Cowboys: Why Kelly Firing Is Bad For Garrett

The Dallas Cowboys may feel more heat than before to get rid of head coach Jason Garrett now that the Philadelphia Eagles have dismissed counterpart Chip Kelly.

Since the winter of 2007, Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, then a wet-behind-the-ears offensive coordinator, has been the chosen one at Valley Ranch. Never before has a coach of any kind been given the extensive privilege and annual immunity from responsibility that Garrett has within this organization.

To be clear, Garrett still has a job with the Cowboys because owner and general manager Jerry Jones wants it that way. This is an emotional attachment that far exceeds my understanding and it doesn’t appear to be changing in any way, even despite this season’s pathetic 4-11 record with a single meaningless game left to be played.

This could start to change, however.

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The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Tuesday night that third-year head coach Chip Kelly has been fired. The move comes on the heels of a disastrous offseason brought forth by the former Oregon Ducks offensive genius and might actually seem a tad unfair given his volume of work.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie apparently made the decision because he wanted to strip Kelly of his relatively new powers over personnel, the very element that brought forth that horrendous offseason to begin with.

Either way, a coach that won 10 games in each of his first two seasons is gone and nobody is sure what’s next for Kelly – not sure anybody really cares either. While this season was clearly a setback in Philly that pissed off plenty of season ticket holders, it would seem that any other head coach under the same circumstances would probably still have a job, right?

Back to Mr.Garrett.

Here’s a head coach that turned in an out-of-nowhere 12-4 record in 2014 and has done next to nothing before or after that mark. Since injuries are constantly lauded as being an invalid excuse, what exactly are Cowboys season ticket holders thinking right about now?

I guess my question is this: How long before the noise in Dallas-Ft.Worth gets loud enough that Jones realizes that his personal attachment to Garrett and his family simply doesn’t equate to winning football?

This question is huge because change within the Dallas Cowboys organization won’t come any other way.

In fact, Jones was quoted by ESPN‘s Todd Archer before the announcement was made regarding Kelly that change at Valley Ranch shouldn’t be expected as a result of Garrett’s huge failures in 2015.

"The bottom line is that I can make you a strong case where you should line them up and go again with your hand. But under any circumstances, you have to do what you have to do. And so just change for change sake? No, you’re not going to have that because I believe that we’re closer than this record indicates."

Now, I’ll be the first to agree that the Cowboys roster has more talent than a potential 4-12 or 5-11 record indicates.

But this further indicts Garrett as a coach and personality that’s completely ill-equipped for the job.

Do you believe that there’s any other coach in the NFL, or college, that might have managed a few more victories in ’15 in order to stay in contention in the worst division in the NFC?

While this question is impossible to answer, Jones certainly implies that this is the case. Why else would you suggest lining up and trying it all over again with essentially the same coaching staff in place?

Maybe this works and maybe it doesn’t. The Cowboys should have a couple of selections in the top 40 in the 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago and perhaps free-agency provides some answers as well.

One thing is for sure, however. The romanticism of the 2014 campaign is long gone and a coach that’s been extensively rewarded for very little in the way of success over the course of his near decade-long involvement with the franchise is wearing thin, period.

Jones can provide the softest of chairs for Garrett to sit in heading into 2016, but even the best recliner money can buy will succumb quickly to the growing fire that’s now lit under underneath.

Next: Cowboys: More Proof That Jason Garrett Needs To Go

We already know that Philly will have a new head coach next season, a less-than-ideal situation where contention is concerned. The New York Giants could follow suit depending on what happens to head coach Tom Coughlin. The Washington Redskins are a joke that just happened to rise to the top of the murky puddle that is the NFC East this season.

Indeed, 2016 is a big, big year for Jason Garrett – thank you Mr. Lurie for making that happen.