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After nine full seasons of not being able to take the Dallas Cowboys where they ultimately wanted to go, Jason Garrett was dismissed in favor of Super Bowl-winner Mike McCarthy. It’s hard to find someone who thinks that this was not at the very least some sort of upgrade.
None of this is meant to serve as a knock on Jason Garrett. While there are definitely people who aren’t as empathetic towards him the reality is that he worked hard, his players loved him, but ultimately it wasn’t enough in terms of measurable success. There is no shame in that, sometimes change simply has to happen.
This seems to be a sentiment that Cowboys safety Xavier Woods agrees with. During a Tuesday appearance on FS1’s Undisputed (yes, I’m shocked too), Woods addressed a variety of things including the end of Jason Garrett’s time with the Cowboys. You can watch the full interview here.
As you can imagine, Woods was asked about Mike McCarthy, what he expects to see from him, the usual sort of questions. Other questions included where Woods thought the Cowboys erred last season, and in fashion true to who he ism he noted that the Cowboys players deserve the responsibility for the season’s problems.
This will be the pattern for the rest of this offseason as Cowboys players make appearances (expect a lot of it during the week leading up to the Super Bowl), but Woods was also asked for his thoughts on Jason Garrett. His answer perfectly described the team’s former head coach and him getting blame for the team’s missteps.
“That’s a leader. That’s a leader’s job. Things go good you don’t get no credit, things go bad you get all of the blame for it. That’s being a leader. But he’s a players coach. You wouldn’t find a handful of guys in that locker room that doesn’t like him. That doesn’t like him as a person. I love him. He believed in me. He drafted me, a couple of rounds late, but he drafted me. So I would never go against a guy that believed in me. I’m loyal to that guy. This question’s coming up, but sometimes you need new energy. Energy in the building breathes, it breathes something different. Do I believe he was the problem? No. Do I believe he just didn’t put it together? Yes.”
It’s strange how an answer can seem so politically correct but make absolute sense at the same time, and that’s what Woods did (for what it’s worth, the part about him being drafted late was said jokingly with a smile). The sentiment from all involved seems to be that Jason Garrett did in fact try his hardest and that unfortunately that wasn’t enough. It happens.
The point about new energy sometimes being needed definitely makes sense. So often in the NFL we see coaches have success right away with new teams. Hopefully that’s the case with Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys, we’ve all got our fingers crossed.
Oh, and finally with regards to this interview at the end of it, Woods was asked to make a big prediction for the 2020 Cowboys. He responded that they’ll be in the Super Bowl. Pack your bags for Tampa Bay, everyone!