The Dallas Cowboys officially informed head coach Jason Garrett on Sunday that he will not be back.
The long-expected news was reported by Fox’s Jay Glazer during the first half of the Seattle-Philadelphia wild-card playoff game, and it was confirmed by the team during the second half.
“We are extremely grateful to Jason Garrett for his more than 20 years of service to the Dallas Cowboys as a player, assistant coach and head coach,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones said in a statement. “His level of commitment, character and dedication to this organization has been outstanding at every stage of his career.”
ESPN reported Thursday night that Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones had decided not to bring Garrett back, after multiple meetings during the week. The team interviewed former NFL head coaches Mike McCarthy and Marvin Lewis on Saturday, according to multiple reports.
Garrett, whose contract officially expires Jan. 14, was not expected to return after failing to reach the playoffs despite a 3-0 start and a 6-3 record through nine games.
“His tenure of leadership will be characterized by his ability to produce teams that always played with great effort, emotion and passion, and he represented our organization with great pride, loyalty and respect,” Jones said in the statement.
Multiple outlets previously reported the Joneses would prefer to let Garrett’s contract run out rather than fire the coach, who had been on the Cowboys’ coaching staff since 2007 and spent seven years on their roster as a backup quarterback in the 1990s.
Garrett was named interim head coach eight games into the season in 2010, succeeding Wade Phillips, and took over on a permanent basis in 2011. He has an 85-67 career record as coach but is 2-3 in the playoffs.
