The New Coach Cometh?

    The 2012 edition of the Dallas Cowboys are the epitome of puzzlement. Before the season began there was talk of a possible Super Bowl appearance for this team (not from me).  I figured an 8 win/8 loss season was the best they could ask for in 2012. Now as they pause in mid-season after another loss to run their record to 3 wins and 5 losses, and third place in the NFC Eastern Conference, a new problem arises.
    Head Coach Jason Garrett, a man that can see the positive side of any problem the size of Hurricane Katrina, has another worry at night. No it is not the shenanigans of wide receiver Dez Bryant, nor the injuries to prized running back DeMarco Murray, nor the inability of left tackle Tyrone Smith to keep defenders off of quarterback Tony Romo.
   Sunday the National Football League voided the contract binding Head Coach Sean Payton to the New Orleans Saints.  At the end of the current season he will become a free agent and can sign with any team he wishes. To the uninformed this may look like just a footnote, but in Dallas it has a non-ending echoing effect. Payton was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the Cowboys before departing in 2006 to take on the job in the French Quarter.  He did such an outstanding job the Saints won 62 games in six years and hoisted the Super Bowl Championship trophy in 2010. Payton has just recently built a million dollar home in Dallas and has strong ties with the front office in Dallas. It was Payton who tutored rookie quarterback Tony Romo when he first came to Dallas as a free agent, and it was Payton who designed the offensive game plans for Dallas under then Head Coach Bill Parcels.
   Garrett took over as Head Coach of the Cowboys midway through the 2010 season when team owner Jerry Jones dismissed Wade Phillips. Since then Garrett's Cowboys have won 16 games.. and lost 16 games. He insists on calling the plays for the Cowboys and shows no imagination from the sidelines. If Jerry Jones is serious about the 'window of opportunity' closing on the current edition of the Cowboys, maybe it is time for a change in the Head Coaching position. Of course there would be some changes at Valley Ranch. Where Garrett is lax and easy going with the players, Payton would return them to a more disciplined organization (he was an assistant to Bill Parcels, the original task master).

   The Cowboys have eight games remaining this season. Two with the Washington Redskins, two with the Philadelphia Eagles, and one game meetings with Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. Somehow I don't see my 8-8 prediction coming to fruition.  There is an old rule in the game of tennis. If what you are doing is winning the game, don't change what you are doing,...BUT if what you are doing is losing the game, then CHANGE what you are doing. Are you listening Jerry Jones?