Jason Garrett is officially not coming back as Dallas Cowboys head coach, so where could he land next season?
After a week of meetings, speculation and interviews with other candidates, the Dallas Cowboys finally confirmed they are parting ways with Jason Garrett on Sunday night. It’s technically a decision to not give him a new contract, as he coached out this season as a lame duck, but it’s also an odd breakup.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Garrett would be in demand if he were available, and he would be a head coach somewhere in the league next season. Coming from the man who held Garrett’s status and theoretical availability in his hands, those words came off as almost comical.
But now, Garrett is available and Jones’ words will be put to a practical test. To this point only one head coaching vacancy has been filled, with the Redskins hiring Ron Rivera, as teams with other opening perhaps wait for candidates currently coaching to be available.
Garrett could get interview opportunities quickly, due to a lot of teams looking for coaches with NFL experience. That assumes he wants to coach next season, and wouldn’t want to sit out a year, reset and hit the coaching carousel as a candidate a year from now.
Under the assumption he will be coaching next season, here are five teams Jason Garrett could land a job with for next season.
5. Carolina Panthers – HC
The Panthers fired Rivera in December, to give themselves a head start on a coaching search. Mike McCarthy has reportedly interviewed twice, while Baylor head coach Matt Rhule will meet with them on Monday and Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald turned down an opportunity to interview.
The future of quarterback Cam Newton is up in the air right now, due to lingering health concerns and the Panthers able to part ways easily as he heads into the final year of his contract. So a new signal caller is almost surely coming, with a new head coach in line to have some input in the plan.
If owner David Tepper wants to reset more than rebuild, and it’s fair to assume just that, hiring an experienced head coach is a prerequisite. Garrett is now on the list of candidates around the league who have experience.