Wonderful! An offensive coordinator with 2 years of coaching experience!
IRVING, Texas --
Jason Garrett finally has a title with the
Dallas Cowboys nearly a month after being hired to the coaching staff. And it's not a surprise.
Garrett was named the offensive coordinator Tuesday for new coach Wade Phillips, who also gave an extension to assistant head coach Tony Sparano through 2009.
The extension was first reported by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hired the 40-year-old Garrett to the coaching staff Jan. 25 after interviewing him for the head coaching vacancy. It had been expected since then that Garrett would be the offensive coordinator, even though his only coaching experience was the last two seasons as quarterbacks coach in Miami.
"We believe that Jason is one of the bright young offensive minds in the NFL," Phillips said. "He has extensive experience in working with some outstanding offensive coaches through his years of professional football, and he is well prepared for this position."
Garrett was the backup to Hall of Fame quarterback
Troy Aikman for two Super Bowl titles in Dallas from 1993-99. He later played four seasons with the
New York Giants before splitting 2004 between Tampa Bay and Miami. He played in 40 regular season games, and his only nine starts came with the Cowboys.
Sparano, the offensive line coach, shared in play-calling duties for coach Bill Parcells' staff last season. Sparano will continue to coach the offensive line.
"Tony's past performance with the organization and the respect that he has from our players made this an easy decision," Phillips said. "His contract commitment will provide stability for our staff for a long time, and that was also an important factor in this decision."
The Cowboys scored 425 points (26.6 per game) and averaged 361 total yards per game last season. It was their most productive offense since 1995, when they won the last of their five Super Bowl titles.