Sources: Ravens make offer Garrett to be head coach
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:27 pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3197523
Updated: January 15, 2008, 2:16 PM ET
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been offered the Baltimore Ravens coaching position, sources told ESPN.
Garrett has not made a decision yet. But according to a league source, there is a "60-40'' chance that Garrett will ultimately accept the chance to succeed Brian Billick, who was fired after the regular season.
Garrett, who arrived at the Ravens' training complex for the second interview on Tuesday morning, was the first candidate to have call-back sessions with the Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.
According to a Cowboys source, Dallas owner Jerry Jones has communicated to Garrett without knowing exactly what the Ravens' financial offer might be that he would match it if Garrett rejects the Ravens' offer.
Jones has said he would compete for Garrett, not only because he has helped transform Tony Romo into one of the league's best young quarterbacks, but because the Cowboys owner views Garrett as potentially being his next head coach.
"There's a feeling that if Jason talks to Jerry last, Jerry can convince him to stay,'' the source said. "Jerry can be a very persuasive guy.''
But if Garrett believes he is ready to be an NFL head coach and convinced that the Ravens offer the right opportunity, there ultimately might be nothing Jones can do. Garrett left Dallas for his second meeting with the Ravens on Monday and remained in Baltimore for a second consecutive day.
Garrett, 41, is a veteran of three seasons as an NFL assistant. He was hired by the Cowboys as offensive coordinator in 2007, after two seasons on the Miami Dolphins' staff. In 2007, he presided over a unit that statistically ranked No. 3 in the league, but struggled in the final month of the year and in Sunday's playoff loss.
A former Princeton quarterback, Garrett played 12 seasons in the NFL as a backup, serving stints with Dallas (1993-99), the Giants (2000-03), Tampa Bay (2004), and Miami (2004). He also played in the World League (1991) and in the CFL (1991).
Before the Cowboys' playoff loss to the New York Giants, Jones said he was prepared to work hard to retain Garrett. "I respect his abilities as a coach. I'm impressed with the success of his guidance relative to our offense," he said. "When you say I went to great lengths to get him, I did, but I didn't give up the Cowboys to get him. Everything is relative.
"What to do to keep him? I'd work hard, but there are some things I can't control."
Jones must also deliberate whether the league's second-highest scoring offense can lose both Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano, who is believed to be the frontrunner to rejoin Bill Parcells as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Garrett has ties with the Ravens. His father, Jim, was a Cleveland Browns assistant who coached Pat Moriarty, a running back who is now the Ravens' vice president of football administration. Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' general manager, was the tight end on that same Cleveland team.
Jones continues to indicate the he will not fire Wade Phillips after one season to keep Garrett in Dallas. But Jones has such high regard for Garrett that he hired him before he appointed Wade Phillips the head coach when Bill Parcells retired from coaching.
In fact, Garrett interviewed so well at this time last year that Jones nearly hired him instead of Phillips but ultimately decided to hire him as an assistant and place him first on the list of potential successors.
In their discussions, Jones has reminded Garrett -- Troy Aikman's backup on three Super Bowl-championship Cowboys teams -- of the unique history of the franchise, pledged to remain one of the most aggressive owners in terms of signing free-agent players and told him the Cowboys will have even more financial advantages when they move into their new Arlington stadium in 2009.
Ed Werder covers the NFL for ESPN.
Updated: January 15, 2008, 2:16 PM ET
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been offered the Baltimore Ravens coaching position, sources told ESPN.
Garrett has not made a decision yet. But according to a league source, there is a "60-40'' chance that Garrett will ultimately accept the chance to succeed Brian Billick, who was fired after the regular season.
Garrett, who arrived at the Ravens' training complex for the second interview on Tuesday morning, was the first candidate to have call-back sessions with the Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.
According to a Cowboys source, Dallas owner Jerry Jones has communicated to Garrett without knowing exactly what the Ravens' financial offer might be that he would match it if Garrett rejects the Ravens' offer.
Jones has said he would compete for Garrett, not only because he has helped transform Tony Romo into one of the league's best young quarterbacks, but because the Cowboys owner views Garrett as potentially being his next head coach.
"There's a feeling that if Jason talks to Jerry last, Jerry can convince him to stay,'' the source said. "Jerry can be a very persuasive guy.''
But if Garrett believes he is ready to be an NFL head coach and convinced that the Ravens offer the right opportunity, there ultimately might be nothing Jones can do. Garrett left Dallas for his second meeting with the Ravens on Monday and remained in Baltimore for a second consecutive day.
Garrett, 41, is a veteran of three seasons as an NFL assistant. He was hired by the Cowboys as offensive coordinator in 2007, after two seasons on the Miami Dolphins' staff. In 2007, he presided over a unit that statistically ranked No. 3 in the league, but struggled in the final month of the year and in Sunday's playoff loss.
A former Princeton quarterback, Garrett played 12 seasons in the NFL as a backup, serving stints with Dallas (1993-99), the Giants (2000-03), Tampa Bay (2004), and Miami (2004). He also played in the World League (1991) and in the CFL (1991).
Before the Cowboys' playoff loss to the New York Giants, Jones said he was prepared to work hard to retain Garrett. "I respect his abilities as a coach. I'm impressed with the success of his guidance relative to our offense," he said. "When you say I went to great lengths to get him, I did, but I didn't give up the Cowboys to get him. Everything is relative.
"What to do to keep him? I'd work hard, but there are some things I can't control."
Jones must also deliberate whether the league's second-highest scoring offense can lose both Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano, who is believed to be the frontrunner to rejoin Bill Parcells as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Garrett has ties with the Ravens. His father, Jim, was a Cleveland Browns assistant who coached Pat Moriarty, a running back who is now the Ravens' vice president of football administration. Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' general manager, was the tight end on that same Cleveland team.
Jones continues to indicate the he will not fire Wade Phillips after one season to keep Garrett in Dallas. But Jones has such high regard for Garrett that he hired him before he appointed Wade Phillips the head coach when Bill Parcells retired from coaching.
In fact, Garrett interviewed so well at this time last year that Jones nearly hired him instead of Phillips but ultimately decided to hire him as an assistant and place him first on the list of potential successors.
In their discussions, Jones has reminded Garrett -- Troy Aikman's backup on three Super Bowl-championship Cowboys teams -- of the unique history of the franchise, pledged to remain one of the most aggressive owners in terms of signing free-agent players and told him the Cowboys will have even more financial advantages when they move into their new Arlington stadium in 2009.
Ed Werder covers the NFL for ESPN.
- why would he turn down a HC job if he didn't think he had a good chance at taking over from Phillips in another year or two 