SPORTSDAY

So much for the Tuna's raid of Valley Ranch giving Wade Phillips an opportunity to hire "his guys."

If Jerry guy Dave Campo and Dom Capers round out the Cowboys' coaching staff, Phillips will have exactly zero experience working with any of the defensive position coaches. But the Cowboys will be set up awfully well for the eventual transition into the Jason Garrett era.

Garrett reportedly wanted Capers to be his defensive coordinator if he became the head coach in Baltimore. Jerry is on the record saying WR coach Ray Sherman is a "future coordinator" who "knows this system inside and out." So, if Capers comes on board, Garrett's coordinators will already be in the building. And it's not too tough to envision Campo becoming the assistant head coach.

Unfortunately, all those guys taking shots at Jason Garrett in the Baltimore papers didn't ask the Ravens brass a single question about him during today's exhaustive press conference to usher John Harbaugh in as head coach.

Just got done watching it, and here's the closest thing to a Garrett reference that came out of it.

"As far as being perceived as the second choice or the first choice, that’s irrelevant to me," Harbaugh said. "I never thought about in those terms, and I never would."

If Timmy Tabloid can sensationalize that one, I think he deserves some kind of medal.

Apparently, Timmy Tabloid's favorite Maryland-based columnist, Mike Preston, has the day off. But his Baltimore Sun colleague, David Steele, has been handed Preston's sword as the Chesapeake Crusade against Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett continues.

Hide the women and children, folks. The premise of Steele's column is that the Ravens may well have caught a break in being turned down by Garrett, and he's not shy in sharing his reasons why:

How much better a candidate John Harbaugh might be is not clear. He might not be any better at all, actually, because his track record, his path to one of the only 32 jobs like it on the planet, is nearly as sketchy as Garrett's is.

But the Ravens caught a break when Garrett maneuvered himself right into the position he coveted most - one with a head coach's salary, profile and visibility with none of the responsibility. A lot has been said, in the nearly three weeks since the Ravens began looking to replace Brian Billick, about what the Ravens don't need. A coach as manipulative and self-serving as Garrett proved himself to be should have been at the top of that list.

Ouch. We're trying to track down a broadcast of Harbaugh's press conference, scheduled for right now, so we can see if any more shots, veiled or otherwise, are levied at Garrett. We'll pass those along as they come.

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston is banging the drum for the Ravens to hire Marty Schottenheimer. He makes a lot of good points about Schottenheimer's fit in Baltimore but can't resist landing a few more jabs at Garrett.

Newsome has a great football mind, and I can't see him ever picking Garrett over Schottenheimer.

Garrett has been in the league only three years as an assistant, just one of those as a coordinator. He is more of a myth created by Dallas owner Jerry Jones than a proven substance.

Along with the new title of assistant head coach, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett got a hefty raise to a salary of more than $3 million a year. And since that brushes up against what Wade Phillips brings in each year, some might think there's an awkward situation brewing.

But Phillips doesn't look at it like that.

"If you know me, you know it doesn’t bother me at all," Phillips said. "Matter of fact, I’m always happy for coaches that get a raise. I want all my assistant coaches to make all they can."

And he doesn't feel like there's any need to look over his shoulder, either.

"Pressure on me? No," he said. "As long as we got that continuity, and that’s what we look for, it’s great. We got Jason back, which helps me."

That's superstar columnist Kevin Sherrington's advice after Jerry made Jason Garrett the highest-paid assistant coach in the history of the world.

Fortunately for Phillips, Jerry put his faith in a young man of character and principle. The head coach won't need to worry about the offensive coordinator. But Phillips had better be leery of his owner.

Garrett wants to be a head coach, even though he just turned down two offers. His chances of it happening here are about as good as Tony Romo's odds of getting lucky at Ghostbar -- pretty much a sure thing.

But Garrett doesn't have a hand in the current head coach's back in an effort to push him out the door. He said he's not worried about what could be some interesting chemistry in the coaches' office now that he's unofficially the coach in waiting.

"I don't worry about that at all because I know what Wade's all about, and to be honest with you, I know what I'm all about, too," Garrett said during yesterday's press conference. "We're both all about team, and I can't say this enough – I'm really fortunate to work for Wade Phillips.

"I've told you guys this before; there were 50 people who told me last year what a special guy Wade is. This is before we're working together. And then when I had a chance to work with him, I can see what everyone is saying."

As fate would have it, the Ravens will make an appearance at Texas Stadium next season.

You reckon the Ravens will be fired up to face a coach who spurned them? Ray Lewis will probably take Jason Garrett turning down the Baltimore job and turn it into major disrespect for motivational purposes. And you know mad Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun will be fanning the flames.

Yep, that ballgame suddenly has significant sensationalizing potential, especially if we get Lewis on the conference call.

