Schiano Has Family Ties To John Garrett

January 21st, 2013

Late in 2012, Greg Schiano starting wearing a black, rubber-looking bracelet with the word “Family” on it, so it seems fitting that a family tie appears to have brought new Bucs wide receivers coach John Garrett from the Cowboys to Tampa Bay.

Charean Williams, of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, caught up to Garrett, who explained that the leader of the New Schiano Order had a relationship with his dad.

Garrett’s tie to Schiano is his father. Jim Garrett was a long-time NFL scout whose path crossed several times with Schiano while Schiano was in the college ranks.

Interestingly, it seems Vincent Jackson was involved in the interview process.

“Vincent Jackson is a fantastic player and from what I hear and what I saw when I had the interview, he is arguably a better person,” Garrett said. “All the coaches there think he’s an outstanding leader, a fantastic worker. He loves to be coached and loves football. They had a lot of comparisons to this is our [Jason] Witten, how he just loves it and as a star player sets the tone and pace for how to work and prepare. I got a chance to visit with him in the course of the interview and that’s exactly the case. I developed a good rapport, and I’m looking forward to working with such a talented guy.”

Joe’s pleased to read about the budding relationship with Jackson and Garrett, and it was a savvy move by the Bucs to get their $11 million receiver involved early. It’s also pretty damn cool that Jackson was sizing up a potential coach during his time off.
Joe wonders whether Josh Freeman had a similar impact on the John McNulty hire as quarterbacks coach, or whether Freeman learned of the hire like the rest of us.

34 Responses to “Schiano Has Family Ties To John Garrett”

  1. ClayBURN94 Says:

    It’s great that we have our star players in the proccess so it shows that Schiano isn’t the dictator that he is. It also shows that he cares what his players think and they’ll respect him even more for that. Cue the Miguel sarcastic comment about Schiano and spin this in a negative way

  2. IheartTheBucs Says:

    i hope hes good..all i care about is winning..its that ez

  3. Macabee Says:

    John Garrett comes from a family of coaches, father Jim and 3 brothers, all involved in football one way or another, except one brother who is in academia.

    I don’t know much about John, but what I’ve learned is that he has extensive knowledge of the game, has coached QBs, TEs, and WRs and was entrusted with game day play calling at the Cowboys.

    However, his leaving the Cowboys is a forced move by Jerrah himself. He had recently applied for the HC position at Delaware, before accepting the job at Tampa Bay.

    I will trust Schiano’s instincts on this one – nothing out there to make me think otherwise. If he can turn Benn into a productive WR and help Underwood lose his fear of going across the middle, He would get my vote for position coach of the year.

    Anyway, welcome aboard John and good luck!

    http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4704719/the-power-struggle-between-jerry-and-jason

  4. Jacko101 Says:

    I think every fan wants their team to win, that’s a given. The key to that is getting a quality staff in place that works well with the players. I think we are heading in the right direction. I truly believe this off season and draft will
    Be the key to our future. Key positions DE, DT depth, CB, WR slot, and A true MLB. Slide foster to OLB.

  5. mike Says:

    martelus bennett will not be comming here now for sure. He hates garrett and garrett got nothing out of him in dallas.

  6. maxx Says:

    Wow, EVERY time I read an article about Vincent Jackson, the more I truly admire the hell out of this guy! Man, San Diego really lost someone special.
    The upcoming year with more cohesion and timing by all the receiving corps and Josh will be something special.

  7. the_buc_realist Says:

    The reason why they let VJ in the interview is because he has to have a better track record selecting position coaches then the Pop-star GM.

  8. ClayBURN94 Says:

    Lol!!!^^^

  9. Sneedy16 Says:

    @mike

    He didn’t hat Garrett He just hated that Romo main focus was Jason Witten. Romo didn’t care to anyone on 3rd down but Witten even though he was double even triple covered.

  10. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    Martellus Bennett has been Twittering that he’s going to retire a Giant, so I don’t think he’s even considering coming to Tampa. And although he’s a good TE, he’s not great. Nothing special. We can do better.

  11. J 2.0 Says:

    Everyone is acting like Joe Flacco is the best thing since sliced bread, and he is looking pretty good winning these playoff games. I just need to bring things into perspective here. His completion percentage for the playoffs this year: 54.8%!!!

    Let’s not annoint the next Joe Montana too quickly here guys. Flacco puts up very Freeman-esque #’s. He just has the luxury of a solid consistent defense.

    On the other hand, Colin Kaepernick is leaps and bounds more impressive than Freeman. His passes yesterday looked so incredibly crisp and right on the money. This guy is going to be huge.

  12. Sneedy16 Says:

    @FLBoyInDallas

    Throw enough money his way and his retirement plans will change. I really don’t think he is special either, just a big target. The draft has 2 potentially great TE available (Tyler-ND and Zach-Stanford) so they can probably try to get one of them.

  13. Curmudgeon Says:

    J2.0-

    The Ravens’ success demonstrates that you don’t have to have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, or one of the top 5 QBs, to win championships. If the Bucs tighten up that pass defense, maintain the smothering run defense, and Freeman can develop some consistency, the Bucs can be a playoff team.

  14. Brandon Says:

    FlBoyinDallas:

    Bennett is just saying the right things. Every player says those things to make the home team WANT him more… it’s far better than the mercenary approach where a player states that football is a business and they’ll go where they get paid the most. Fans don’t become particularly enamored by players who say what they feel.

  15. JobBucsFan 1.5 slim Says:

    I don’t know much about John Garrett. Is he a good coach? Does he have attention to detail? Does he command warranted respect? Is WR coaching his best attributes?

    What I do know so far is that Coach Schiano seems to have a pretty good grip on things and he’s done the right moves up to this point. He ask us to trust him, and I will do just that. Until visible cracks and mistakes start to occur going forward, I got Coach’s back.

