The Carolina Panthers dropped a bombshell Tuesday afternoon when they announced they will be parting ways with Ron Rivera, who has served as their head coach for the better part of the last decade.
Panthers part ways with head coach Ron Rivera. pic.twitter.com/lJrqy60DTE
— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2019
Parting ways with Ron Rivera has been expected ever since Jerry Reese sold the Carolina Panthers to David Tepper back in 2018. Under new ownership changes were inevitable for the Panthers and releasing Rivera of his head coaching duties is likely just the first of many.
What the Carolina Panthers choose to do is of little concern to those of us around Cowboys Nation though. But, it does put Jason Garrett’s current situation with the Dallas Cowboys under the microscope once again. Maybe he’s the next head coach in the NFL to suddenly become unemployed.
In all his years with the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett’s job security with the organization has never been in more doubt than it is right now. Jerry Jones has yet to confirm or deny whether or not Garrett will return as the Cowboys head coach next season, but like with Ron Rivera and the Panthers, the writing could be on the wall.
Surprisingly, Ron Rivera and Jason Garrett’s head-coaching career isn’t all that dissimilar. They both officially became head coaches in 2011, although Garrett technically took over on an interim basis for Wade Phillips in 2010. It could be something Jerry Jones takes into account when he does finally sit down and make his final decision about his current head coach.
Let me show you what I mean…
Starting in 2011, Jason Garrett has a regular-season win/loss record of 78-62 compared to Ron Rivera’s 76-63-1 regular-season record. They’ve also both won their respective divisions three times from then until now.
Pretty similar, right? Well, this is where things get a little bit more interesting.
Ron Rivera has a slight edge over Jason Garrett when it comes to the postseason. Since 2011 Rivera has helped lead the Carolina Panthers to the postseason a total of four times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017), one of which was a Super Bowl appearance (2015). Garrett on the other hand has only helped the Dallas Cowboys reach the postseason three times (2014, 2016, 2018) and never made it past the NFC Divisional Round.
Again, pretty similar. That raises the question, why is Jerry Jones so reluctant to part ways with Jason Garrett?
Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for that and I’m not sure Jerry Jones does either. The only thing we do know is that Jones is prepared to ride out the rest of the season with Jason Garrett. What happens after the season though is anybody’s guess.
So, as much as a lot of us would love to see the Dallas Cowboys follow the Carolina Panthers example and part ways with their head coach as soon as possible, it doesn’t seem as if that will happen until after the completion of the 2019 season.
