There’s a lot of blame game being played around the Dallas Cowboys right now after a demoralizing home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Even the head coach seems to be getting in on the act as Jason Garrett went out of character and got unusually specific in explaining Kellen Moore’s responsibility for play-calling.
Garrett is not known for calling people out. In fact, many fans have criticized him for not being more critical of his players. He tends to speak in vague, nebulous terms when it comes to discussing the Cowboys’ weaknesses or failings after a loss.
But in a radio appearance this morning, Garrett didn’t mince words on who was deciding the plays during the Cowboys’ final drive.
Jason Garrett on @1053thefan on the two run plays late: “Kellen’s calling the game. In that situation it’s 2nd and 2. He felt like he had a good opportunity against a favorable box to run the ball in those situations. On each of those plays we had options beyond just the run.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 11, 2019
Jason did try to excuse his offensive coordinator’s decisions with some context, but he also made sure to clarify who was responsible for those calls. It was not very Garrett-like, and it may speak to his own growing frustration and concern over his future.
Garrett is on the final year of his contract and the Cowboys’ front office has made it clear that any extension depends on the results of the 2019 season. With Dallas now dropping to 5-4 and only leading the division by a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Philadelphia Eagles, the future is increasingly unclear.
Jason Garrett famously uses “we” and “us” terms when talking about the negatives, not wanting to assign blame to any particular player or person when things aren’t going well. That he strayed from this well-established behavior today may be an anomaly, but it shouldn’t be ignored.
With a tough second-half stretch coming in this 2019 schedule, Garrett may be starting to feel like a dead man walking. We’ll see in the coming weeks if this leads to anymore shifts in his usual demeanor with the media.
