IRVING, Texas (AP) -Jason Garrett treated his first loss as interim coach of the Dallas Cowboys only slightly differently than he did his two wins.
“When we won, it was, ‘These things are going to bite us,”’ quarterback Jon Kitna said. “When we lost, ‘These things bit us.”’
As a first-time head coach, Garrett will face various situations for the first time on a weekly basis, if not daily. The situation of responding to defeat was a big one – or, at least, could have been.
Bill Parcells, for instance, had a tendency to be tougher on the Cowboys after a win and easier after a loss, figuring they would beat themselves up enough over it.
Garrett, however, wasn’t too giddy after the wins. So he also wasn’t too grumpy after the loss.
“You try to take as much emotion out of the victory or the defeat as you can,” Garrett said. “You say, ‘OK, guys, this is what happened.’ Look at the tape. Let’s see what happened on this particular play or this sequence of plays or this series – whatever the case may be – and you just use it as a teaching tool.”
It also helped that he had three days to get over it.
The Cowboys lost to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday, falling behind by 17 points twice in the first half. They were ahead with less than 6 minutes left, fell behind again, then barely missed a potential tying field in the final half-minute.
The loss dropped Dallas to 3-8, guaranteeing a .500 finish at best. It also prevented Garrett from a 3-0 start that would’ve helped his case to persuade team owner Jerry Jones to remove the interim label over the offseason.
Receiver Roy Williams said Garrett doesn’t consider this season in two halves: 1-7 under Wade Phillips and 2-1 since he was promoted from offensive coordinator.
“He talks about the team – the team, the team, the team,” Williams said. “He’s not 2-1. He’s 3-8 like the rest of us. He’s 3-8 because he was the offensive coordinator. It’s not like he came in from outer space. He was here with us.”
Garrett’s half-season audition continues Sunday in Indianapolis.
“I don’t really think about the word ‘audition,”’ Garrett said. “I think about doing the job as best I can each and every day. That’s what we try to emphasize to our coaches and players.”
Garrett has his talking points down, primarily the notion of stacking good days until kickoff of the next game. His repetition might not liven up news conferences, but it has brought three solid weeks out of the Cowboys.
His consistent message also may bode well for the next challenge: getting his team to bounce back from a loss, especially one that all but guarantees they won’t be going to the playoffs.
“I think there’s always a tangible goal,” Garrett said. “For different people it’s probably different things. When you’re playing and coaching on a football team, you want to put your best foot forward all the time. You want to take great pride in what you do. Really, in anything you do – on the practice field, in the meeting room and certainly on game day. That’s what we try to do, and at the end of it hopefully you’ve become a better football team. If there’s some rewards at the end of the season, that’s fine, but we’re trying to put our best foot forward each and every day.”
Garrett also said running back Marion Barber has a strained calf and is day to day. If he can’t play Sunday, Felix Jones – who already has become the primary runner – likely would start and third-stringer Tashard Choice would move up in the rotation.
Tony Romo lofted passes during warmups before practice Monday, but Garrett said any decision about when he returns “will be based on the medical evidence that we have.”
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