Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn't share his timetable for deciding on the fate of coach Jason Garrett following an 8-8 season that saw the team miss the playoffs, but it doesn't sound like that timeline will take long to come to light.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday on Good Morning Football that Garrett's failure to win the division and advance very deep into the playoffs means Dallas will almost certainly move on after 10 seasons. Rapoport noted that he hasn't spoken with a single person who believes Jones will keep Garrett.
After the owner decided not to extend Garrett this past offseason, the coach's contract is set to expire on Jan. 14, per Rapoport, but it's highly unlikely that Jones waits until then to officially move in a new direction and commence a coaching search.
Garrett noted Monday morning on 105.3 The Fan that he is scheduled to have a team meeting at noon CT local time and will meet with Jerry and Stephen Jones after that.
Garrett owns an 85-67 record in 10 seasons in Dallas. He took the Cowboys to the playoffs three times, each ending in the divisional round. The most damning characteristic of Garrett teams is that they've shrunk any time the expectations rose.
Entering the 2019 campaign with a trove of talent on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys came up small time and time again, falling on their faces in almost every big spot. Sunday's blowout win over the Redskins, which came on the heels of the dud in Philadelphia in Week 16 that cost the Cowboys the division, underscores the disappointing season.
With Jones not needing to "fire" Garrett, he can seamlessly move on to what will surely be the most high-profile coaching search in a long time in the NFL.
UPDATE: Per NFL Network's Jane Slater, Jason Garrett met with coaches and assistants and addressed those with expiring contracts. Garrett told them: "As you well know, you can look for work elsewhere" and this will be "sorted out in the next 24-48 hours."
Slater added at 4:50 p.m. ET that Garrett was meeting with the Joneses. At 5:41 p.m. ET, Slater reported that Garrett had left the meeting. Cowboys reporters were then told no announcements regarding Garrett's status would be made Monday night.
