Posted: January 17, 2008

Most NFL assistants go through their entire careers without getting even a sniff at a head coaching job. This week alone, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was courted by two teams that have vacancies at the top of their coaching staffs. And you know what he told them?

Thanks, but no thanks.

The Atlanta Falcons, who have been looking for a head coach since Bobby Petrino abruptly resigned with three weeks left in the season, met with Garrett for a second time. The Ravens, who fired Brian Billick after a disastrous 5-11 record, actually offered Garrett a contract.

Garrett listened to their overtures, considered his options -- and decided to stay in Dallas.

A lot of folks probably think Garrett is crazy for turning down those opportunities. I happen to think he's smart. After all, he has a degree in history at Princeton.

Staying on with the Cowboys makes a lot of sense for the 42-year-old Garrett.

Let's start with the money (doesn't everything begin with the money?).

Garrett may not get as much to stay in Dallas as he would have if he had taken a job in Baltimore or Atlanta, but you better believe he'll receive a big pay raise. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a big fan of Garrett's -- it's nice to have a rich, powerful man in your corner -- and you can bet he'll take care of Garrett.

Don't forget: Jones hired Garrett to be offensive coordinator last offseason -- before he hired Wade Phillips as his coach. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to figure out that Garrett likely will be Jones' choice to succeed Phillips when the time comes.

Now, let's look at the franchise situations. The Cowboys are a good team now that figures to get even better in the next two or three years. Yes, I know they haven't won a playoff game since 1996 and were bounced out of the postseason in their opening games each of the past two years. But they have a slew of playmakers, including quarterback Tony Romo, running back Marion Barber, wide receiver Terrell Owens, tight end Jason Witten, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and defensive end Greg Ellis. They carved out a 13-3 record during Phillips' first season as coach. And you could argue that they were the best team in the NFC during the regular season.

The Ravens have been on a gradual decline since they won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. They never could muster a potent offense under Billick, which is mystifying because he came to Baltimore with the reputation as an offensive guru. And now injuries and age are starting to infiltrate the defense that has carried the team on its back for so many years.

The Falcons have been on an even steeper slope since they lost the Super Bowl after the 1998 season. They have had three winning records in the eight years since then, and they are 8-8, 7-9 and 4-12 in the past three years.

Finally, let's look at the quarterback situations -- which can eventually make or break any head coach.

Dallas has Romo. I don't care if his star has been tarnished by the back-to-back early playoff exits. Romo is a player on the rise and he's only going to get better with Garrett coaching him. With the exception of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger -- and perhaps Carson Palmer -- there's no other QB I'd rather have to build my offense around for the long term.

The quarterback position in Baltimore has been a turnstile for years. In they come, out they go. Now they have a past-his-prime, injury-prone Steve McNair and a never-has-lived-up-to-his potential Kyle Boller. Neither looks like a reason the Ravens can get to the playoffs.

And you know about the Falcons' mess. Dog's worst enemy Michael Vick is out of Atlanta's picture -- probably forever -- and of the four quarterbacks who started games for the team this season none looks like he's the kind who'll keep defensive coordinators from sleeping at night.

Garrett was a Cowboys quarterback who backed up Troy Aikman from 1993 to 1999. Maybe he thinks he has some unfinished business in Dallas. Perhaps he believes he's not quite ready to be a head coach; he's only been an NFL assistant for three years, and a coordinator for one year. But I don't think it will be long before he's the head man on some team's sideline.

But for now, Garrett's best move was not moving at all. As they say in the beer commercial, "Brilliant!" And you don't have to be an Ivy Leaguer to figure that out. Dennis Dillon is a senior writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=338733

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9179707)

He'll make a good head coach in Big D in about 1 more yr. How many yrs does Phillips have left on his contract?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9179971)

After the season, Garrett was fired, and his sons John, Jason and Judd, who were enrolled at Columbia, transferred to Princeton.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180038)

He's the most highly sought-after new coaching prospect in a bunch of yrs.... probably since the Jets/Bellicek kerfuffle a few yrs ago.

You more than anyone should know that people's parents dont have a lot to do with how they turn out. Do you really not mind when people post about your daughter on here? Or are you just a dick who posted shit about Garrett (former NFL player who has had more success than you ever will) because you hate that other douche DMD?

If DMD bothers you so much that you talk shit about a great coordinator, you really need to reassess what role XO plays in your life. You're retired for Christ's sake and you spend your time online taking cheapshots at other insecure dudes. WTF, seriously...

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180070)

http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2008/01/03/mcdaniels_draws_interest/

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3179838

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180092)

What did McDaniel's genius get him? No pay raise and no promotion!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180157)

LOL. You slipped up!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180204)

http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=737544&mc=12&forum_id=1

http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=728714&mc=52&forum_id=1

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180300)

I have no idea what I will be next, but based on the progression, I expect to be at least a headmaster. I don't know why he keeps promoting me. LOL

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180318)

Also, why does he think you've been these people? Did you lead him to think that or do you assume he's just grasping at straws based on people on other forums (CC, etc) that have mocked him?

TYIA

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180327)

Princeton is the one school that gets under his skin because the following statement is essentially true:

THERE IS NOT A SINGLE NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE RANKING PUBLICATION OR NATIONAL COLLEGE GUIDE THAT PLACES HARVARD AHEAD OF PRINCETON! NOT A SINGLE ONE!!!!!!!

No other school can make that statement but Princeton. And that irks him to no end.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180334)

One more thought: You don't need to be so OCD in mocking NYCFan, there are plenty of us here who take jabs from time to time.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180338)

But I do not make things up like him. I am serious in that I am presenting him with truthful material and I am totally convinced Princeton is a far better undergrad institution than harvard.

What makes things easy for me, is having a superior product. It always puts him on the defensive. Princeton is as close to flawless as you will get with a college. The more I research Princeton the more obvious the fact.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180348)

from

http://www.wickedlocal.com/hingham/archive/x1649549917

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180349)

By Bill Alden / Town Topics

Re-run with permission of Town Topics

It was like old times for two Princeton University football greats, Jason and Judd Garrett.

The two brothers were in the bowels of Princeton’s football stadium two Saturdays ago, engrossed in a chalk talk as they prepared to hit the field.

Yet this day, the two Garretts, who won the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, emblematic of the Ivy League's top player, in back-to-back seasons in the 1980s (1988 for Jason and 1989 for Judd), were not heading out to the field to face one of their Ivy rivals.

Instead, the brothers were in town to help run a one-day football clinic on campus in conjunction with the National Football Foundation's Play It Smart program and Jason Garrett's Starfish Charities.

The Play It Smart program is designed to enhance the lives of inner city football players and the event at Princeton drew more than 200 kids from such schools as Shabazz in Newark, Asbury Park High, and New York City's Lincoln High.

In between putting the youngsters through drills on the Princeton football practice fields, the Garrett brothers couldn't help but reflect on their glory days in orange and black.

"It was a great time," said Jason Garrett, a prolific quarterback who gained 4,555 yards in total offense, the second highest total in the storied history of the Princeton program.

"Football was such a big part of it but other things were also a big part of it. It was such a unique experience to meet the people I did. Some of my best buddies in life come from my time at Princeton."

The deep family ties made Garrett's time at Princeton all the more special. "It's a big part of our lives," said Garrett, a 12-year NFL veteran whose wife, Brill, is also a Princeton alum and another brother, John, who also played football for the Tigers. "We've been so fortunate to be a part of it, it will be a part of our lives forever."

As younger brother Judd Garrett surveyed the practice fields, he was struck by some of the differences on campus.

"The first thing I noticed is that everything had changed," joked the curly-haired Garrett, who is second all-time in career rushing at Princeton with 3,109 yards.

"When I was here, those bushes circling the baseball field were little shrubs. It was a long time ago."

The passage of time, however, has sharpened the younger Garrett's appreciation of his Princeton career. "It was just a great experience," said Garrett, who is currently an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.

"I probably didn't appreciate how great an experience it was while I was doing it. You don’t really think about it as you’re going through it."

For both of the Garretts, their time at Princeton left them with lessons that transcended football. "You learn things academically," said Jason Garrett. "You learn things about life, you learn proper perspective. You’re challenged. That’s what life is, learning how to get things done."

Judd Garrett saw it much the same way. "The things you learned in class were important but what I take away from it in my job is time management," explained Garrett, whose wife Kathy is also a Princeton alum.

"Setting priorities on what needs to be done and what needs to go on the backburner; efficiency of thinking and all that. Those are the things that carry over in the rest of your life."

The Garretts will apply those lessons again in a few weeks as they head off to NFL training camps this month.

Judd Garrett sees his world as containing the same kind of challenges he faced in his pro playing career which saw him star in the World Football League and the Canadian Football League.

"It's a competitive thing, just like when I was a player,2 said Judd Garrett, who coaches the receivers for the Dolphins and doubles as the quality control coach handling film breakdown.

"There are a lot of guys who want to do it. It’s my eighth year doing it and I’m trying to hang in it as long as I can. The biggest thing I enjoy about it is working with the players, being old and still being in football."

Jason Garrett, who has quarterbacked for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, is facing a new challenge as he looks to extend his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I’ve been real fortunate to go down there and be around a coach like Jon Gruden," said the freckle-faced Garrett, who looks like a character out of Huck Finn.

"He's a great coach, I think they are doing some great things in that organization. It's great to get a chance to continue my career in that environment. My approach has always been to get myself ready to play, first and foremost."

With the lessons learned in their time at Princeton, the Garretts appear ready for more success in their football careers.

http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/article.asp?intID=3463

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180276)

*this is how it look to me as a neutral observer when I saw the Crimson article linked on here; looks like the kids were embarassed regarding your antics

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180384)

nice double chin you got there.

shouldnt you be asleep, old man?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180460)

I don't think he really dislikes H or Y -it's much more plausible that he is running a schtick that's supposed to be similar to you.

BTW - you should check this out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257360/ . This movie is basically your life.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180470)

"For years, a college admissions bulletin board called Autoadmit.com, which unofficially spun off from the Princeton Review website, has been plagued with a collection of colorful characters. Each seems present only to troll for a particular academic institution. The ringleader of the bunch, and the only one to have been around consistently since the beginning, goes under the handle NYCFan and has posted literally thousands of messages disparaging Yale and Princeton and defending Harvard’s excellence."

PS. As dumb as you may seem, clearly you recognize that damages may flow from outting an innocent person, either directly or indirectly (constructively). None of us want to see an innocent person harmed. As far as liability is concerned, that would be your problem. You may want to go back to characterizing me as a high school student.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=748841&forum_id=1#9180682)