Dallas Cowboys: Why Jason Garrett Calls On Others To Lead?

Why does Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett call on other figures to inspire his team almost every year?

Honestly, I have no idea.

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I have never liked this practice and it seems to happen every year. I’m not sure if it’s more about politics, something Garrett obviously excels at, or if it’s really intended to give something to his team that he’s not able to.

This week, for the second year in a row, it was former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda who addressed, not a baseball team, but a pro football team.

To start with, do you think that any member of the Cowboys rookie class even knows who Lasorda is? I’m just going to guess that the number of guys on this year’s roster who ever watched Lasorda actually working is quite low.

For example, 2015 first-round draft pick Byron Jones was born in September of 1992.

Lasorda, 87 years old, last coached the Dodgers in 1996.

Do the math.

In past seasons Garrett has gathered his team to be lectured by the likes of – wait for it – Joe Gibbs and even high-ranking military personnel.

I really don’t get it.

Can you imagine Jimmy Johnson, winner of back-to-back Super Bowls beginning when Byron Jones was born, ever bringing in another leader to inspire his team? This idea sounds ridiculous, at least if you’re old enough to remember Johnson’s coaching style. Let’s just say that there was really only room for one chef in that kitchen, hence the reason he didn’t remain in Dallas as head coach through at least early 1995.

What about inaugural Dallas head coach Tom Landry? He was a guy that talked to others in order to inspire them, not the other way around.

You think former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, another multiple Super Bowl-winner, had much interest in having other established figures from other industries addressing his team, apparently with the hope that his team would get better because of it?

You want to call in one of those former greats to address the team? Good.

How about other players from the family, so to speak? This works too.

But should others from outside the organization, regardless of the legacy, really be involved in motivating a bunch of dramatically over-paid twenty-somethings?

I don’t know about that.

I’ve never thought of Garrett as the most qualified coach for either of the positions he’s held in the NFL. I’ll concede that Dallas has finally started to show promise amid his presence, but I still can’t say for sure that this has much to do with Garrett from a leadership standpoint.

Yes, there’s more than one way to lead in any situation, by example and with an iron fist arguably being the most popular.

Garrett does neither that I’m aware of.

Instead, Garrett is a great guy to be around, as evidenced by Lasorda’s comments to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News following his address to the Cowboys this week.

"I found out that he was such an outstanding guy. I knew if he’s coaching here he’s going to be walking a tightwire here, and I wanted to get him settled in where he got a good [long-term] contract and it happened just the way I wanted to see it happen. He’s a great guy, one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. I just took the coach and became a very good friend of his and I wanted to see him be here more than one year."

Good enough. Garrett is a great guy.

The question is whether or not he’s the type of leader of men that reaches the summit.

That last question has yet to be answered, but expectations are higher now than ever before during the Garrett reign as either head coach or offensive coordinator.

Maybe Lasorda can bring the team a little luck. The Cowboys did manage to vault to 12-4 last season following a triple-play of perfect .500 football the three seasons prior. Maybe the second time is a charm in this case.

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