Jason Garrett

Jason Garrett during a Cowboys game
Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-03-28) March 28, 1966 (age 46)
Place of birth	Abington, Pennsylvania
Career information
Position(s)	Head coach Quarterback
College	Princeton
High school	University School
Head coaching record
Regular season	13-11
Postseason	0-0
Career record	13-11
Super Bowl wins	(as player) XXVIII, XXX
Stats
Playing stats	NFL.com
Coaching stats	Pro Football Reference
Team(s) as a player
1989-1990 1991 1992 1993-1999 2000-2003 2004	New Orleans Saints San Antonio Riders (WLAF) Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Tampa Bay Buccaneers Miami Dolphins
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
2005-2006 2007 2008-2010 2010 2011-present	Miami Dolphins (Quarterbacks Coach) Dallas Cowboys (Offensive Coordinator) Dallas Cowboys (Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach) Dallas Cowboys (Offensive Coordinator/Interim Head Coach) Dallas Cowboys (Head Coach)

Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former National Football League player and the current head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Garrett was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Cowboys before being promoted to interim head coach after the Cowboys fired coach Wade Phillips on November 8, 2010 while remaining offensive coordinator.

High school career[link]

Garrett went to prep school at University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, as a senior, he won All-League honors as both a quarterback and safety. Jason Garrett graduated from University School in 1984.

Garrett attended grade school at Saint Ann's, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

College career[link]

Garrett originally played college football at Princeton University, but transferred to Columbia University when his father, Jim Garrett, became the head coach. Following his father's resignation as head coach after Columbia's 0-10 1985 season, Jason and his brothers, John and Judd, transferred back to Princeton. At Princeton in 1987 and 1988, Garrett completed 366 of 550 passes (66.5%) for 4,274 yards and 20 touchdowns and won the Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Player of the Year. In 1988 he piloted Princeton in a losing effort against his former team, snapping Columbia's 44-game losing streak.^[1] He earned a degree in history in 1989.^[2] He continues to hold the Ivy League career record for completion percentage with 66.5% (366–550) and his 1988 percentage of 68.2% (204–299) stood as the league record until 2000, when Gavin Hoffman posted a 70.5% mark.^[3]

Professional career[link]

He signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 1989 and 1990. In 1991 Garrett started at quarterback for the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football, but suffered a separated shoulder in the season opener. He'd return to play for the Riders later in the season, but was supplanted by Mike Johnson in the lineup. In 1992, Garrett played for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. In 1993, Garrett went to the Dallas Cowboys, where he was the third-string backup to Troy Aikman on the 1993 and 1995 Super Bowl winning teams. In eight seasons with the Cowboys, Garrett played in 39 games and completed 165 of 294 passes (56.1%) for 2,042 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. The highlight of his career with the Cowboys occurred on Thanksgiving Day, 1994, when Garrett, starting in place of injured back-up Rodney Peete, led the Cowboys over the Green Bay Packers by completing 15 of 26 passes for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns in a second-half comeback. In 2008, that game was named the fourth-best moment in the history of Texas Stadium by ESPN.^[4] Garrett was promoted to second string Cowboys quarterback for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Garrett started 5 games in 1998 while Aikman was injured (leading the team to a 3-2 record) and started two in 1999 (going 1-1). In 2000, he went to the New York Giants, where he appeared sparingly as the backup to Kerry Collins from 2000–2003. In 2004, after a short stint as a backup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he went to the Miami Dolphins.

Coaching career[link]

Miami Dolphins[link]

After retiring as a player, he became the quarterback coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2005–2006.

Dallas Cowboys[link]

In January 2007, Garrett was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as offensive coordinator. His influence made the Cowboys the 2nd best offense in the NFL making him an attractive head coaching prospect. His salary in the 2008 season was nearly $3 million and was the highest salary for an assistant coach in the NFL.^[5]

On November 8, 2010, he was named as the Dallas Cowboys' interim head coach following the firing of Wade Phillips after the Cowboys' 1-7 start for the 2010 season. On November 14, 2010, Garrett won his first game as a head coach, beating the favored New York Giants 33-20 in the Meadowlands.^[6] The next week, he led the Cowboys to a 35-19 victory over the Detroit Lions, their first home win all season. On January 6, 2011, Garrett was named the official Cowboys head coach; the 8th in Cowboys history.

Head Coaching Record[link]

Other coaching opportunities[link]

In January 2008, Garrett interviewed for the head coaching job of the Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons receiving offers from both, but ultimately opted to remain in Dallas.^[7][8]

On December 29, 2008 the Detroit Lions received permission to speak to Garrett regarding the teams head coaching vacancy according to ESPN sources.^[9] In January 2009, the Denver Broncos also interviewed him as a possible replacement for fired coach Mike Shanahan.^[10] He was also a finalist for the St. Louis Rams head coaching position, to replace Jim Haslett, the interim head coach.^[11] Ultimately, he lost the job to Steve Spagnuolo.

Personal life[link]

Jason's brothers, John and Judd, also played in the WLAF, and Judd made second-team All-World League in 1991 after leading the league in catches. John is currently tight-ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys, and his younger brother, Judd, works in the Dallas Cowboys front office after being let go as tight ends coach for the St. Louis Rams. Since he played for the London Monarchs, Judd is the only one of the Garretts who played in the WLAF to have a World Bowl ring. Another brother, Jim Garrett III, is an English teacher and former football coach at University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio.

His father, Jim Garrett, was an assistant coach for the New York Giants (1970–1973), New Orleans Saints (1976–77), and Cleveland Browns (1978–84); head coach of the Houston Texans of the fledgling WFL (1974); and head football coach at Columbia University (1985). From 1987-2004, he served as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys.

