New Coach Not Garrett-eed

The Dallas Cowboys may have found their unlikely new head coach for 2011 and beyond. Spending the first half of the season floundering as the offensive coordinator whose play calls made fans shout in anguish and bewilderment, Jason Garrett's job seemed just as much in jeopardy as head coach Wade Phillips'. When the decision went ahead to fire Phillips, Garrett's promotion to head coach was seen as little more than a makeshift necessity with which to finish the season.

For most of the year, the 2010 Dallas Cowboys could do nothing right, on the field and off. Their season has already been deemed a failure beyond repair after reaching the halfway mark at 1-7. Despite their talent, the team's execution has been a train wreck, and their overall discipline and team chemistry has been even worse ... and that was before their stud quarterback was sidelined with a fractured collarbone thanks to the Giants defense in Week 7.

Part of the problem was that coach Wade Phillips was not the kind of man who can earn the respect of a locker room full of tough-as-nails padded gladiators. His x's and o's intelligence is not reinforced by an imposing presence, fiery demeanor, or even a relentless persistence at keeping players accountable. Wade Phillips is none of these things. Instead, he is short and soft-spoken. He is kind-hearted, compassionate, forgiving, and trusting. And despite his age, he seems just a bit naïve beyond his years. Indeed, Wade Phillips always reminded me of the character Butters from "South Park" if he was all grown up.

It is also possible that the players made a conscious effort to try to respect the head coach and get behind what he would say to them in the beginning. The Tony Romo-to-Terrell Owens Cowboys may have also been a team talented enough to win regardless of who coached them.

In Phillips first year in '07, they earned the top seed in the playoffs and continued to be competitive through '08 and '09, winning their first playoff game since 1996 last January. Now it was year four of Wade, perhaps the same old sayings and mantras and routines begin to wear thin on the players as they fell into their season-long slump. It is my belief that they stopped taking the man seriously and lost the desire to play hard for him.

So when Phillips finally did get the axe from owner Jerry Jones, leaving Garrett at the helm, he brought with him a more youthful energy, a bona-fide game-film diligence that established offensive coordinators have to have (and Garrett was considered to be one of the best offensive coordinators in football just three years ago, even if he was considered one of the worst at present), and a fresh desire to succeed and impress now that he finally had that head coaching job he had always wanted.

The problem was he was inheriting a demoralized 1-7 team on the road against the New York Giants, the recently crowned best team in the NFC after their 41-7 drubbing of Seattle.

And yet the team that doused the Giants with a cold dose of reality last Sunday evening at new Meadowlands Stadium was far better, played far smarter and far more disciplined than the hot mess they were in Week 7 on Monday night. The differences were so staggering that the Giants failed to make the proper adjustments all game.

The defensive back who intercepted Eli Manning on 3rd-and-goal at the 1 and returned the pick 101 yards the other way for a backbreaking score, Bryan McCann, had never had an NFL interception before. Sounds like someone had tweaked the goal line defensive package and placed McCann in a position to succeed against Eli.

Or how about the short, harmless-looking screen pass Jon Kitna threw to Felix Jones on the left side on 3rd-and-10 at the Cowboys own 29. Yeah, that one that somehow turned into a stunning 71-yard Cowboys touchdown when it was supposed to be a three-and-out. Maybe Garrett realized the Giants' left side was immensely vulnerable to just such a play. Having played the Giants prior to last week, this is all certainly feasible.

And suddenly backup quarterback Jon Kitna, of whom nothing was expected of, is now perfectly in sync with his star rookie receiver Dez Bryant, and is throwing deep balls right on the money for Bryant in the open field, something the first-string Romo could not do consistently.

It appears Garrett was pressing all the right buttons in a game the Cowboys would appear to have little incentive to win aside from the divisional rivalry with the Giants. They have virtually no chance to make the playoffs and thus save their season. So what finally did motivate this Cowboys team after half a season?

Right now, the Cowboys are playing for little other than coach Jason Garrett. If he can rally the troops and they start winning now, knock off heavily favored teams on the road and upset point spreads, owner Jerry Jones may just think twice about naming a head coaching successor during the 2011 offseason.

Next on Dallas' schedule is the Lions at home, which could and should be an easy victory if the team is able to build on this momentum. Following that, they play the Saints, Colts, and Eagles in succession. Daunting, yes. But two wins out of those three would open up eyes around the league, much like Cleveland did after beating the Saints and Patriots in back-to-back weeks. From there, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could be clear on their way to keeping Garrett for good.

And so the team that didn't want to win badly enough for themselves may just do so for their interim head coach.