Garrett, Jones achieve symbiosis

— -- IRVING, Texas -- The dumbest thing that ever came out of Jerry Jones' mouth is the time he said, "There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team."

He uttered that phrase about 20 years ago, when the Dallas Cowboys ruled the NFL, and it's still easily the silliest thing he ever said publicly.

Coaching matters. Culture matters. Teams need more than talent to win, something Jerry never comprehended.

Until now.

Oh, he gets it now. Being stuck in the abyss of mediocrity for a couple of decades will get any owner's attention.

Jerry should fully understand the importance of coaching and culture after watching Barry Switzer wreck the championship teams of the '90s. Two seasons after winning Super Bowl XXX, the Cowboys were 6-10.

And seeing former coach Wade Phillips' destruction of the team Bill Parcells built from 2003-06 should've driven the point. The year after going 11-5 and winning their first playoff game since the 1996 season, the Cowboys quit on Phillips and he was fired after a 1-7 start.

Jason Garrett, the man who replaced Phillips, reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth $30 million on Tuesday.

He's worth every dollar.

Garrett, a backup on the Cowboys of the glory days, played with guys such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Daryl Johnston, Michael Irvin and Charles Haley.

He saw their work ethic up close, as well as the different ways they showed their passion for the game.

He saw their mental toughness, whether it was playing through injury or preparing for a game. He saw those guys hold their teammates accountable for their performance in games and practice.

All of that resonated with Garrett.

It's the reason he chose to build these Cowboys a certain way. Garrett is building a team with a roster full of players who embody the traits he admires most, intangibles the best players and teams he's ever been around have embodied.

As we've seen with the Cowboys for years, it takes more than talent to win.

It takes the kind of mental toughness that allows a team to go 8-0 on the road, rallying from 10-point deficit three different times to win games. It takes the kind of toughness Tony Romo displayed playing a week after breaking two small bones in his back and DeMarco Murray showed in not missing a game despite having a metal plate and eight screws placed in his left hand to repair a broken finger.

Jerry suffered through the mistakes Garrett made as he learned his craft on the job. No one should've been surprised, considering Garrett had never been a head coach at any level before Jerry hired him. Garrett has surrounded himself with assistant coaches he trusts, such as defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who signed a three-year deal on Tuesday, a league source confirmed to ESPN's Adam Caplan, and play-caller Scott Linehan, who's expected to sign a multiyear deal with the Cowboys.

The staff has allowed Garrett to focus on managing the game. The gaffes we regularly saw his first two seasons, especially as it relates to game management, rarely occur these days.

Garrett has never been a screamer or yeller, but he has no problems dropping F-bombs here or there and, most important, no doubt exists in the locker room about who's running the team.

The players know Garrett's in charge.

The winning culture needed to thrive in today's NFL, where parity reigns, is in place, and Garrett is obsessive compulsive about maintaining it.

But the best thing he's done in 72 regular-season games as coach is earn Jerry's trust. The owner regularly defers to Garrett, which is among the reasons first-round picks have been used on offensive linemen in three of the past four seasons.

Just so you know, the Cowboys had never used a first-round pick on an offensive lineman from the time Jerry bought the team in 1989 until Garrett arrived. That's real influence.

See, Garrett knows how to manage Jerry's ego much like the way Dallas Mavericks' Rick Carlisle understands how to coexist with occasionally petulant owner Mark Cuban.

Garrett responds unemotionally to some of the outlandish comments Jerry makes from time to time and ignores others.

When Jerry makes comments about personnel, Garrett refuses to indulge in "he said, she said" conversations. Garrett will give his opinion on a subject and move on.

Jerry has employed six other coaches, and only Jimmy Johnson lasted five seasons. Those days are done.

Jerry's quest to find a coach who can coexist with the owner's ego, but isn't a "yes man," has ended.

Garrett, the coach known more for his process than results until this year, gives Jerry the best opportunity to win another Lombardi Trophy.

Finally, Jerry respects the position of head coach. It's about time.