At this time last year, there was much hand wringing about the role of head coach Jason Garrett in the offense and it continued until Bill Callahan was installed as offensive coordinator and play caller.
All of that appears to have been much ado about nothing. Owner Jerry Jones said Sunday that Garrett actually was the offensive coordinator for the team last season and even called plays despite the shift in responsibilities. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Jones acknowledged that was a problem for Callahan.
The Cowboys have a new offensive play caller in Scott Linehan and Jones said that there won’t be a repeat this season. He says Linehan will have final word on the offense and that quarterback Tony Romo will have more say while Garrett spends more of his time with the defense this season. The Cowboys shuffled the staff on that side of the ball as well, moving Rod Marinelli into the defensive coordinator post and shifting Monte Kiffin to an assistant head coach title.
In a nod to the 25th anniversary of his purchase of the team, Jones said that he would have waited a year to replace Tom Landry with Jimmy Johnson if he had it to do over again. That regret hasn’t led Jones to resist constant tweaks and adjustments to his coaching staff, although none of them have had anywhere close to the positive impact that hiring Johnson had on the organization.