Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett will no longer call the team’s offensive plays, owner Jerry Jones told reporters today.
“It is not a step back for the Cowboys or a step back for (Garrett) individually to change the way that we are basically putting our game plan together or calling the plays on the offensive side of the ball,” Jones said, according to USA Today. “I’m assessing the fact that two and a half seasons with Jason as the head coach, we need to do some things different.”
It’s safe to assume various beat writers and columnists will rip this apart over the next few days, but one of the first reactions out the gate is from NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal:
It makes no sense on a number of levels. Essentially, Jones is neutering his head coach. [Offensive line coach, possible saboteur Bill] Callahan doesn’t have a long history as a play-caller and is more familiar with the running game. It’s almost like he’s trying to make Garrett quit.
Jones went into the offseason wanting change for the sake of change. Monte Kiffin was a curious hire as defensive coordinator. If Jones wanted to go this far, he should have just fired Garrett at the end of the season.
