To make the world go-round requires the boldest among us to take on the most thankless tasks.
You want to be president? It takes a special kind of masochist.
Not even George Washington was exempt.
“Old Muttonhead,” one peer called him. The printing press was particularly unkind, calling him a “tyrannical monster” and “loathing his sick mind.”
You can’t talk about the primer padre that way, can you?
You better believe it.
In the 1790s, there was a Jackson ancestor bellowing out a best hit called, “What Have you Done for Me Lately.”
Teachers … God bless you, teachers.
The stories of the Journey of Junior through the halls of academia will make you wince in the same way you did when watching Allen Hurns fall to the ground on Saturday.
The talented Bill Shakespeare, as adroit a Brit as there was in his day, said it best: “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.”
Imagine if the garbage collectors had a senior skip week? You’d learn we live more in harmony with the rat than we ever wanted to know. Yet, hardly a wave as they drive by in their new state-of-the-art dump trucks that do all the collecting for them. There I go again.
Then there is the job of coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
The worst of the worst of thankless jobs in America.
There is only one way to successfully fulfill the mission and please the masses: Super Bowl, baby. If not, may the heckling, mocking and relocation demands begin.
Zeal is better than logic, according to the logic.
But whether Jason Garrett wins this week or not, isn’t it time to reassess the poor job performance reviews by the typists?
Had that infamous fourth-and-1 in OT against the Texans occurred in early 19th century France, Garrett today would be walking around headless. If not after that game, then certainly the statues would’ve come down and been dragged through Baghdad after the dreadful display against Tennessee at home, which dropped the Cowboys to 3-5 and appearing more fit for recreation racewalking than the NFC East.
The loss was easily one of Garrett’s worst during his tenure.
In fact, though, fans might well have witnessed one of the best coaching jobs in football in 2018.
Instead of folding the tent at 3-5, the Cowboys rallied around their beleaguered coach and went 7-1 down the stretch to win the East and are now a victory in Los Angeles shy of a return to their rightful place – according to the following — in the NFC Championship Game.
About this, there is very much to be said about leadership, starting at the top. Locker rooms at every level can go sideways during the darkest hour, but the Cowboys’ did not.
Rather than stale in game nine, the Cowboys came out as enthusiastic and motivated as Week 1, winning at Philadelphia and then again the next week at Atlanta. Neither were great teams at the time, but all road wins are good in the NFL.
That doesn’t happen with a robotic, know-nothing clapper players have tuned out.
That doesn’t make him the best coach in the league. In-game management and decisions still baffle at times.
Garrett went with quarterback Dak Prescott and everybody else, except Ezekiel Elliott, in the last game. It was highly criticized, but it was the right decision. Prescott needed the snaps and more game time with Amari Cooper, among others.
Competing is a habit and the game is all about rhythm and repetition. This wasn’t a finely tuned team that bulldozed opponents on the way to a 14-2 record. They needed the work.
In the wild card victory on Saturday, some critics snapped at a conservative play call on third-and-long, leading to Brett Maher’s missed 58-yard field-goal attempt. The miss gave Seattle a short field for a drive at the end of the half. No harm ensued.
Garrett probably would’ve handled that situation differently if he didn’t have confidence in a very good defense, which to that point had handled the Seahawks.
Though his news conferences have always been drab, Garrett hasn’t always been a colorless play caller. In fact, his offenses have been dynamic at times in the past.
Three times over the last six seasons, the Cowboys’ offenses have been top-10 statistically. The pass to Dez Bryant on fourth down in the “no-catch” Green Bay divisional playoff in 2014 was a bold play call.
But Prescott isn’t Tony Romo. Prescott has a different set of skills. Until Amari Cooper arrived, there wasn’t anything within 1,000 miles of Bryant’s ability at wide receiver this season. Tight end? What tight end? The offensive line has been in tatters because of injuries, illness, experience and the process of aging in the NFL.
Coaches have to manage the game with the personnel they have and as the game dictates. He’ll call it conservatively again on Saturday the Rams, hoping to keep the Rams’ offense off the field. The worst act in a playoff game is a turnover, but Garrett will have to take some shots.
Somehow, despite the manic ups and downs, the Cowboys still managed to go 10-6. The defense can take its merited share in the credit.
In 1964, when fans demanded Tom Landry’s scalp, owner Clint Murchison instead gave the coach a 10-year contract.
“We’ve been trying to get him to do this for over a year, and we finally convinced him,” Murchison said. “This is in keeping with my policy of when you have a good man keep him.”
That was reward for an 18-46 record over his first five seasons. In his first eight seasons, Landry was 44-61 in his first eight seasons.
Garrett is 74-59 in his first full eight seasons.
There is little to compare with the records. Landry was working with an expansion team.
Garrett is not Tom Landry or Bill Belichick, but he’s not Rich Kotite either.
Give the man his due.