Ex Cowboys Coach Garrett Raves About Giants as 'First-Class Organization'
FRISCO - We will work on the assumption that when Jason Garrett says his new employer, the New York Giants, is a "first-class organization,'' that he's not playing "shop-and-compare'' with his old employer.
"Excited to be back,'' Garrett tells Giants.com upon his hiring as the offensive coordinator there under rookie coach Joe Judge. "It's a first-class organization. You think about the history and tradition of the franchise ... I'm excited to get going."
Garrett has long been a "Cowboys guy,'' first a backup quarterback in the NFL in Dallas behind Troy Aikman, and later as an offensive coordinator and then for the last decade as the head coach, a position he lost this offseason as the Cowboys have moved onto Mike McCarthy.
But Garrett also has New York ties. He ended his playing career as the backup quarterback of the Giants and has familial roots in The Big Apple area, too. It's worth noting that while in Dallas too few people gave him credit for his contribution to the successes of QBs Tony Romo and Dak Prescott, it's a good bet that the Giants were influenced by their belief that he'll be a huge help for QB Daniel Jones coming off his rookie season.
“I really liked how he played when we played against him and when we saw him on film this year,” Garrett said, via the team’s website. “He was tough, he was competitive, playing the game the right way, which is not easy to do as a rookie quarterback in the NFL, but certainly excited to work with Daniel.”
Said Judge of the people he talked to before he interviewed Garrett: "They consistently all reflected on how smart he is, how great a teacher he is and how his perspective of the game was through a different lens than most coaches. And when he sees it, he's able to communicate it and paint that mental image to the players."
Last year, Garrett's Cowboys manhandled the Giants twice. As NFC East rivals, they'll play twice again in 2020.
The Cowboys know Garrett.
Garrett knows the Cowboys.
But for now, what's most notable is that Garrett and the Giants know one another.
“I obviously have a little history with the Giants,'' he said. "It’s fun to be back in the building. I can’t wait to get going.”
