The Dallas Cowboys finished strongly both straight up and against the odds at the bookmaker this past NFL season under interim coach Jason Garrett.
The interim tag was removed on Thursday as Garrett was named the head coach for next season. Dallas went 5-3 straight up and 6-2 against the odds at the online bookmaker after Garrett took over for the fired Wade Phillips.
Eighth Coach in Cowboys History
The Cowboys will be going with their eighth head coach in franchise history. Garrett was the Dallas backup quarterback from 1993-99 and becomes the first former Cowboy to become their head coach. Garrett became the interim coach after Phillips was fired after the Cowboys started 1-7. Under Garrett, the Cowboys played much better and online bookmaker numbers at SBG indicate that they went 5-3 to end the season. Dallas players were happy that Garrett got the head coaching job. All four of the Dallas captains, Bradie James, Keith Brooking, DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten came out in support of Garrett.
Garrett had been the Dallas offensive coordinator for the past four years and it was thought he would be the next coach for the Cowboys after Phillips. The Cowboys have been pretty good offensively with Garrett as coordinator and he was a highly sought after by other teams. Garrett turned down the Ravens head coaching job a few years ago and that decision worked out for both teams as the Cowboys kept Garrett while the Ravens got John Harbaugh.
Dallas Offense
This year the Cowboys finished 7th in the league in total yards and in total points per game under Garrett. And Dallas did it even though starting quarterback Tony Romo missed most of the season. Bookmaker stats indicate that Dallas scored at least 26 points in seven of the eight games with Garrett as head coach. Garrett has said that he will continue as offensive coordinator next season in addition to being the head coach. Dallas will have Romo back healthy next season and they have some very talented players on offense including running back Felix Jones and wide receivers Roy Williams and Dez Bryant. The problem for Dallas was on defense as they were next to last in the league in points allowed. Garrett will have to find a good defensive coordinator if he expects to turn the Cowboys into Super Bowl contenders.