'I Am About Change': Jerry Jones Casts An Eye Toward the Cowboys Future

"The times,'' Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says, "call for change."

ARLINGTON - When Jason Garrett was a young third-string quarterback trying to catch on with the Dallas Cowboys, he was given some keen advice by his father, the late Jim Garrett, who happened to be on the Cowboys' scouting staff.

"Jason,'' father guided son, "stay close to Jerry.''

That "closeness'' has spanned four decades, through Garrett's time as a backup player, an assistant coach and for the last decade as the head coach laboring to fulfill owner Jerry Jones' dream that Jason be his "Tom Landry.''

But Landry is gone. And soon, Garrett will be, too. His "closeness'' to the Jones family - and his admittedly substantial contributions to Cowboys history - is not enough to save him  this time.

"I make changes, and I certainly can see myself making a lot of changes in a lot of areas,'' Jerry said following a 47-16 home win over Washington in Week 17 that proved empty because Philly won at New York to win the NFC East. "Just the times call for that. I am about change. I change a lot.”

There is nothing official yet, and there is only a slightly-greater-than-zero-percent chance that sentiment will seep into the Jones family's decision, but ... it's over. Half the Cowboys' roster becomes free agents this week. So do many staffers. And most notably - with a contract that apparently officially expires on Wednesday - so does Garrett.

"Yeah, I want to be the coach of the Dallas Cowboys,'' Garrett said after the bittersweet victory. "We'll see what happens.''

DALLAS Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett post-game comment about his future... pic.twitter.com/7Furw1fEyw

— Arnold Payne (@arnoldpayne) December 30, 2019

The decision is inevitable:  Jones will soon oversee a classy press conference at The Star that applauds Garrett for his contributions, and the hugs and the tears will be sincere. They will also aid Jason in landing his next NFL job, because while 8-8 this year and 85-67 overall and three playoff wins are "poor'' in Dallas, they could signal Garrett's abilities as a "builder'' elsewhere.

Would the Giants or Browns or Jaguars like to win three playoff games?

What was going to be Garrett's "ender''? A playoff loss would help his resume. But Dallas never even got that far. An early-season loss at the Jets still annoys Cowboys ownership. So do back-to-back late-season no-shows against the Bills and Bears. And last week in Philly with the chance to clinch the NFC East? All Dallas had to do was accept a gimme from a beleaguered Eagles team, but ...

"We certainly would've like to have had this (performance) in Philadelphia,'' Jones told CowboyMaven. "But these are the consequences. You ultimately have to pay the fiddler.''

Garrett will pay with his job The Jones family has already begun assembling a lengthy list of potential replacements. (Ignore those who think the list has already been sliced to "three'' or whatever. This needs to be an expansive and exhaustive search.) Some players will pay as well. But will Jerry Jones? He is correct in reminding Cowboys Nation of his devotion to the cause and has no intention of handing his GM duties and title to an experienced football person.

"I've got all the incentive in the world for the Cowboys to win,'' he said. "No one pushes as much (effort) out there than I do.''

Get more info about MUSCLEMX here!

Does he also have the incentive to oversee change in the way the Cowboys do their football business? Jones noted that he "doesn't want this train to leave the station without him on it. Meaning his stewardship of the business he runs will stay in place.

But the embracing of change, real change? Cowboys Nation will "stay as close to Jerry'' as Jason Garrett was once instructed to do, wishing, hoping, dreaming. It's been a quarter century, after all, since the Cowboys were last in the Super Bowl.