We live in a world where the sentiment toward Jason Garrett's job security fluctuates seemingly not game to game, but play to play. Part of this is the nature of the Dallas Cowboys head coach's job. Part is a social-media climate that leaves little room for reason, nuance or even time to evaluate said Cowboys coach's performance in any kind of meaningful depth in the moment.
All of it is tiresome, and just six weeks into a Cowboys season that's anything but lost, it's also pointless.
Garrett, 53, is "absolutely not" in danger of losing the job he has held for almost a decade, a source told ESPN's Ed Werder hours after the Cowboys lost to the Jets on Sunday. Nor should he be.
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As of Sunday evening, 89 percent of the 2,300 Twitter users who had voted in a poll presented by The Dallas Morning News — "What do you think, #CowboysNation, is it time for the #DallasCowboys to fire Jason Garrett after their loss to the Jets?" — selected "yes." Former Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens submitted his anti-Garrett appraisal with a focus on the coach's decision-making. Another ex-Dallas receiver, Dez Bryant, was more passive in a side swipe of his former coach.
This is a classic example of emotion nudging logic out of the way. The Cowboys and their supporters are rightfully frustrated after a third consecutive loss dropped the team's record to 3-3, especially since Sunday's defeat came at the hands of the previously winless Jets. Dallas has issues that need to be addressed, especially with Philadelphia coming to town for a Week 7 Sunday night game.
The emotional response would be to fire Garrett after a particularly troubling loss, repercussions be damned. The logical response would be to recognize that the Cowboys have problems — problems, plural, as in injuries and penalties, for example, not singular, as in the coach. And if they win next week's game, the Cowboys will re-establish themselves atop the NFC East standings and regain the inside track to winning the division for the third time in four seasons.
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That recent success is the bigger picture, which is often lost in the Garrett job security game. Among current NFL coaches, only seven have more career victories than Garrett's 82, playoffs included. Among coaches who have been in the NFL five years or longer, his win percentage of .558 ranks in the top 10, as well. Garrett's team is coming off a season in which it fell to 3-5 before storming back to win the division and beat the Seahawks in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Because the smaller picture seems more important to those who want Garrett fired, though, let's examine that. Dallas on Sunday lost a road game in which it was playing without its starting offensive tackles (Tyron Smith, La'el Collins) and a key receiver (Randall Cobb). Early in the game, No. 1 wideout Amari Cooper, whose impact on the Cowboys' offense has been well-documented, aggravated a quad injury and never returned. Starting cornerbacks Byron Jones and Anthony Brown were lost to hamstring injuries.
All of this while the home team welcomed back and enjoyed a boost from starting quarterback Sam Darnold following his battle with mononucleosis.
During the game, a Maliek Collins horse-collar penalty turned a Jets field goal into a touchdown. An offensive pass interference penalty on Cedric Wilson negated a Jason Witten touchdown. Kicker Brett Maher missed a 40-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter of a game the team lost by two points.
Considering the way the deck was stacked against the Cowboys, even against the lowly Jets, it's actually impressive that they were a two-point conversion away from sending the game into overtime.
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But that doesn't matter to the 90-ish percent of Twitter voters who agree with Owens in his belief that Garrett is the Cowboys' singular problem. Never mind that the coach has only one losing season on his resume. Never mind that his team displayed resilience in its recent losses. Never mind that, a week from Sunday night, the same people who want Garrett fired could be celebrating a victory that would boost Dallas' chances of repeating as NFC East champs.
Never mind that Jerry Jones himself continues to insist he is not considering a coaching change six games into a season in which his team remains a contender.
The flavor of this week, after this game, is the idea that Garrett needs to get the boot. Such is life for the coach of the Cowboys.
The good news for Garrett is a week lasts only seven days.