The Denver Broncos are expected to interview Jason Garrett today for their head coaching position. While I have some criticism of Garrett's play-calling and in-season adjustments this year, I still believe that retaining him as offensive coordinator would be important to the Cowboys. He's a young coach still gaining experience and the offensive numbers he put up in 2007 were amazing. Granted, there was a drop-off in 2008 but it wasn't like we were terrible. In the games that Tony Romo played we still averaged 24 points a game. But the overall production on offense was less than what it should have been given the amount of talent and playmakers we have on that side of the ball. The offense also joined the rest of the team in their annual December collapse.
A lot of that drop-off can be attributed to an offensive line that clearly regressed. Since Garrett is the offensive coordinator that position falls under his jurisdiction but Hudson Houck is the guy I'm looking at specifically. He was the coach who was supposed to take our maulers and mold them into the prefect unit for Garrett's vertical offense that uses the power running game. This was supposed to be a return to the 90's for the offense but something went askew along the way.
Garrett has to accept some of that responsibility. Why do we line up in the shotgun so much? Any play-action passes are basically ruined from that formation. The only running play we used regularly from that formation was the draw and teams began to recognize that and stuff it regularly. In general, teams seemed to recognize our formations and the plays that were coming all too often. Garrett needs to use a little more deception in the formations and play-calling. On the other hand, when it's third and one, forget deception and just run the ball between the tackles. If our mammoth offensive line can't pick that up we don't deserve to win ball games.
The thing that would benefit the Cowboys offense the most in 2009 is using the three-headed monster at the running back position. Whenever Garrett gets nervous in a game he resorts to the pass. With the protection the line was providing and Romo's cavalier attitude towards ball security, it wasn't the best idea. I'm a fan of Garrett's and a fan of the vertical passing scheme he runs, but he needs to remember the running game and not be so quick to give up on it.
I want at least one more year for the Redhead to find out if he can make the proper adjustments and return to the explosive offense that caught our fancy in 2007. And yes, I do believe that one day he will be a successful head coach and that just might be in Dallas unless another team takes the plunge with him this year.
Montrae Holland, who played at Denver last year, gives high-marks to Garrett in a Denver newspaper. He also offers his take on the whole Romo/Witten/WR's controversy from the end of the season.
"Jason let them be men and talk it out," Holland said. "He went up to them and said, 'What's going on? What can we do to get past this so we can get back to football?' He's a communicator. He listens to the players when the players come off the field."
Wide receivers coach Ray Sherman is expected to interview for the St. Louis head coach position sometime this week.
Sherman, reached by phone Monday in Dallas, said it was a career goal of his to be a head coach in the NFL and that he was looking forward to the Rams interview.
"I just think it'll be an excellent opportunity," Sherman said. "It's a team that has some exciting players and has a chance to turn it around."
The Cowboys are almost assuredly heading back to San Antonio for training camp in 2009. There are even some tentative dates planned, July 31st through August 22nd.