As you may have read below, Cowboys assistant head coach Jason Garrett's press conference this afternoon dripped with gratitude directed to the Ravens and Falcons for interviewing him.

And here's where, I believe, smart people make gains. He may not have taken either of those jobs, but he did take from the experience and feels like he's bettered himself by getting a look at how other billionaire owners run their operations.

"People that have that kind of success in life – it doesn’t happen by accident, and the kind of organization they’re running is a reflection of the success they’ve had in their businesses," Garrett said. "The cultures that they’re creating in Baltimore and the cultures they’re creating in Atlanta – they’re special and they’re relying on the successes that they’ve had.

"I told each of them, in conversations I’ve had in my life, I’ve told each of them that at some point I want to interview you and I want to get my notebook out and start writing some of the things down that you’re saying because these are great learning experiences that I’m getting from Steve Bisciotti and Arthur Blank and the other people who were in the room because there’s really some fertile stuff and if you pay attention and listen to what they’re saying, it can really be a great learning experience.”

Several scribes have speculated that Jason Garrett didn't take the job in Baltimore because he doesn't know whether he's ready to be a head coach.

I believe him that the present and future opportunities here (and Jerry's present and future money) were the primary factors in his decision. But is he ready to be a head coach?

Well, Garrett said that you're never really ready to do something until you've done it, but he is confident he could handle a head coaching job.

"I think there were similar questions about my ability to be an offensive coordinator, to be a playcaller and all of those things," Garrett said. "And all of those things I can get a heck of a lot better at – I know that – and I’m making my list to do that. What you need to do is rely on those things that got you to that point so that now you feel really confident so you can go to that next step and be the head coach of the organization and the way that I would do that is to rely on the things that got me there."

I know Tim spoiled already a little bit. But here's the full run-down of how Jason Garrett opened up his press conference:

“I just want to start off with saying that I’m awfully excited to be sitting in this chair. The last few days have been an interesting experience for me and for my wife Brill. I had a chance to visit with (Baltimore Ravens Owner) Steve Bisciotti and his wife and (Ravens General Manager and Executive Vice President) Ozzie Newsome and (Ravens President) Dick Cass up in Baltimore with some other people in the organization and it was a great visit. I can’t thank them enough for allowing us to go through that process. It’s pretty easy to see why they’re regarded as one of the premier organizations in football.

"It was fun for us to go through the process and visit with them about their head coaching position. Then Brill and I had a chance to go down to Atlanta and visit with (Falcons Owner and CEO) Arthur and Stephanie Blank and (Team President) Rich McKay and Tom Dimitroff – their new general manager – and it was equally a great visit for us. These are great experiences that we had a chance to go through. We told ourselves that we wanted to go through the process and fully investigate these opportunities.

"I'm awfully excited to be sitting in this chair," Jason Garrett said early in his press conference.

Which chair was he sitting in? The same one Wade Phillips does during his daily chats with the Valley Ranch media horde.

I'm sure Garrett didn't mean to imply that he wanted to sit in that chair on a regular basis, but that's the first thing that popped into my sensationalizing mind. Oh, the symbolism.

Garrett went out of his way to praise Wade Phillips this afternoon. And Phillips lavished praise on Garrett, calling him a "special coach" who is "vital to what we do."

However, there sure will be an interesting dynamic between the Cowboys' head coach and the highest-paid assistant in the league. Garrett said he wasn't promised that he'd be the Cowboys' next head coach, but it doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to envision Jerry giving him a wink-wink deal.

The only question is when Garrett will get that chair on a permanent basis.

UPDATE: Matt Mosley thinks Garrett gets the seat for good after next season.

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston, who seems mad about this whole thing, sure thinks so. From Preston's latest blog post:

Garrett got his money, but he basically looks like a fool around the league. All he had to do was go to Jones in the first place, demand the increase and not fly around the country, putting on this dog-and-pony show. I hope he has good success in Dallas because owners around the league have long memories. They won't forget the charade he just pulled.

Eh, I'd be willing to bet that owners will forget "the charade" if the Cowboys put up 500 points and win a playoff game or two next season. Garrett's work will determine whether he's still a hot head coaching candidate in the future, not whether he hurt some feelings in Baltimore.

There's little question that the Ravens have emerged as a first-class organization since moving from Cleveland (something NFL record books deny ever happened). But they've got a bit of egg on their face now after being left at the altar by Jason Garrett.

Here's the team's official statement on the matter:

We did negotiate with Jason Garrett to become our head coach. In the end, he decided to stay in Dallas. We’re continuing our second round of interviews. We’re excited with the candidates and confident we will select the best head coach for the Ravens.

Eagles secondary coach John Harbaugh, the brother of former NFL quarterback and current Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, is now considered the leader for what most in league circles regard as a plum job.

