Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett might have saved his job for now following Sunday’s blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Now set to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16 with an opportunity to clinch the NFC East, that has not stopped rumors from circulating suggesting that Garrett won’t be back next season.
Seemingly linked to every big name coach, a report over the weekend suggested that the Cowboys reached out to New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton last offseason.
A former assisant with the Cowboys, Payton has been linked to Dallas at nearly every turn over the past several years.
Cowboys president Stephen Jones is now here to throw cold water on that idea. In speaking to the media on Monday, Jones emphatically denied the Cowboys’ interest in Payton.
“That’s just untrue, Jones said. “Obviously we don’t comment on rumors like that. Obviously our focus right now is beating the Eagles. Certainly everyone knows what we think of Jason (Garrett). I do think we’ve been criticized to a fault for what we think of him. He just did a great job getting this team back on track yesterday and we’re focused on beating the Eagles.”
That might seem like a deadpan response from the younger Jones. However, it fits how the Cowboys’ brass has handled rumors of Garrett’s demise in Big D.
Prior to Sunday’s 44-21 victory over Los Angeles, the Cowboys were 0-6 on the season against teams that are over .500. They had also lost seven of 10 since a 3-0 start to the season.
No matter how the Cowboys might frame this, anything less than a deep run in the playoffs would likely lead to the team looking for a new head coach in January.
As of right now, Dallas would host the 11-3 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs.