Report: Jason Garrett needs to ‘make playoffs and beyond’ to keep Cowboys job

Jerry Jones seemingly made it clear on Sunday that all the talk about Jason Garrett being on the hot seat is true, and it sounds like the Dallas Cowboys head coach will need to do more than just close out the regular season strong in order to keep his job.

Garrett is in the final year of his contract, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said Monday that the coach “certainly needs to make the playoffs and beyond” if he wants an extension from the Cowboys after the season.

From @GMFB: The #Cowboys loss yesterday put the focus on coach Jason Garrett, with owner Jerry Jones providing the spotlight. pic.twitter.com/XKn5BHSJLZ

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2019

That would suggest that simply reaching the postseason would not be enough for Garrett to assure he is brought back in 2020. Troy Aikman suggested over a month ago that Garrett needs to take the Cowboys at least to the NFC Championship Game in order to keep his job, so perhaps that is how Jones views things.

The Cowboys feel they have the right roster in place to contend for a title, and Jones alluded to poor coaching with some remarks he made after Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots. Dallas spent huge money on an extension for Ezekiel Elliott and believes Dak Prescott is a franchise quarterback, so Jones is obviously upset with the underachieving.

Despite all that, the Cowboys remain in first place in the NFC East with a record of 6-5. Losing to the Patriots probably didn’t irritate Jones as much as some of the egregious coaching blunders late in the game. A few more of those and Garrett will likely be looking for a new job after the season, though he may already have his eye on one.