Cowboys, Jason Garrett agree to new five-year deal

The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett have reached a new five-year contract, the team announced on Thursday.

The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett have agreed to a new five-year contract, the team announced on Thursday.

In addition, the Cowboys announced that play-caller Scott Linehan will become the team’s offensive coordinator and that Rod Marinelli will remain the team’s defensive coordinator. Both coordinators reportedly received three-year contracts.

Marinelli came to Dallas in 2013 as defensive line coach. The Cowboys finished 15th in scoring defense (22.0 points allowed per game) and 19th in total defense (355.1 yards allowed per game).

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The Cowboys hired Linehan as their play-caller in January 2014 to replace Bill Callahan. Dallas finished tied for fourth in scoring offense (29.2 points scored per game) and seventh in total offense (383.6 yards gained per game).

Callahan remained with the team offensive coordinator/offensive line coach but his contract expired after the season. He has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal to join the Washington Redskins’ as their offensive line coach.

Garrett led Dallas to a 12-4 season and an NFC East division title in his fourth full year as head coach. The team then defeated the Detroit Lions in the wild card round for its first playoff win in five years before falling in Green Bay.

“I like to think that we’re building something. There’s no question that you do start all over again,” Garrett said in a news release. “But whatever the makeup of our team is going to be when we reassemble in the spring is going to be different than it is right now. The 2014 Dallas Cowboys are a unique entity. But I’d like to think that when we get together we’re going to have these cornerstone pieces and we’re going to have these experiences that we’ve had together that we can build on and we can benefit from.”

The Cowboys had gone 8-8 in each of the previous three seasons under Garrett. The 48-year-old served as the team's offensive coordinator and assistant head coach before taking over as interim coach halfway through the 2010 season following the firing of Wade Phillips. He was named the team's official head coach in January 2011. 

A former NFL quarterback, Garrett played for Dallas from 1993-1999. 

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- Molly Geary