Jason Garrett Football Career Overview
Jason Garrett is a professional football coach and former quarterback who spent most of his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys. He served as interim head coach for the Cowboys starting in 2010 and was named the permanent head coach in 2011, a role he held until 2019. Garrett compiled an overall regular-season record of 85 wins and 67 losses as head coach, making him the winningest coach in Cowboys franchise history at the time of his departure. He later joined the New York Jets as offensive coordinator in 2020 and was named interim head coach for the final five games of the 2020 season. He is currently a senior football advisor and offensive consultant for the Cowboys organization, a role he has held since early 2021, and he remains a prominent figure in NFL coaching circles. His career path reflects a steady progression from player to coordinator to head coach within the league's most high-profile franchises.
Garrett played college football at Princeton University, where he set multiple Ivy League passing records and earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors in 1988. He went undrafted in the 1989 NFL Draft and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. He spent three seasons with the Giants as a backup quarterback before joining the Cowboys in 1992, where he served primarily as a backup and special teams contributor for eight seasons. During his playing career, Garrett appeared in 40 NFL games, completing 48 of 80 passes for 500 yards and 3 touchdowns. His transition from a backup quarterback to a top-level offensive mind is widely cited as a key factor in his coaching philosophy, which emphasizes precision timing routes and disciplined quarterback play.
Jason Garrett Coaching Record and Key Statistics
As head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett led the team to a 85-67 regular-season record, including five playoff appearances and one NFC East division title in 2014. His teams never advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs, with their best result coming in the 2014 and 2016 seasons when they reached the NFC Divisional Round. He coached the Cowboys to a 3-0 record in the 2014 preseason and a 12-4 regular season, the best record of his tenure. His offensive units consistently ranked in the top 10 in total yards per game, with the 2014 offense ranking third in the league with 386.9 yards per game. He was fired on December 30, 2019, after the Cowboys finished the 2019 season with a 8-8 record and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Garrett's tenure as Cowboys head coach coincided with the ownership structure of Jerry Jones, who serves as the controlling owner and general manager of the Cowboys. The Cowboys franchise is valued at approximately $10.1 billion as of the latest Forbes NFL valuations, making it the most valuable sports franchise in the world. Garrett's annual salary during his final seasons as head coach was reported to be in the range of $8 million to $9 million per year, according to public contract disclosures and sports business reports. His coaching philosophy, which blends West Coast offense principles with a heavy emphasis on quarterback development, has influenced a generation of NFL offensive coordinators and quarterbacks.
Jason Garrett Current Role and Influence in the NFL
Jason Garrett currently serves as a senior football advisor and offensive consultant for the Dallas Cowboys, a role that gives him ongoing input into game planning, quarterback development, and offensive scheme design without holding a formal coaching title on the sideline. He works closely with current Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, both of whom have publicly credited Garrett with shaping the team's offensive identity during his tenure