Former Dallas Cowboys head coach and current NBC Sunday Night Football analyst Jason Garrett said on Tuesday, Jan. 14, that no coach is capable of changing owner Jerry Jones’ mind on anything. That is the first thing a new coach has to come to grips with before taking over the Cowboys. Jones is still the boss and final decision-maker.
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ESPN’s Kevin Clark interviewed Garrett on Tuesday, Jan. 14, about the opening in Dallas. Garrett explained what type of coach the Cowboys need. He also spent time explaining what perfunctory skills a coach would have to embody to do well in the organization.
“The kind of coach who thrives there is someone who is a real good coach,” Garrett said. “There’s no doubt that ownership is involved. Jerry Jones is the general manager of the team. The owner/general manager is involved, and he should be. That’s the way the organization is set up.”
Garrett explained in the interview that communication skills are key for a new coach and he must be a good and effective leader of his team.
“I think you have to be an excellent communicator and an excellent leader. And when I say communicator and leader, it’s not only communication and leading to your staff and your team,” Garrett said. “It’s also leading upward in the organization. I think you have to have a real, clear vision of what you want the team to be. This is what I want it to look like, as a team, offense, defense, and kicking game. These are the kind of players we want to have.”
I asked Jason Garrett what type of coach could thrive in Dallas. His answer was terrific insight into how a coach can fit (and communicate) with the ownership structure.
“I don’t think you spend a lot of time trying to change Jerry Jones. I don’t think that’s going to happen.” pic.twitter.com/cpU2gLFN25
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 14, 2025
Essentially, Garrett is saying that Dallas needs a coach who can enforce his will and still let Jones run the team his way. Until Dallas becomes aligned, they may never win another championship.
“The teams that have success in the NFL are aligned. They are aligned from ownership to general manager, to head coach, to coordinators, to the quarterback, all the way through,” Garrett said. “Look at the prime examples: Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore, the same teams that are there year after year”
Garrett also said the head coach has to be able to see what he wants in his football team and then impress it on players and staff and convince them it is what they have to have to be a winner.
“When you are the head coach, you are really in charge of that. You are in charge of creating the vision and making that vision come alive,” Garrett said. “It can be challenging in Dallas because of the ownership and the general manager, but it also can be advantageous in Dallas because the owner and general manager are the same guy.”
Finally, Garrett said you have to let Jones be Jones and understand he is never going to change his ways.
“Jerry is 82 years old and he’s done things a certain way for a long long time,” Garett said. “If you go in there, are a coach, you have to embrace what those dynamics are. Jerry is a very bright guy. You have to understand where his strengths are. Then maybe some of the areas where you guys can work together to make the organization better than it’s been in recent years.”