Garrett resides in Dallas with his wife, Brill.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography at dallascowboys.com
• Jason Garrett at ESPN.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2008)

Jerry Jones
Born	(1942-10-13) October 13, 1942 (age 69) Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Owner, Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Businessman, CEO and Entrepreneur
Net worth	$2 billion[1]

Jerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman, known for being the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.^[2]

Early life[link]

Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School. He attended college at the University of Arkansas where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He was also a co-captain of the 1964 National Championship football team. He was an all-Southwest Conference offensive lineman for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles and a teammate of Jimmy Johnson. Other notable teammates were Glen Ray Hines, a consensus All-American offensive tackle, Ken Hatfield, Jim Lindsey, and future Outland Trophy winner Loyd Phillips. Several future great head coaches were assistant coaches for Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks during his college career in Fayetteville including Hayden Fry, future legendary Head Coach at the University of Iowa, Johnny Majors, future Head Coach at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Tennessee, and most notably Barry Switzer, Hall of Fame coach of the University of Oklahoma. Jones is one of a very small number of NFL owners who actually earned a significant level of success as a football player (Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers being another).^[3]

When he graduated from college in 1965, he was hired as an executive vice president at Modern Security Life of Springfield, Missouri, his father's insurance company. He received his Masters degree in business in 1970. After several unsuccessful business ventures (including passing up the opportunity to purchase the American Football League's San Diego Chargers in 1967), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became phenomenally successful.^[4] His privately-held company currently does natural resource prospecting.

Dallas Cowboys[link]

On February 25, 1989, Jones purchased the Cowboys from H.R. "Bum" Bright for $140 million. Soon after the purchase, he fired long time coach Tom Landry, to that point the only coach in the team's history, in favor of his old teammate at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson. A few months later, he forced out longtime general manager Tex Schramm, and assumed complete control over football matters.^[5]

After the 1993 Super Bowl victory, reports began to surface in the media that Jones had made the statement that "any one of 500 coaches could have won those Super Bowls", given the type of talent that he (Jones) had drafted and signed for the team. Jones also stated to reporters at a late night cocktail party that he intended to replace Johnson with former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. The next morning, however, Jones famously denied those reports by stating that it "was the whiskey talking". Johnson was eventually forced out in 1994 and Switzer was hired to be the new head coach.

He is one of two NFL owners who also have the title or powers of general manager, the other being the Cincinnati Bengals' Mike Brown.^{[citation needed]}

Of all the owners in American professional sports, he is considered to be one of the most involved, on a day-to-day basis, with his team. He can be seen in his box at every Cowboys game and in many cases he ventures down to the Cowboys sideline (usually late in the game).^{[citation needed]}

Criticism[link]

In an online poll from October 8, 2003, Jones was named the least favorite sports personality by Sports Illustrated, in three states (Virginia, Delaware and Texas).^[6] He is often vilified by fans who remain bitter at Jones' unceremonious firing of fan-favorite Landry. Some of the fan criticism is due to Jones' high visibility and involvement as the "face of the team" which is in stark contrast to original owner Clint Murchison Jr.

Some Dallas Cowboy fans have expressed their displeasure with Jones and the lack of success in the franchise. This had led to formation of grassroots organizations aimed at displacing Jones from his position.^[7]

Jones is the subject of a book published September 1, 2008 titled Playing to Win by David Magee. In the book, Jones says he handled the firing of Tom Landry poorly and takes some blame for the disintegration of his relationship with Jimmy Johnson.

NFL fines[link]

Jones was fined $25,000 by the NFL for publicly criticizing referee Ed Hochuli after Hochuli made a controversial call in a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos on September 14, 2008. He made comments both to the press and on his radio show, saying Hochuli was one of the most criticized officials in the NFL. This was Jones' first fine by the NFL.^[8]

In 2009, Jones was fined for violating a gag order on labor issues. Commissioner Roger Goodell had issued a gag order for all owners and team executives from discussing any aspect of the pending labor issues. Jones "crossed the line", drawing a "six-figure" fine, sources said, as the commissioner distributed a memo to all 32 owners, along with a reminder that the gag order remains in effect. Goodell did not disclose the specific amount of Jones' fine in the memo.^[9]

Jones in popular culture[link]

Jones was the inspiration for the character Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), owner of the Dallas Felons, in the 1998 film BASEketball. He had a brief cameo appearance as himself in the 1998 made-for-television reunion movie Dallas: War of the Ewings. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the TV show "Coach" in 1996. He also appeared as himself in a 2007 television commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX, which also featured then Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo. Jones most recently starred in a commercial for Papa John's in which a stunt man performs a dance act. Jones also appeared in the seventh season of the HBO series Entourage as himself in 2010. Jones was mentioned in Will.i.am's recent hit track "The Hardest Ever", Jones was mentioned due to will.i.am referring to himself as an "owner" like Jones.

Personal life[link]

Jerry Jones is married to Gene Jones and they have three children: Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry, Jr. They also have nine grandchildren.

Stephen (born July 21, 1964) is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and serves as the Cowboys' chief operating officer/executive vice president/director of player personnel. Charlotte (born July 26, 1966) is a Stanford graduate and serves as the Cowboys' vice president/director of charities and special events. Jerry, Jr (born September 27, 1969) is a graduate of Georgetown University who earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University, is the Cowboys' chief sales and marketing officer/vice president.

References[link]

Jerry Jones Gives Jason Garrett The Dreaded Vote Of Confidence December 7, 2011, Deadspin

External links[link]

• Forbes topic page on Jerry Jones. Forbes. Accessed April 2010.