'Boys consider youth movement: Peter King
'Boys consider youth movement
Dallas still weighing several options for next coach
Posted: Thursday January 25, 2007 10:05AM; Updated: Thursday January 25, 2007 10:50AM
One of the scenarios Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be considering in the wake of coach Bill Parcells' resignation on Monday is a three-man coaching team that would include a seasoned NFL coach, Troy Aikman's former tutor and backup, and an up-and-coming defensive mind that Parcells was nurturing for a rise up the NFL ladder.
Jones could make former Redskins and Raiders coach Norv Turner the head coach, with 40-year-old Jason Garrett the offensive coordinator and Todd Bowles, 43, the defensive coordinator.
Currently, Turner is San Francisco's offensive coordinator. But Turner, who became Jimmy Johnson's offensive coordinator in 1991 and coached Aikman early in his Dallas glory years, is not certain to be in the Dallas coaching mix.
Jones may toy with the idea of joining the NFL's coaching baby boom by naming Garrett head coach and building a staff around Garrett on offense and Bowles on defense.
Garrett is a Jones favorite who spent seven years backing up close friend Aikman with the Cowboys. He's on the coaching fast track. Had Jim Mora gotten the Miami head-coaching job (the Dolphins chose Cam Cameron), he likely would have promoted Garrett from quarterbacks coach in Miami to offensive coordinator.
Bowles, a safety for Joe Gibbs' Redskins in the late 1980s, was brought to Dallas by Parcells in 2005 and quickly became an organization favorite with his hard-nosed style of coaching. He spent five seasons coaching the secondary with the Jets and Browns before taking the same job in Dallas. Parcells is high on Bowles and believes he will be an NFL head coach some day.
But Jones is still in the fact-finding stage and not close to making a final decision. The Cowboys received permission to talk to San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and are expected to do so tomorrow. They likely will bring Turner in for an interview in the coming days.
One of the worries the Cowboys have about Garrett -- which Garrett has tried to assuage -- is that he's never been an NFL play-caller. Plus, he's been an NFL assistant for only two years. The reason the Turner-Garrett pairing would be attractive to Jones is that incumbent quarterback Tony Romo is still a work in progress. Jones wants him taught well. Aikman, who has Jones' ear more than any other former player, is thought to be pushing Turner's return to Dallas.
Dallas is the only NFL team without a head coach.
Early in the search process, Dallas made a few decisions that helped narrow its focus. Jones believes the team, which finished 9-7 before a wild-card playoff loss to Seattle on Jan. 6, has only a few missing pieces and is ready to challenge for the Super Bowl next season. So he has eliminated coaches with no NFL pedigree, like Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Arkansas' Houston Nutt, both of whom Jones likes. And he won't chase USC's Pete Carroll because Carroll would want control over personnel, and Jones is not willing to give that up.
Dallas still weighing several options for next coach
Posted: Thursday January 25, 2007 10:05AM; Updated: Thursday January 25, 2007 10:50AM
One of the scenarios Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may be considering in the wake of coach Bill Parcells' resignation on Monday is a three-man coaching team that would include a seasoned NFL coach, Troy Aikman's former tutor and backup, and an up-and-coming defensive mind that Parcells was nurturing for a rise up the NFL ladder.
Jones could make former Redskins and Raiders coach Norv Turner the head coach, with 40-year-old Jason Garrett the offensive coordinator and Todd Bowles, 43, the defensive coordinator.
Currently, Turner is San Francisco's offensive coordinator. But Turner, who became Jimmy Johnson's offensive coordinator in 1991 and coached Aikman early in his Dallas glory years, is not certain to be in the Dallas coaching mix.
Jones may toy with the idea of joining the NFL's coaching baby boom by naming Garrett head coach and building a staff around Garrett on offense and Bowles on defense.
Garrett is a Jones favorite who spent seven years backing up close friend Aikman with the Cowboys. He's on the coaching fast track. Had Jim Mora gotten the Miami head-coaching job (the Dolphins chose Cam Cameron), he likely would have promoted Garrett from quarterbacks coach in Miami to offensive coordinator.
Bowles, a safety for Joe Gibbs' Redskins in the late 1980s, was brought to Dallas by Parcells in 2005 and quickly became an organization favorite with his hard-nosed style of coaching. He spent five seasons coaching the secondary with the Jets and Browns before taking the same job in Dallas. Parcells is high on Bowles and believes he will be an NFL head coach some day.
But Jones is still in the fact-finding stage and not close to making a final decision. The Cowboys received permission to talk to San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and are expected to do so tomorrow. They likely will bring Turner in for an interview in the coming days.
One of the worries the Cowboys have about Garrett -- which Garrett has tried to assuage -- is that he's never been an NFL play-caller. Plus, he's been an NFL assistant for only two years. The reason the Turner-Garrett pairing would be attractive to Jones is that incumbent quarterback Tony Romo is still a work in progress. Jones wants him taught well. Aikman, who has Jones' ear more than any other former player, is thought to be pushing Turner's return to Dallas.
Dallas is the only NFL team without a head coach.
Early in the search process, Dallas made a few decisions that helped narrow its focus. Jones believes the team, which finished 9-7 before a wild-card playoff loss to Seattle on Jan. 6, has only a few missing pieces and is ready to challenge for the Super Bowl next season. So he has eliminated coaches with no NFL pedigree, like Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Arkansas' Houston Nutt, both of whom Jones likes. And he won't chase USC's Pete Carroll because Carroll would want control over personnel, and Jones is not willing to give that up.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:15 PM
<< Home