Jason Garrett will address his decision to turn down a head coaching offer in Baltimore, pull out of the running for the Atlanta job and remain as Cowboys offensive coordinator at 2 p.m. today at Valley Ranch.

We'll be there, so keep it here to find out what he has to say.

I'm afraid to read what Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will write now that Jason Garrett has turned down the Ravens' head coaching job to remain the Cowboys' offensive coordinator. Here's a sample of what Preston wrote yesterday, while Garrett was thinking over his job options.

He probably knew the pay scale of a first-year coach, and he should have known that the Ravens have one of the best organizations in the NFL.

But obviously, he was here to get as much money as possible out of the Cowboys and the Falcons, where he is also considered a top candidate for their head coaching job. He really didn't need to play the game, and a veteran coach would have handled it differently.

If he wanted to become a head coach and had a passion for the game, he would have become the Ravens' head coach. Instead, he showed inexperience and indecisiveness. Maybe because he is young, or maybe he got some bad advice. Maybe he is still feeling the effects of losing in the playoffs to the Giants, or having an offense not play up to par during the last month of the season.

It' s not like Garrett is Bill Belichick or Mike Holmgren. He's Jason Garrett, for goodness sake.

Troy Aikman had a much different take: "I know Jason very well. He is one of my closest friends. He's got as much integrity and is one of the most ethical people that I've been around. Money doesn't motivate this guy. Fame doesn't motivate him. Power doesn't motivate him. He would come back because of the quality of the job, the quality of the life and would be in no rush to take anything he didn't feel was in the best interest of his family."

With the news that Jason Garrett will return as offensive coordinator for the 2008 season, the Cowboys coaching staff dodged a major bullet. Had Garrett bolted, Phillips might just be looking at replacing a coordinator, an assistant head coach and five of his eight position coaches (a dynamic Jacques Taylor addressed vigorously this morning.)

In that way, Jerry wooing Garrett back to Dallas was a coup. But there are still some decisions to make.

The Cowboys could still be replacing every position coach on defense, in addition to their offensive line coach. Follow the jump for a rundown where the guys from the 2007 staff stand.

From Todd Archer:

Jason Garrett is staying with the Cowboys.

After going through second interviews with Baltimore and Atlanta and having been offered the Ravens’ job earlier in the week, Garrett has decided to continue his work as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, according to sources.

Garrett, who just finished his third season as an NFL assistant after a 12-year playing career, and owner and general manager Jerry Jones met Wednesday night after Garrett returned from a meeting with Falcons’ officials.

It’s not known whether Jones sweetened the financial pot for Garrett to stay, but in 2004 he was able to keep then defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and then assistant head coach Sean Payton from taking jobs at Nebraska and with the Oakland Raiders, respectively, by giving them $1 million base salaries.

Steve Wyche of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has it that Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has left the Falcons complex and will return to his Dallas area home tonight to ponder his options.

Garrett has been offered the head coaching job in Baltimore. Things aren't as clear in Atlanta, where former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan had a second interview on Monday with GM Thomas Dimitroff.

We went over the pros and cons of each job a little earlier and, it would seem, decision time is looming for Garrett. Those jobs won't sit on the table for very long.

In the pages of today's Baltimore Sun, columnist Mike Preston questions whether Jason Garrett really wants to become a head coach, based on his departure from Maryland yesterday.

In there, Preston says the Ravens opening is "one of the most coveted jobs in professional sports." I think the Baltimore situation is good one, as regular readers of This Blog have come to find out, but one of the most coveted jobs in professional sports? I don't know about that. Either way, Preston's point is basically summed up like this:

Don't count the Ravens out as far as Garrett. (Owner Steve) Bisciotti is rich, and the organization doesn't like to be told no. Bisciotti will remain in contact with Garrett, and he'll be in a bidding war with the Cowboys and the Falcons. But after yesterday, the kid from Princeton didn't seem to have a real clue about what was going on.

Conversely, I'd actually commend Garrett in this situation for weighing all his options. Is Atlanta a mess? Sure is. But there, he would be given the chance to blow it up, grow as a coach and there'd time to rebuild the whole thing in his image from the ground up.

In Baltimore, that doesn't exist. There's a strong front office there, with GM Ozzie Newsome being one of the best in the business, and the roster is sound. On the other hand, he'd be given no time to grow into his new job, and he'd be expected to win now.

No matter what way you look at it, there are some tough decisions here for Mr. Garrett to make.

Todd's got this report on Cowboys assistants Tony Sparano and Jason Garrett taking second go-rounds today on the head coaching carousel. For Sparano, it's Miami (should be a matter of hours before he and Big Bill trade vows); For Garrett, it's Baltimore and Atlanta.

It's safe to assume Sparano's a goner. Garrett, I'd say, may be gone too. As is in Todd's story, Wade Phillips makes in the neighborhood of $3 million a year. Redskins offensive coordinator Al Saunders, the league's highest paid assistant, is at $2 million per.

