Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett will not be the next coach at Stanford after he was reportedly a finalist for the job. Garrett posted a message on Twitter saying that he appreciated the conversations that he had with several members of the school, but will be returning to his current job as a college football and NFL analyst.
Garrett emerged as a finalist to replace David Shaw at Stanford, according to multiple reports. Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor is also a finalist, and a hire should be made in the coming days, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Garrett, 56, spent nearly 10 full seasons as the head coach of the Cowboys (2010-19), making three playoff appearances and finishing with only one sub-.500 season (2015). His contract was not renewed after the Cowboys went 8-8 in 2019. Garrett, who most recently was the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants in 2021, has never coached in the college ranks.
Taylor, on the other hand, has a heavy background in the high school and college ranks along the West Coast. The Hornets are 30-7 in three seasons under Taylor (not including the 2020 season, when the school didn’t field a team due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and finished undefeated in the regular season for the first time in school history in 2022. In all, Taylor has led the program to three Big Sky championships.
Shaw coached the Cardinal from 2011-22, but stepped down following a 3-9 season that highlighted a clear regression for the program. Stanford posted sub-.500 records in three of the last four seasons, with the only winning season coming during the COVID-shortened 2020 season (4-2). That regression marked a 180-degree turn from the success Shaw had early in his head coaching career, when the Cardinal finished in the AP Top 25 in six of Shaw’s first seven years and won three Pac-12 titles.
