You may not remember, but when Steve Bisciotti fired Brian Billick in 2008, he really only had one candidate in mind to replace him as the Baltimore Ravens head coach. Cowboys offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett.
Garrett turned down the head coaching gig, arguably the best vacancy available, to remain a highly paid offensive coordinator. In a recent interview with Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, Garrett says he doesn’t regret his decision.
Jason Garrett was interested in becoming the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens in 2008. He interviewed for the job and was Baltimore’s top choice. But Garrett said Wednesday that he and his wife decided that Dallas was the right place for them and they have no regrets.
“We certainly have no regrets, and I’m sure the Ravens don’t have any regrets either,” Garrett said during a conference call with Baltimore media members. “They’ve done a great job. Since that time, John Harbaugh has done a fantastic job with that team. They are one of the elite franchises in the league.”
Machota points out that the Ravens have gone 48-21 and appeared in nine playoff games and two AFC Championships since Garrett shot them down. His Cowboys have gone 36-32 (15-13 with Garrett as head coach) and have only played in two postseason games.
Of course, neither franchise has been to the Super Bowl, let alone won it. It’s easy to say that the Ravens were fortunate in their backup plan, John Harbaugh, given the comparisons of both franchises — but who knows how things would have turned out with Garrett in purple?
I certainly think that the Ravens had a stronger core group than the Cowboys, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee success.
I suppose it all comes down to your definition of success though. Given their talent, a playoff appearance or even a few wins in the postseason really don’t mean much to me. Winning the Super Bowl does though.
