Former Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher called Tony Romo a bad leader and accused Jason Garrett of sabotaging Wade Phillips during a radio interview Tuesday.
Hatcher spent eight seasons with the Cowboys before finishing his career in Washington.
He never played with Dak Prescott but said the Cowboys current quarterback has better leadership skills than the quarterback he replaced. Prescott won the job when Romo was injured during the 2016 preseason, and Romo retired after that season.
“Romo didn’t have the it factor to make people around him better,” Hatcher said on 105.3 The Fan. “I think when I was there he thought he was bigger than the team. It was like Romo and then the team. Like nobody in the locker room is really going to respect you like that. I really don’t respect him as a player based on what he did to the team where a lot of people didn’t see.
“He was a great player and got all the numbers and stuff, but I’ll take Dak over Romo any day because Dak has the ability to make people around him better. You’ll run through a wall for Dak but Romo, hell no.”
Romo holds most of the team’s passing records but went only 2-4 in the postseason. Hatcher blames Romo for not doing enough to lead his teammates.
“Romo was feeling like he was a Brett Favre and I’m like ‘dude, you ain’t do nothing. What have you done? You got your own space that you leave [and] don’t come in the locker room an interact with your teammates, but you call yourself a leader?’ Nah, partner. It don’t work like that,’” Hatcher said. “He’s got great numbers, but he’s had so many opportunities. Like if I was a G.M., Romo do not have the ability to make people around him want to play for him.”
Hatcher, though, was only getting started. He also blamed Garrett, the team’s offensive coordinator from 2007 to the middle of the 2010 season, for sabotaging Phillips.
Garrett replaced Phillips as head coach in the middle of the 2010 season after a 1-7 start. The Cowboys finished 5-3, and the Cowboys named Garrett the full-time head coach.
“Let me tell you something. I’m going to tell you the truth. I saw Jason Garrett sabotage this man,” Hatcher said. “We ran three plays, three freaking plays [with Phillips as head coach].
“. . .When you know the truth and what’s going on, you’re like ‘why the hell are we running three plays on offense?’ And then, to know the truth after Wade get fired, you open up the playbook and we start scoring points?”