Jason Garrett aims to change the Dallas Cowboys' approach
Contrary to his predecessor Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys interim coach Jason Garrett doesn’t want to be considered a players’ coach. He’s got a definite approach he’d like to employ when it comes to his team, even if it isn’t the most popular.
A former NFL quarterback, Garrett was thrust into his current position after the Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, opted to relieve Phillips of his coaching duties on 8 November. In just his second week at the helm, Garrett is attempting to change the attitude and
atmosphere of a Dallas squad that started the season with high expectations, but has gone just 2-7.
“One of the things that you have to guard against is having too much sympathy for the players,” Garrett told the media this week, according to ESPNDallas.com. “It’s hard, and it’s going to be hard. It’s a long season, and we know that. The best players know
that. You’ve got to fight through some things.”
Still, Garrett, whose NFL playing career spanned 14 years, aims at improving as a team on a weekly basis. For him, that starts with taking the daily routine a little more seriously.
“Practices are supposed to be hard. The seasons are supposed to be hard. But if you work at it and you improve individually and as a group, you have a great chance of having success on Sunday.”
In his coaching debut against the New York Giants last weekend, Garrett helped reacquaint the Cowboys with the win column, as his team rolled to a 33-20 victory. And, although some of the players may not agree with his methods, such as practicing in full pads,
Garrett hopes to remain approachable.
“You always want to have a relationship with players,” he said. “You want to be able to communicate with players, and different players need to be communicated with differently. The best coaches I’ve been around have been able to do that. Sometimes you’ve got
to drive a guy more; sometimes you’ve got to pat a guy on the back a little bit more. It’s really kind of the nature of life more than anything else.”
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