Pro Football
Cowboys Hire Garrett as Either Offensive Coordinator or Head Coach
Friday, January 26, 2007; Page E02
The Dallas Cowboys hired Jason Garrett yesterday. What's yet to be determined is whether he'll be the team's head coach or its offensive coordinator.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is leaving open the possibility of having Garrett serve as the head coach but first plans to interview other candidates for that job. If Jones picks another candidate as the head coach, Garrett would serve as the offensive coordinator.
Cowboys BasicsBengals Basics  The Indianapolis Colts overcome the rain and a sloppy start to beat the Chicago Bears, 29-17. The Colts' victory ignites a wild celebration among the white-and-blue attired fans in the sea of colorful vinyl rainwear that populated the soggy stands. Peyton Manning fills the final hole in his legend as the greatest quarterback never to win the biggest game. Leonard Shapiro: Tony Dungy and Manning seal their place in history by winning the Super Bowl. Manning adds a Super Bowl MVP award to his long list of achievements. Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes plow forward for the Colts go-ahead touchdown and never look back. There was a collective failure by the Bears' offense, but Rex Grossman provides the most vivid images. Notebook: Two assistant coaches who participated in the Super Bowl likely will interview for Dallas' head coaching job. On Our Site Wilbon and Kornheiser share their thoughts live during Sunday's big game. Photos: Relive all of the action from the NFL playoffs. Audio: Manning on the Win. Audio: Grossman on the Loss. Audio: Dungy Praises Smith. Quarterly Report (PDF) A Slew of Errors (PDF) Graphic: Play of the Game. MARK MASKE'S NFL INSIDER • Jaguars Tackle in Critical Condition • Lions Bolster Backfield With R. Johnson |
Garrett, a former Cowboys backup quarterback, had been the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach. The Dolphins granted Jones's request to interview Garrett only after Jones agreed to make a decision by yesterday about whether to hire him.
The Cowboys have received permission to interview two NFL defensive coordinators, the San Diego Chargers' Wade Phillips and the New Orleans Saints' Gary Gibbs, and San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Norv Turner for the head coaching job vacated when Bill Parcells announced his retirement Monday.
Phillips is the former head coach of the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. He also had stints as the interim head coach of the Saints and Atlanta Falcons, and he coaches the three-lineman, four-linebacker alignment Jones prefers. Gibbs was the Cowboys' linebackers coach before joining another former Dallas assistant, Saints Coach Sean Payton, in New Orleans this season. Turner is the former head coach of the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders. He was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator before being hired by the Redskins.
Todd Haley, the Cowboys' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator under Parcells, left to become the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals.
Bengals' Henry Sentenced
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry was sentenced to two days in jail for allowing minors to drink alcohol in his hotel room in April. Henry pleaded guilty to unlawful transaction with a minor, a misdemeanor. He has been arrested four times while with the Bengals and is one of nine Bengals players to have been arrested in the past 13 months. . . .
The Chicago Bears have put their contract talks with Coach Lovie Smith on hold until after the Super Bowl, but club officials say they intend to sign him to an extension. Smith is the NFL's lowest-paid coach this season with a salary of $1.35 million. He was the NFL's coach of the year last season, and now he and the Colts' Tony Dungy have become the first black coaches to lead teams to the Super Bowl. Smith's contract runs through next season, and the Bears' upper management has been criticized for not extending the deal sooner. . . .
The Jacksonville Jaguars hired former University of Alabama coach Mike Shula as their quarterbacks coach.
-- Mark Maske
