5 Times Jerry Jones Could've Fired Jason Garrett in Last Calendar Year

If the Dallas Cowboys ran a true meritocracy, head coach Jason Garrett would have been relieved of his duties a long time ago. However, owner Jerry Jones wants both the ability to micro-manage and the to take most of the credit for the team's success. Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells didn't allow him that, so he canned them. Barry Switzer did and Garrett does, so they stick around.

If Jones really wanted to fire Garrett, he could have done so at any of these five opportunities.

5. Losing To The Rams in Playoffs

For a franchise that has just three playoff wins since their last championship, is firing the coach after winning one really the best course of action? Yes! The team has flatlined after that game, and Garrett has proven that he can't get it done when the bright lights are on him and/or the chips are down. Jerry used to mandate championships to stick around, now barely winning the division all but gets you extended.

4. Choking Against the Vikings

The Cowboys have one of the best running backs in the entire league in Ezekiel Elliott, but they almost seem averse to using him in any sort of meaningful fashion. Their awful final drive against Minnesota at home was one of the worst exhibitions of play-calling that we've seen all year long, and it enabled Kirk Cousins, normally a choker on the big stage, to take home a massive win. If Jones fired Garrett after that rotten drive, no one would have batted an eye.

3. Thanksgiving Embarrassment Against the Bills

Josh Allen has proven to be a long-term starter for the Bills, but the Cowboys made him look like Jim Kelly on Thursday Night. Allen was barely even pressured as the defense was totally lackluster and the offense was shut down by Sean McDermott's tremendous pass defense. This all but ruined the Thanksgiving holiday in the state of Texas, and Jerry would have been well within his rights to give Garrett his pink slip.

2. Getting Dominated by Mitch Trubisky

We've got nearly three years of video on him, so it's fair to say that Trubisky isn't very good. You wouldn't have known that this was a guy heading down the dreaded bust path from how he played against the Cowboys, as he threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns while adding 63 yards and a score on the ground. Dallas was never in control of that game, save for the opening drive, and it was one of the lowlights of the Garrett era.

1. Losing Against the Eagles in Week 16

The Cowboys mustered just nine points against an Eagles secondary that allowed a rookie in Dwayne Haskins to walk up and down the field all game long just one week prior. The Cowboys now stand at 7-8 and are all but eliminated from the playoff picture once again. Jones and the Cowboys have't lived up to their previous standard of excellence with Garrett at the helm, and totally failing to show up in a must-win game against Philadelphia would normally be grounds for dismissal.