys Problems That Need Fixing

One of the biggest knocks on the Cowboys during the Phillips era was discipline and accountability. During his 3 full years the Cowboys ranked 28th, 32nd, and 29th in penalties, with many of them coming in key situations that directly resulted in lost games. From the Alex Barron holding penalty that cost the Cowboys a win in the first game against the Redskins last year, to the repeated game changing celebration penalties by Roy Williams, Sam Hurd, and Marc Columbo. Now that Garrett has taken full control of this team, and has a reputation of a disciplinarian guy who demands perfection, you would expect the penalties to have decreased quite a bit, right? Guess again, 13 weeks into the season the Cowboys rank 26th, not much of an improvement....

#1 Cowboys fan & her car  Sabrina Elie

Again these penalties are killing drives, taking points off the board, and extending opponents drives and putting points on the board for them. Garrett seems to be a very intelligent, organized, Type-A personality kind of guy that demands a lot from his employees, I just think that it is getting lost with him trying to run the entire offense. If he hires Norv Turner he can still be involved in the game planning, strategy, playcalling, and execution of the offense, but will now have some help from an experienced OC with proven success and the same system.

When it comes to accountability, Garrett needs to have some for himself, it was so obvious that even Helen Keller knew he botched the clock management at the end of the Cardinals game, but instead of admitting that he screwed up he just continues to play the "it was not the wrong decision it just didn't work" card. No leader can demand accountability from his employees without being accountable for himself.


Hiring Turner is a win-win for not only Garrett and the Cowboys, but for all the frustrated fans that see the errors and predictability of this team before it happens, he just needs some help so that he can focus on the big picture. Garrett needs to put his ego to the side and do what is best for the organization

Follow ReclinerQB on Twitter:  @ReclinerQB

Don't Forget to Follow ReclinerQB's other contributors on Twitter:  @zatchj62, @mwyche2, @theffaddict, @heartsfootball, @amazingmattyp

Check out the Fantasy Corner for all your Fantasy Football Needs