Cowboys make Garrett highest-paid assistant in NFL

[MapleLeaf]

From ESPN.com

IRVING, Texas -- After looking into two coaching jobs, Jason Garrett decided to remain offensive coordinator of the Cowboys after Dallas made him the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL.

The Cowboys promoted Garrett to assistant head coach and gave him a new contract that will pay him in the ballpark of $3 million per year, ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips' salary is also in the $3 million range. There is no word on whether the team plans to adjust Phillips' salary.

Garrett went through second interviews in Baltimore and Atlanta earlier this week, then returned to Dallas to meet with team owner Jerry Jones.

"This is huge because changing systems right now would have been really tough on Tony [Romo]," a source told ESPN's Ed Werder.

Jones, who hired Garrett last year before hiring Phillips, apparently convinced him his future was just as bright with the Cowboys, who are coming off a 13-3 regular season with eight of his offensive players going to the Pro Bowl.

The Cowboys did not immediately comment Thursday on Garrett's status, but the Ravens released a statement about it.

"We did negotiate with Jason Garrett to become our head coach. In the end, he decided to stay in Dallas," the Ravens said.

The Ravens are now turning their attention to Eagles secondary coach John Harbaugh, who is expected to get his second interview Thursday.

Although Jones can't formally promise Garrett he'll be the next coach of the Cowboys, that's been the going theory since he joined the club roughly this time last year. Speculation that Jones would push aside Phillips and promote Garrett rather than risk losing him to another club was so strong last week that Jones held a news conference in part to deny it. He denied it again Sunday, after Dallas' season-ending loss to the New York Giants.

Jones learned to value Garrett during the years he spent as a backup to Troy Aikman in the 1990s. His father, Jim Garrett, worked for the organization for many years. Jason's older brother, John, is his tight ends coach.

While the 41-year-old Garrett was considered a coach even when he was playing, he's actually only been in that role for three seasons -- two in Miami and last season in Dallas.

In his first year of building a game plan and calling plays, the Cowboys averaged the second-most points, third-most yards and fourth-most passing yards in the NFL. Romo shattered team passing records, Terrell Owens set various receiving records and Jason Witten had one of the most prolific seasons by a tight end in league history. Running back Marion Barber even made the Pro Bowl as a backup.

"Jason's great," Witten said recently. "People are always talking that he's a third-year coach and all that, but if you're around him for five minutes you understand what he is. He'll be an outstanding head coach when the opportunity comes. His knowledge and just his charisma and his attitude, he's a great listener, a great communicator. ... I think you can see how driven he is."

Between the talent on the Cowboys roster, the fact Phillips will be 61 next season and Garrett's long, strong relationship with Jones, his decision to remain a coordinator makes sense -- even if there are only 32 head coaching jobs.

In 2004, Jones convinced both his coordinators at the time, Sean Payton on offense and Mike Zimmer on defense, to bypass head coaching opportunities and stay with the Cowboys. Payton had been offered the Oakland Raiders' head coaching position and Zimmer the job at the University of Nebraska.

It is believed the Ravens formally offered Garrett their head coach job, at a salary of less than $3 million annually. Sources told ESPN.com's Matt Mosley that the Falcons' job was Garrett's if he wanted it. The Falcons have also been seriously considering former Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who met with club executives on Monday for a second time, and who is held in high regard.

Both the Falcons and Ravens lost a candidate on Wednesday when Indianapolis assistant head coach Jim Caldwell withdrew his name from consideration for the vacancies. The move, first reported by Mortensen, fueled immediate speculation that Caldwell removed himself because he is about to be named the successor to Tony Dungy.

But Dungy told Mortensen that he has not yet made a decision on his future and likely will not before the weekend. League sources said Caldwell's action was motivated more by the reality that he was probably not viewed as more than the No. 3 candidate by both Atlanta and Baltimore officials.

Atlanta has interviewed five other candidates for the position. If the team is still without a new coach by the weekend, and New York loses at Green Bay in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, the Falcons probably will seek permission to interview Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The Falcons made such a request earlier, but the Giants rebuffed it because of the team's status in the playoffs.

Even as he faced the specter of losing Garrett as his coordinator, Jones was attempting on Wednesday to retain several assistant coaches whose contracts are about to expire, and who are rumored to be candidates for staff positions in Miami, where Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano on Wednesday was hired as the Dolphins' new coach.

Jones has offered contract extensions to secondary coach Todd Bowles, linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni, and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.

 

[jarrod2323]

too funny that Garrett is highest paid with only 1 year under his belt.... Jerry Jones, WTH you thinking?

 

[CameronCrazy06]

He needs to keep this guy, Phillips is gone as early as next year. This has been their plan all along, they're grooming him into the HC position.

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

So is he making more than Phillips now?

 

[jarrod2323]

So is he making more than Phillips now?

no- just under what Phillips makes... still can't believe he makes more money then Caldwell or Gregg Williams.. totally ridiculous

 

[Yankees2772]

Jarrod, is Nate Clements the best defensive player in the NFL? Or even best CB? No, but he is the highest paid defensive player. why? His contract expired at just the right time, and he was needed badly. The need for Garrett was high, so for him to stay, he needed a lot. Is he the best OC? Of course not. But he is the best one on the market and the best HC candidate right now, so at the time of the situation, he does deserve to be the highest paid.