Cowboys Are Always One Step Behind When It Matters

By Dink Kearney | Dec 31, 2015

Dallas Cowboys are never in position to make major upgrades to the team because of foolish financial decisions that cause them to stay mediocre.

As the Dallas Cowboys cruise to an unforeseen 11 or 12 loss season, head coach Jason Garrett appears to be coming back next year.

After all, Garrett signed a five year, $30 million dollar contract extension last season after guiding the Cowboys to a 12-4 record and a playoff victory. Also, Garrett has a built in excuse for this awful season because he didn’t have the services of injured Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo for most of the season

These are the primary excuses owner/general manger Jerry Jones will use for retaining Garrett. Let’s not forget to mention the fact that Garrett is Jones’ personal puppet. Jones sticks by Garrett, the greatest clapper ever, like an absentee father making up for lost time with his only son.

For the very reasons I just mentioned, the Cowboys find themselves stuck with Garrett when there are rumors that New Orleans head coach Sean Payton might have coached his last season in the ‘Big Easy’. Payton would be the right coach for the Cowboys, a coach who would demand excellence.

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Payton has no problem being confrontational with his star players.

Payton is notorious for speaking his mind and letting players know when they have screwed up while always holding his players to a higher standard. Payton has confronted future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees whenever he’s made a mistake. Payton doesn’t clap loudly whenever his players screw up or make dumb decisions.

This Super Bowl-winning coach is viewed as an offensive genius and a coach who’s always getting the best out of his quarterback and team. Payton is one of the reasons Brees is a future Hall of Famer.

Although Payton would be an outstanding head coach for the Cowboys, it won’t happen because Dallas has once again sunk too much money into a fraudulent coach who claps louder than thunder and doesn’t know how to make in game adjustments if they were displayed before him.

For some reason, the Cowboys always overpay for fools gold. As soon as the season was over, Jones rewarded Garrett with a fat contract reserved for Super Bowl winning coaches, like Payton. Instead of negotiating a contract with less years and less money, Jones breaks the bank on Garrett, who previously owned three-straight 8-8 seasons.

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Jones doesn’t want to pay Garrett the remaining $24 million to walk away, doesn’t make any sense business wise. Jones understands this and recognizes he has to eat this contract.

This is the reason the Cowboys are always one step behind. Simply put, it’s because of foolish decisions just like this. If Jones hadn’t broken the bank on Garrett, he could have easily fired Garrett and pursued Payton with a few draft picks, money or anything within reason.

Payton is credited with finding Romo and would be his ‘quarterback whisperer,’ something badly needed on a team with no successor to its franchise quarterback. Payton definitely would make Romo a better quarterback while maximizing his strengths and minimizing his weakness.

With Payton running the ship, the Cowboys offense would run smoothly and players and coaches alike would be held accountable, striving for a high standard. As an offensive guru, Payton’s other talent is evaluating quarterbacks. Backup quarterbacks like Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel either would have been coached better or they would not have been on the roster at all.

For Weeden to be playing better as a quarterback with the Houston Texans says so much about Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Frankly, it says they can’t coach or bring out the best in a quarterback not named Romo.

For example, the Cowboys overpaid now-retired running back Marion Barber, signing him to a seven-year, $45 million dollar contract ($16 million guaranteed) in 2008. Amazingly, Barber had never rushed for 1,ooo yards or even been an every down runner. Barber made $21 million over three years before Dallas released him in 2010.

The Cowboys didn’t re-sign running back DeMarco Murray, believing he wasn’t worth $18 million guaranteed. However, some believe it was a mistake not to re-sign Murray to a lucrative deal while others believe the Cowboys did the right thing in letting him walk.

Next: Cowboys: More Proof That Garrett Needs To Go

Doing the right thing in the Cowboys organization is subjective at best and an oxymoron at worse.

When the opportunity presents itself for this storied franchise to step forward, the Dallas Cowboys are always one step behind when it matters the most.

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