The Giants have agreed to hire Jason Garrett as new head coach Joe Judge’s offensive coordinator, according to a report from ESPN’s Ed Werder.
Garrett, 53, was among the Giants’ candidates to replace head coach Pat Shurmur, prior to Judge’s hiring earlier this month. Because Judge’s background is as a special teams coach, Garrett now will be tasked with developing quarterback Daniel Jones, the sixth-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Given that Judge is a rookie head coach, adding a coordinator with Garrett’s head coaching experience and pedigree likely played a role in his hiring by the Giants.
Additionally, Garrett’s familiarity with the NFC East will be an asset, after he spent 10 years coaching against the division in Dallas.
For Garrett, having the chance to coordinate an offense built around Jones, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard along with tight end Evan Engram was a desirable opportunity. Should Jones quickly develop into a franchise quarterback and the Giants return to the postseason, Garrett will undoubtedly become a hot commodity during the next hiring cycle.
Likewise, if the Giants struggle and Judge winds up in over his head as a head coach, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Garrett is in the catbird seat as the head coach in waiting.
Here’s a look at three things to know about Garrett:
1) Nine years of head coaching experience
Garrett took over as the Dallas Cowboys’ interim coach after Wade Phillips’ firing in 2010 and was given the full-time position the following season. During Garrett’s tenure, which includes a Coach of The Year award in 2016, the Cowboys made three trips to the postseason. Garrett was just 2-3 in the playoffs, but has a career coaching record of 85–67 with a .559 winning percentage.
Jones won’t be the first young quarterback that Garrett groomed, as he oversaw the development of Dak Prescott, along with Joh Kitna, after Prescott was chosen in the fourth-round of the 2016 draft.
2) Hasn’t called plays since 2012
Much of the criticism of Garrett’s candidacy as a potential Giants head coach and following his interview for the offensive coordinator position stems from the inconsistency of the Cowboys’ offense in recent years, but Garrett hasn’t called the plays since 2012.
“It’s something that we’ve tried to do since I became the head coach," Garrett said at the time. "Coming from the coordinator position. They’re two full-time jobs, and in order to do each of them well, you have to focus on really every aspect of them. They’re only so many hours in the day, so since I became the head coach, I was always trying to delegate some of the responsibilities I had within the coordinator position and within some of the head coaching responsibilities that I had. So now I can be more focused on some of the head coaching stuff.
Obviously, given that Judge has a special teams background, Garrett will inherit playcalling duties with the Giants and in all likelihood be responsible for installing the team’s new offensive scheme.
3) This job is a homecoming for former QB
After spending seven seasons as Hall of Famer Troy Aikman’s backup, and winning two Super Bowl rings, Garrett signed with the Giants in 2000 and backed up Kerry Collins for three seasons before becoming a salary cap casualty in 2002, re-signing with the team and being declared inactive for all 16 games that season and 11 the next as the third-string quarterback.
Following his three-year tenure with the Giants, Garrett finished his playing career the following season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins before retiring following the 2004 campaign. .
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Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL