FRISCO, Texas — Jason Garrett is out as coach of the Dallas Cowboys after missing the playoffs with an underachieving team in a make-or-break season.
The Cowboys made it official Sunday.
Garrett had the second-longest tenure with the franchise at 9 1/2 seasons behind Tom Landry’s 29 years. Garrett took over when Wade Phillips was fired halfway through the 2010 season.
The Cowboys finished 8-8 in the final year of Garrett’s contract. It’s the fourth time Dallas finished 8-8 and missed the postseason under the 53-year-old coach. The Cowboys fueled high preseason expectations with a 3-0 start before dropping 8 of 12 and losing control of their playoff fate.
Owner/General Manager Jerry Jones decided Garrett isn’t the coach who can end the longest stretch in franchise history without a trip to the Super Bowl.
The inevitable conclusion was a difficult one for Jones, who kept Garrett for nine full seasons after giving the former backup to three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy Aikman the interim job when Phillips was fired halfway through the 2010 season.
Garrett’s record is 87-70, playoffs included.
Dallas hasn’t been past the divisional round of the playoffs in 24 straight seasons since the club’s fifth Super Bowl title to finish the 1995 season. Garrett got them within a victory of the NFC championship game three times in five years, losing to Green Bay twice and then the Los Angeles Rams last season.
When training camp opened, Jones didn’t want to talk about what it would take for Garrett to get another contract. It had been five years since Garrett was coaching for his job and the Cowboys went 12-4 and won a wild-card game before a loss at the Packers that included the infamous catch that wasn’t by Dez Bryant.
Jones had high hopes with quarterback Dak Prescott going into his fourth season along with star running back Ezekiel Elliott, who got a $90 million extension the morning of the first practice of the regular season after holding out the entire preseason.
With Dallas at 3-0, video emerged of Jones mingling with fans in the French Quarter the night before a game in New Orleans. Dallas lost 12-10 to start the first of two three-game losing streaks.
The Cowboys have never made the playoffs when losing at least three straight games twice in a season, although they had a chance to qualify with a win at Philadelphia in Week 16. Dallas lost 17-9, then was eliminated in Week 17 despite a blowout victory over Washington when the Eagles beat the New York Giants.
BROWNS: The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills losing in Saturday’s wild-card playoff games sent the Cleveland Browns on a detour during their head coaching search.
Now there is more flexibility for the timing of the Browns’ planned meetings with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Perhaps more importantly, both of the play callers are available for hire and can finalize a contract anytime. NFL rules stipulate a coach whose team is in the playoffs cannot complete a contract with another franchise until his club is finished with the postseason.
The Browns took a break from interviews Sunday and will resume them this week with McDaniels, Daboll and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski on the docket.
Daboll had been scheduled to meet with the Browns on Sunday in Buffalo, but exit interviews with Bills players emerged for him. The Buffalo News reported Daboll is scheduled to interview with the Browns on Monday.
McDaniels had been tentatively slated to interview Friday, but now a meeting with the Browns could be held as earlier as Monday.
The Browns kicked off their interviews on Thursday by meeting with Mike McCarthy at their headquarters. They traveled to Baltimore for an interview with Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Thursday night, then to Kansas City for an interview with Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Friday and to California for an interview with San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Saturday.
The Niners, Ravens and Chiefs had wild-card byes.
BEARS: The Chicago Bears hired Juan Castillo as offensive line coach, reuniting the 24-year NFL assistant with Coach Matt Nagy.
Castillo last worked as Buffalo’s offensive line coach and run game coordinator from 2017-18. He replaces Harry Hiestand, who was let go last week along with offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and two other assistants.
Castillo and Nagy were assistants together for five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Kyle Long announced he is retiring after seven seasons with the Chicago Bears.
The oft-injured Long tweeted he is “stepping away and getting my body right.” He thanked team matriarch Virginia McCaskey, former general manager Phil Emery, ex-Bears coach Marc Trestman, current GM Ryan Pace and the fans. And he wrote in response to a fan: “I was drafted a Bear and I decided to retire a Bear.”
The son of a Hall of Fame defensive end, Long made the Pro Bowl at right guard and tackle his first three seasons after Chicago drafted him with the No. 20 overall pick in 2013. But he played in just 30 games the past four years – four this season.