IRVING -- We all know Jerry Jones doesn't want to fire Jason Garrett for a variety of reasons.
Reason No. 1? He'd have absolutely no idea who to hire.
Seriously.
Think about the folks Jerry has hired to coach the Dallas Cowboys. Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer were longtime friends. Chan Gailey was an unknown, first-time coach happy to have the job, and Dave Campo was a longtime assistant who was a first-time head coach.
Jerry hired Bill Parcells because he needed star power to help him get AT&T Stadium built with the aid of taxpayer dollars. He's the outlier.
Wade Phillips was a retread coach happy to have a job.
Which brings us to Garrett, yet another first-time coach who was thrilled to get an opportunity to coach the Cowboys when he was hired for the job eight games into the 2010 campaign.
Few knowledgeable folks believe the Cowboys will make the playoffs this season. If they are correct, it would extend the franchise's depressing streak without a postseason appearance to five years.
Most expect the Cowboys' defense to be among the NFL's worst, considering they were statistically the third worst in NFL history last season and they lost several of their best players off that unit.
If the Cowboys struggle and the defense is bad, it shouldn't shock anyone to see Garrett get a contract extension and an opportunity to fix the defense.
But there's no possible way for Garrett to survive with the Cowboys if the offense stinks like it did Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
None. Zip. Nada. Not a snowball's chance in September.
The offense is Garrett's baby. Now, more than ever.
He's been responsible for the offense since 2007, when he arrived as the playcaller and offensive coordinator before Jerry even hired a head coach to replace Parcells.
Time and time again the offense has been fortified.
Garrett has used three of the Cowboys' last four No. 1 picks on offensive linemen. In 2013, he used three of Dallas' top four picks on center Travis Frederick, tight end Gavin Escobar and receiver Terrance Williams.
Dez Bryant was the team's first pick in 2010. Tony Romo and Jason Witten are two of the best players at their respective positions in franchise history.
This offense is supposed to be dynamic. It's supposed to put pressure on other offenses to keep up. It's supposed to average at least 28 points a game.
If it doesn't and the team struggles, then what good reason does Jerry have to retain Garrett?
We're on our third different playcaller in three years, so at some point Garrett is going to feel the guillotine. We can't have a different scapegoat every year.
Garrett called plays in 2012. Bill Callahan, who called plays last season, was a compromise choice between Garrett and Jerry. Scott Linehan is Garrett's hand-picked selection, a dude he's said numerous times has had a tremendous influence on his career.
The offense is the Cowboys' best unit, but they didn't play like it Sunday.
Much of it was Romo's fault. Garrett's BFF -- what other head coach pals around with his quarterback in the offseason? -- threw interceptions on three consecutive possessions for the first time in his NFL career against the 49ers.
(It was his first three-interception game since the final game of the 2012 season, a loss to the Washington Redskins that knocked Dallas out of the playoffs -- and led to the firing of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and a shift to the 3-4 defense.)
On Sunday, there were poor throws and worse decisions by Romo. Normally, you wouldn't think twice about such a putrid performance. You'd chalk it up as an aberration and keep it moving.
It's worrisome because Romo has had two back surgeries in the past year, and the Cowboys regularly gave him time off in training camp to manage his back.
What the Cowboys are praying for is that Romo's performance Sunday against San Francisco was a bad game and not the beginning of the end for a quarterback who is in the first year of a six-year, $108 million contract extension.
Besides, the plan is to fix the defense in the draft and free agency next season.
Nowhere in Garrett's rebuilding plan does it say draft a quarterback in the first round because 34-year-old Romo can't play anymore.
The guess is Romo was just rusty against San Francisco after limited practice in training camp and preseason playing time, and he'll look much more like the veteran who threw 31 touchdown passes with just 10 interceptions last year.
If not, Jerry might have to start putting together a short list of friends or first-time coaches he wants to hire.
