Jason Garrett Wowed by Rob Ryan: 'Thought We Hit It Off Well Right Away'

Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East

Jason Garrett has been in charge in Dallas for more than three months, but the coach has had the interim tag removed for only half that long so Thursday was his coming-out session with the national media.

As is his style, Garrett didn't say much, declining to speculate on the seemingly shaky futures of such underwhelming players as receiver Roy Williams or running back Marion Barber. And even though the setting was the Scouting Combine, Garrett didn't talk draft either. However, Garrett did loosen up when discussing his staff, especially much more carefree defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and assistant head coach Jimmy Robinson, whose primary duty will be to work with the receivers.

"Everybody had great things to say about (Rob) as a person and as a coach," Garrett said. "He's been around winners his whole life. He has a system that fits our players. We wanted to have a 3-4 guy ... and he was just a guy that was so impressive in his background and his presentation when he came to Valley Ranch. I thought we hit it off well right away and really had a nice visit.

"He came into my office and he had on a coat and tie and his hair was nicely combed. He looked good, but we started talking football and about three minutes into our conversation I'd never seen a guy who wanted to get out of a coat and tie more. So I said, 'Rob just take the thing off,' so he went boom and got rid of the tie, grabbed a pen and started going on the board. I was impressed by the effort. I was impressed by the coat and tie and I was equally as impressed of him getting rid of it and getting going and really being who he is. You want confident people. You want people to believe in themselves. You want people to believe in what they do, believe in each other, believe in the program and the organization."

Garrett was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator the last four seasons, but those duties will now be split between offensive line coach Hudson Houck (running game coordinator) and tight end coach John Garrett (passing game coordinator and the boss' brother).

"We felt it was important to give a couple of guys on our staff the titles that maybe encompass that one title of offensive coordinator," Garrett explained. "We'll function in probably a similar fashion as we'd done the last four years, but I'm going to have different responsibilities as head coach."

As for Robinson, who just helped Green Bay's receiving corps play a pivotal role in the Packers winning the Super Bowl, they became friends when he was coaching New York's receivers from 2000-03 and Garrett was the backup quarterback.

"I saw him up close and personal for four years," Garrett said. "He just coached really well. We maintained our friendship over the years. He obviously has done a great job up in Green Bay the last five years. You would be hard-pressed to say any receiving corps has played better than their guys from top to bottom. He's got (21) years in the NFL. He played (six years) in the NFL prior to that. He coached in college. He's seen it done a lot of different ways.

"He's someone I trust as a person and as a coach. Jimmy, like some other coaches on our staff, is someone I will come to and have a conversation with and say, 'Hey, what do you think of this? What do you think about changing practice this way? What do you think about this schedule?' He's someone I will definitely rely on."

Jon Kitna, Garrett's successor a decade removed as the Cowboys' backup quarterback, played well during the second half of 2010, but the coach is relying on Tony Romo, his Pro Bowl passer, being 100 percent in 2011 after missing the entire Garrett regime so far with a broken left collarbone.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/24/jason-garrett-wowed-by-rob-ryan/

John Skipper Mark Parker David Levy Barry Bonds Daniel Snyder