Those people also have no idea of who Garrett is, nor the respect he has for a man who had coached for 31 years. Jim would have taught him - advised him - better than that.
For those of you who want to dismiss my opinion, then I suggest you watch Garrett's Thursday afternoon press conference right here on DallasCowboys.com. All of it, from when he sat down and started off by saying, "How we doing guys?" to the very end when talking about Sean Payton, having no problem saying, "Sean's such a great resource, he's such a smart guy, a good friend and having gone through a similar situation, he helped me immensely.
"Good? Thanks."
Then you tell me after you listen, after you watch, sincerity or sinister.
For some reason, in the back of my mind, I always felt this is how this would end up. Tony Sparano, I had no doubt would end up in Miami. In fact, I have no doubt that wasn't part of Parcells' plan as he became the Dolphins' VP of football operations. I'm guessing had Parcells taken the same job in Atlanta then Sparano would have become the head coach there.
But with Garrett, this all was different. While he certainly has ambitions to become a head coach and no doubt will get other chances, he's a Dallas Cowboy, and heck, for that matter, was raised one somewhat since his dad actually worked for the Cowboys for four interrupted seasons back in the late 60's then mid-70's before scouting here from 1987 until he retired following the 2003 season.
There is some loyalty to one who has treated you so well, and Garrett recognized Jones for that during his near 30-minute press conference. Hey, he remembers how the Cowboys owner tried to persuade him into starting his coaching career back in 2000 before signing an unrestricted deal with the Giants, and he knows Jerry jumped through a few hoops last year to convince Miami's Wayne Huizenga to let him interview the Dolphins' quarterbacks coach who was under contract so Garrett could return here in the first place.
Plus, Garrett's only been at this coaching business three years. He's only 41. He's young. Time is on his side, desperation is no bedfellow.
And on top of that, and this might be hardest part for those who know nothing about Jason Garrett, money would not be the determining factor in his decision. Some would suggest there was no way he could pass up that kind of money, meaning making at least $3 million a year. Jason is not about the money. He's about the coaching. He's about becoming a head coach, and a successful one at that when he gets the chance.
Now I know, there will be those saying, but he was about the money, that he accepted Jones' pay raise. Sure he did, and to use one of his favorite words during all this, "that's part of the process." But that was not his overriding objective.
Who knows, maybe something just didn't feel right about the job in Baltimore. Same thing might have occurred in Atlanta, too. Remember, Payton went through the same process in Oakland while a Cowboys assistant, and when he said no to Al Davis and returned here to accept a significant pay raise, too, there were national writers insisting he had committed "professional suicide." How dare he?
How'd that decision turn out?
So do yourself a favor. Just take a listen. Then you decide.
"When Brill and I looked at each other," said Garrett, who did the same thing following his inspiring 1994 Thanksgiving Day performance against the Green Bay Packers when he included his wife in the postgame conversation, "and said, boy we have a great chance here in Dallas, we have a great feeling for this place, we have a great feeling for Dallas, we have a great feeling for the Cowboys organization. And a lot of it goes back to our history here but I think maybe this decision to stay here has a lot more to do with the Dallas Cowboys in 2007 and what the Dallas Cowboys can be in 2008 . . . .
"You realize you make decisions lots of different ways. You make them intellectually, you make them emotionally, you make them with your gut. There's a lot of different things that go into making important decisions in your life, and as I reflected back on the last three days, and I didn't know it at the time (pause for composure) I might
