Earlier this season, the Dallas Cowboys were staring down the barrel of the head coaching search at 3-4. But following a resurgence on offense led by Amari Cooper, head coach Jason Garrett appears to have saved his job.
The Dallas Cowboys were on the cusp of total disaster this season. Sitting at 3-4 with a bland offense and a middling defense, Dallas was this close to plummeting into the NFL’s basement. Not to mention, they no longer had a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, after acquiring wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders.
For the value of his contract, Cole Beasley is fine. But make no mistake, Cowboys fans, he is not a receiver that can take over the game for an offense. There are very few players in the NFL that can achieve that game-breaking status, and while in Oakland, there were questions as to whether or not Cooper was one of those players.
But seemingly overnight, the Cowboys’ offense transformed from a one-dimensional effort led exclusively by running back Ezekiel Elliott, to a dynamic unit that could keep defenses guessing. The acquisition of Cooper opened up the entire offense by, unsurprisingly, giving quarterback Dak Prescott a true No. 1 target.
Turns out, Cooper was exactly what the Cowboys needed to get their team going. Since trading for the former Raider, Dallas has gone on a 4-1 run and now leads the NFC East at 7-5. Their only loss with Cooper on the roster came the first week after they traded for him, in a 28-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Now, Cowboys fans now look towards the playoffs, and possibly a bright future for America’s Team. Quite a different tune from just six weeks ago, when Dallas was on the verge of cleaning house on the coaching staff. If the Cowboys can continue this run through the final quarter of their schedule, head coach Jason Garrett may have just done the seemingly impossible: saved his job.
It feels like some sections of Cowboys fans have been waiting for Jason Garrett to be fired for years now. Despite a 13-3 season in 2016, Garrett has led the Cowboys, mostly, to almost impressive amounts of mediocrity. But now, he has the Cowboys red-hot. If Dallas can finish 10-6 and make a little bit of noise in the playoffs, Garrett will undoubtedly be back for 2019 and maybe beyond.
With a lifetime head coaching record of 73-60, and a postseason record of 1-2, many feel that the Cowboys could do far better than Garrett at the head coaching position. They may have to wait a while before Garrett gets the axe as head coach in Dallas. Although inconceivable just over a month ago, Jason Garrett might live to see another year on the sideline for America’s Team.