Sulzbach: Is it time for Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett to hang up his boots and step down?

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Photo courtesy of pixabay.com user "Raventhorne"

Coming off of the bye week and going into a home game, the Dallas Cowboys were set for their Monday night showdown against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 5.

The results of Monday night’s game added a loss to the team’s record and also led to many questions within the fandom and within the team itself. One major question being this:

Are Jason Garrett’s days in Dallas numbered?

Former Cowboys backup quarterback and current head coach Jason Garrett has always had a home in Dallas.

Garrett started his coaching career for the Dallas Cowboys as their offensive coordinator in 2007 and, over time, moved around the staff and to end up as head coach. In Garrett’s era, the Cowboys have been inconsistent. With no Super Bowl wins or appearances, a 69-57 regular season record and a 1-2 postseason record, you could say the Cowboys have been in a slump. Although Garrett is a poised professional and respected individual, these attributes are not the core skills needed when it comes to the position of head coach. Garrett’s coaching abilities have be questioned multiple times over the years. He has not proven that he has the ability to lead the Cowboys out of their long slump.

The Cowboys are just one of the many teams in the NFL that have been unpredictable this season. With a 3-5 record so far, “America’s Team” is not looking too good and with one loss this season being to the Houston Texans, they may not even be Texas’ team.

On one hand, the Cowboys defense is looking stronger than ever, but when it comes to their offense, the chemistry is just not there.

At the beginning of the season, lingering questions about players consisted of things such as “what will the Cowboys do without Dez Bryant?” and “was Brett Maher a better choice over Dan Bailey?”

In attempt to fill Bryant’s spot, the Cowboys acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. As for Maher and Bailey, both have similar statistics so far, missing three field goals each this season.

Taking all player statistics and skills into account leads people to wonder if the blame should be on the coaching. Dallas has great talent on their team, but results are not showing how great the players truly are.

Amari Cooper had his debut as a Cowboy in Monday night’s game, ran excellent routes and scored one touchdown. But this week, the star receiver would not be the solution to the persisting worry. The Cowboys are now treating Amari Cooper as the panacea for a decades’ worth of problems, but to no avail, the Cowboys are still losing games in horrible fashion and are heading into the upcoming 2019 Draft without a first round pick.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has fired coaches in the past, but it is unlike him to do so mid-season. Following Monday night’s loss, Jones has had all doors closed to press in regard to Garrett’s job security at this time. Jones simply said “no,” and has been adamant that there will not be a change of coaching mid season. Jones also stands behind current quarterback Dak Prescott as discussion on his recent performance has been thrown around.

Garrett’s job in Dallas will be secured for now, but this is no say to what could occur postseason.

This coming Sunday, Garrett and the team have a monumental game. They will be facing their biggest rivals away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Although the Cowboys’ performance on the road this season hasn’t been strong, this game is important for Dallas’ franchise as a whole.

The boys know they need to step up their game for this momentous occasion as they take on the reigning world champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.

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