Now, normally a first-time head coach will make somewhere between what Phillips and Saunders do, so that would make it realistic for Jerry Jones to match the financial terms of an offer to Garrett. But as we've been saying here, Garrett's was the top pick in Baltimore at the beginning, along with pipe-dream candidate Bill Cowher, and has done nothing to damage that standing. And now, he's in position to drive his value through the roof.

As this is being written, Garrett's resting up in between meetings with Falcons officials and it's expected that both Atlanta and Baltimore will compete to wrestle him from Dallas. That's where the problem arises. Say in the course of the bidding way, either of those teams offer, to throw out a number, $3.5 million a year. What then? Jerry can't possibly pay his OC more than his head coach. Or can he?

It's interesting, to say the least. Keep it here in the morning for updates.

Jamison Hensely of the Baltimore Sun, the man on the scene by team headquarters, is reporting that Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has left the Ravens complex without taking the Ravens head coaching offer.

It has been communicated to Garrett by Dallas owner/GM Jerry Jones that the Cowboys are prepared to match the financial terms of any offer made to their OC. Garrett is believed to be off to Atlanta for a second interview with the Falcons, who just hired Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff as their GM.

"It's been a good day, but I'm going to continue on with the process," Garrett told the Sun.

According to ESPN's John Clayton, the plan Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has presented the Ravens has former Dolphins assistants Cam Cameron and Dom Capers going with him to Baltimore as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively.

This is a mixed bag for Dallas. On one end, it means that a staff that figures to be tattered when the smoke clears will not be raided too extensively by the new Baltimore regime. But another side to it is that if Garrett does go to Baltimore, and Tony Sparano to Miami, Cameron likely would've been a prime candidate to become OC in Dallas.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Baltimore Ravens have offered Jason Garrett their head coaching job.

Todd Archer reports that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is returning to Baltimore tonight for a second interview with the Ravens.

I understand that a lot of folks want Jerry Jones to fire Wade Phillips and promote Jason Garrett.

Well, Jerry said that ain't gonna happen. And it shouldn't.

You can question ol' Wade all you want after his playoff record as a head coach fell to 0-4. But Garrett, a genius for the first three months of the season, should be questioned, too.

The Cowboys averaged 15.4 points in the final five games of the season, including the 17-point output in the playoff game. The offensive coordinator is at least partially at fault for that.

Garrett might still get a head coaching job this off-season, but he's no sure thing after one season as a coordinator.

Cowboys assistants Tony Sparano and Jason Garrett addressed questions today about their futures, and neither would elaborate on anything beyond the fact that both will be at Valley Ranch tomorrow to wrap the season up with their staffmates and players.

Sparano interviewed with the Ravens, Falcons and Dolphins during the bye week, while Baltimore and Atlanta also talked with Garrett. Sparano is widely expected to get the job in Miami under God of Football Bill Parcells and GM Jeff Ireland. Meanwhile, NFL sources said as late as the end of last week that Garrett is the primary target of the Ravens.

The Falcons have reportedly expressed interest in talking to Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo about their head coaching vacancy.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and assistant head coach Tony Sparano interviewed with the Falcons over the weekend. Take Sparano out of the mix, assuming that the Tuna hires him in Miami, and it could come down to the coordinators matching wits this weekend.

Garrett got the better of Spags during the regular season, when the Cowboys averaged 38 points and 400 total yards in a couple wins over the Giants. But I strongly advise Falcons owner Arthur Blank to offer the job to whichever coordinator wins Sunday's matchup.

Of course, there's no guarantee that Garrett would accept the job.

As Todd Archer reported this morning, the Ravens have requested permission to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett for their head coaching vacancy.

Garrett confirmed as much today, and said he's waiting to hear from Baltimore on when he'll talk with Ravens officials. He'd have to interview by Saturday, and is already scheduled to huddle with Falcons officials tomorrow, when Atlanta will also interview offensive line coach/assistant head coach Tony Sparano.

The Ravens have already scheduled an interview for this weekend with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Atlanta plans to speak to him as well.

Jason Garrett is the hot name when it comes to coaching searches. Atlanta has asked to speak with him and Baltimore could be considering that possibility too, however, the Ravens have not official put in a request yet.

I spoke with Troy Aikman last week about Garrett's head coaching possibilities, and he wasn't so sure his former teammate and good friend would automatically leave.

“I know he feels like he’s got a great job,” Aikman said. “He loves the city. He enjoys living here. He’s got a good team. He’s coaching a good quarterback and he has all the things as an offensive coordinator you would want and there’s not reason to give that up just for the sake of being a head coach. I don’t want to speak for Jason, but other coaches looking at their first opportunity to be a head coach would take that, whereas Jason is a little more patient."