The NY Giants officially hired Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator on Friday night. The move should pay massive dividends for the team.
I know, I know – every time you hear Jason Garrett’s name – especially as a NY Giants fan – your first reaction is to chuckle, and not take him very seriously. However, dismissing him and not understanding that he is extremely qualified to be an offensive coordinator and develop a young quarterback is the wrong take.
During his 12 year run in Dallas as offensive coordinator and head coach, Jason Garrett amassed some amazing results on the offensive side of the ball and oversaw some of the best quarterback play in all of football. Cumulatively, his quarterbacks performed to the tune of a 97 quarterback rating and a 67 QBR — both elite numbers.
Did the team massively underachieve based on the talent on the roster? Sure. But again, we are discussing him in terms of an offensive coordinator role. Garrett got into coaching in 2005 (one year after retiring as a player) as the Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach, and within two years he was one of the hottest commodities on the coaching market.
His head coach in Miami – just some guy named Nick Saban – had some high praise when discussing Garrett and their time together with the Dolphins.
“If I made one mistake as a pro coach, it was after one year, he should have been made the offensive coordinator. He was that good, that smart, the players responded to him that well.”
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) January 18, 2020
-Nick Saban on Jason Garrett pic.twitter.com/pPxnID0iiN
That’s some serious approval from a guy that typically doesn’t let too much slip in the media. After Saban flamed out in Miami, Garrett moved on to Dallas as OC and led some of the best offensive units in all of football. Were those units very talented? Sure. But he was able to get them into the top three in total offense 2/3 of his full seasons – how much better could he (or anyone else) have done?
Garrett will bring his modified ‘Air Coryell’ offensive system to the NY Giants which figures to work well with Daniel Jones, as the offense takes advantage of vertical routes downfield – something Jones excelled at as a rookie.
‘Captain Clap’ also brings an intimate knowledge of the Cowboys and the NFC East with him to New York, which can only be considered a positive. I went over three main reasons hiring Garrett would be a terrific idea, and I’m thrilled to see that most NY Giants fans have warmed up to the idea and realize this hire was a huge get.
The bottom line is, Garrett was more qualified than basically anyone else on the market, and bringing him in gives Daniel Jones a high chance of further developing into the star we all think he can be.