So now that all the speculation about whether or not Jason Garrett had done enough to remove the "interim" tag off of his coaching title and officially become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys is done with, we can start looking ahead to the real Garrett era. The biggest question on everyone's mind as it became clear that Garrett was the guy was "how much power would he have." We all know crazy Jerry and his narcissistic, megalomaniacal ways have clashed with both coaches and common sense ever since he bought the Cowboys. The last coach to have complete control was Jimmy Johnson...that turned out fine until Jerry's ego couldn't stand not getting the credit and he ran Jimmy out of town. Barry Switzer simply took over the best team in football...anyone could have coached that team to a Super Bowl. Ever since then, Jerry has been under the delusion that he can do this all by himself.
Hopefully this past season has doused some reality onto crazy Jerry and made him realize that he needs to loosen his grip on the wheel. He stated in the Garrett press conference that Jason would have complete control over who is on the coaching staff as well as players that are on the roster. This is exactly what Cowboys fans want to hear but does anyone believe Jerry for 1 second? I sure as hell don't. His ego was overheating at the thought. Not even halfway through the conference he was jumping over the table to grab the microphone from Jason Garrett to answer questions. Questions asked to Jason, not Jerry. We will have to wait and see if Jerry was telling the truth or blowing that smoke that he's gotten so good at puffing into his ears and out of his mouth.
I think there is some hope in the matter though. WR coach Ray Sherman will not be returning, which is a good sign. Not that he and Garrett have clashed but Sherman has always been the guy that our disgruntled receivers have sought consolation with when they weren't getting the ball on offense. (i.e. T.O., R. Williams, Dez Bryant). So now he's gone and that means that Garrett will get his own guy in that position. This offers a shred of hope that Jerry wasn't lying when he said Jason was in control. Only time (or perhaps the draft) will tell how long before Jerry needs to get his paws back on the power ball.
I think that every single personnel decision, both coaches and players, will give us clues as to how Garrett will be running the team and what kind of constraints he is under. In order for him to be a great coach, which he clearly has shown the potential to be, he will have to fend off Jerry's power grabs so that he can truly put his stamp on this team. Only time will tell.
