Jason Garrett May Not Survive The Weekend After Cowboys Lose again

• Jerry Jones has been critical of his coaching staff after the Cowboys recent losses. But he has also said he will not fire head coach Jason Garrett during the season.
• But after the way the team looked against the Bears, the pressure to do just that may be too much.
• The problem with firing Garrett now, though, is figuring out who to make the interim HC. No unit has played well enough to justify promoting the coach.

Jason Garrett entered Week 14 of the NFL season in dire need of a win. Poor play and questionable coaching decisions led to losses against New England and Buffalo and got the rumor mill going. While Jerry Jones pledged his allegiance to Garrett, it seemed like just a matter of time before Jones fired him.

A win over the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football would go a long way towards quieting the haters down. With a record of 7-6, they would have a little cushion in the NFC East. Make the playoffs, and they have a shot at postseason glory still.

But they had to fix the mistakes. They had to play better and coach better—but they did neither.

Bears Dominate Cowboys on TNF

The night started out promising for the Cowboys as they opened the game with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that lasted nearly nine minutes. It would have been nice if it was a more efficient, crisper drive. But by converting on third down four times, they showed the ability to persevere.

It also showed that the coaches could adjust in-game. Now, if they could do that for the entire game, then maybe the Cowboys could earn a much-needed win by the end of the night.

But they didn’t.

The offense sputtered for most of the game, and the defense had no answer for Mitchell Trubisky, and the Bears 27th ranked offense (points/game; 17.7). While the defense did record an interception on Chicago’s first drive of the game, it came in the red zone.

They also committed penalties on third down three times that kept Chicago drives alive. The Bears ended up scoring on all three drives. Chicago’s dominance continued in the second half as the Cowboys failed to make any adjustments. If they did make any, none of them worked.

While the final score didn’t look too bad (31-24), the Bears outplayed and outcoached the Cowboys in every way.

It’s Time, Jerry Jones— Jason Garrett Must Go

After losses to the Patriots and Bills, Jerry Jones was critical of his coaching staff. During the week, he made a comment many have interpreted as a sign the end of Garrett is near, via NFL.com :

Nobody has the exclusive skills to get the job done so that collectively you can win a Super Bowl. But there are qualified people. Jason Garrett is one of them. In my opinion, Jason Garrett will be coaching in the NFL next year.

It sounds like a vote of confidence, but more of one that Garrett will have a job—not necessarily one with the Cowboys. Jones has already said that Garrett will finish the season  with the Cowboys, which in itself sounds like a bad omen.

But after another demoralizing loss, he may need to consider his locker room. The Cowboys have several free agents that will be looking for contracts in the offseason. Who is going to want to stay with a team that continues to employ a bad head coach?

Guys want to play for a team that has a future. More and more, it is looking like the Cowboys will have no future as long as Garrett’s in charge.

You have to let him go, Jerry.

He Might Not

Despite the loss, the 6-7 Cowboys are still in control of the NFC East. They will have to beat the Eagles again to lock it up. But despite how bad they are playing, the Cowboys still control their own destiny. If they can make the playoffs and then somehow win a couple of games, the Jason Garrett Era might continue.

But there is one guy that has to go.

https://youtu.be/kWE65y6FKdM

Ten missed kicks this season; more than any kicker over the last four years . Come on, Jerry. At least make that happen.

About the Author

Travis Pulver

Travis is a writer based in the United States who has been writing about sports, primarily the NFL, NCAAF, NBA, NCAAM, and MLB. He's worked as a writer for the last 12-13 years. If you want a spirited debate about anything having to do with the NFL or any sports team from Texas, he's your man. You can contact him at [email protected] or at LinkedIn.

See more

[email protected] LinkedIn Twitter