  16. Brandon Says:

    McNulty was coming to Tampa no matter what anybody other than Schiano thought. He was going to be QB coach or WR coach but because there is uncertainty regarding Sullivan’s future and his desire to someday be a HC, it makes sense to put McNulty at QB coach as the promotion to OC is more seamless.

  17. Joe Says:

    Curmudgeon:

    The Ravens’ success demonstrates that you don’t have to have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, or one of the top 5 QBs, to win championships.

    Joe thinks the Ravens are proving just the opposite. Joe Flacco has put up Brady/Rodgers like numbers this postseason. He hasn’t been picked in three games, two of which came on the road when he outdueled two future Hall of Famers.

  18. J 2.0 Says:

    I don’t think adding Martellus Bennett would save the Bucs season, but definately a good player to have if the price is reasonable. I mean he doesn’t deserve Gronk or Jimmy Graham type money.

  19. J 2.0 Says:

    @ Joe

    The Ravens won those games. Flacco is a part of The Ravens and is a big reason why they’re in the Super Bowl. I’m just saying 54.8% completions is something us Bucs fans are pretty familiar with this past season.

  20. PRBucFan Says:

    IMO

    This postseason has proven that it really is all about how the QB performs first and foremost.

  21. PRBucFan Says:

    54.8 or not bro, he made the plays when they mattered.

    That’s not something we are used to around here.

  22. buccanay Says:

    Still not sure what all the hype about Martellus Bennet is. He was a malcontent in Dallas, and that’s the last thing Shiano’s needs on a very young team. He’s not overly talented, IMO, and is certainly not the “Buc man” type Shiano seems to be looking for. At the right price, but no way is he top tier TE.

  23. PRBucFan Says:

    I think it’s less about Martellus and more about using him as bait to get Michael back here lol

  24. Andrew 1 Says:

    @ Sneedy16

    I also agree with your comments about the TEs. However, I think your forgetting 1 draft prospect who could be just as good of a TE and that player is Dion Sims from Michigan State. Granted he is not as athletic as the other 2 you mentioned but I think he would be a better fit for us as he is a terrific blocker while still being more than proficient in the passing game. To be honest he is like an athletic left tackle who has great hands. You should see defenders try and tackle him,lol, its funny as hell. he is so big, around 285lbs, they cant get him to the ground. lol. Im rooting that we get this guy if we dont get the other 2 you mentioned.

  25. Andrew 1 Says:

    heres a pretty athletic play from the big guy.

    10:17

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWi7epmEE4U

  26. J 2.0 Says:

    @ PR

    Thats kind of a simplistic way to view it. Do I think Flacco is better than Freeman, not really. To me they have a lot of the same issues, except defense. Freeman had us in some games this year the defense let us down on.

    There are a lot of QB’s better than Freeman. I’m usually one of his biggest supporters, but after watching Kaepernick, Wilson, RG3, and these other youngs QB’s outperform him in the playoffs I am starting to have my doubts. He needs to get back to 60-65% completions next year for sure.

  27. JobBucsFan 1.5 slim Says:

    @Andrew 1

    The ideal of drafting a good pass catching TE is to have one that can separate from NFL caliber LBs covering him. Of course the ideal situation is to force the opposing team to commit a safety or DB to cover him. Unless he can consistently run in the 4.6-4.8 range he’ll be covered by an NFL caliber LB all day long.

    Another thing to consider is he’s very young and still growing, If he already resembles that of an offensive linemen, what will he be like in 2 years in the NFL. Can you guarantee he won’t out grow the position. In todays volatile world of fan critics he is to risky to draft and have him bust, then you’ll see the same finger pointing peanut gallery start throwing Dominic under the bus even if they approved of it at the beginning. Dominic and Schiano have got to get this draft right to make it work.

  28. PRBucFan Says:

    It is simple when it comes down to it

  29. Curmudgeon Says:

    @Joe-
    My point wasn’t that you don’t need good QB play. I’m just saying that great defense and consistent QB play can go a long way. I would love to have Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady over Freeman, but I think we can be a playoff team if Freeman is a bit more consistent and the pass defense comes together. He doesn’t have to be Rodgers or Brady, he just needs to be consistent and make plays when the opportunities are there, like Flacco.

    Living in Seattle, I have admired what Russell Wilson has done this year. I would also take him over Freeman (in an offense designed around his skills). There’s a bunch of QBs I’d prefer to have over Freeman, but we can win with Freeman if he tightens up his game a bit in 2013.

  30. Andrew 1 Says:

    @ JobBucsFan

    That is true. he is not a vertical threat by any means and may have some trouble separating from CB, but how often do you see a CB covering a TE. Its usual a LB or even a Safety in nickel coverage. I can guarantee you one thing though if he is able to make a catch vs a Corner or even a LB that same Corner or Lb will not be able to tackle him. Hes just to damn big and posses a huge mismatch problem in terms of size. The only reason why I bring up drafting Sims is because we said we wanted to be a power running team first and for most. If thats the case then hes your guy and when need be I really think he can be effective in the passing game. but like I said before I would not be opposed to drafting Eifert one bit. its just all depends one how early we want to draft a TE. If we are willing to wait then this guy could be available in the 4th or 5th round.

  31. BucFan20 Says:

    Well as far as Freeman comments go all I keep seeing is If, If ,If and If. Well If he were going to change he would have. The excuses keep flowing. At least Flacco and the other QBs’ named in the posts I see can hit a short pass. Most of this year the line gave him good protection. That excuse goes out the window. He is the same as he was in college. So “If” he does not change this year a change at QB is needed.

  32. Andrew 1 Says:

    That would be excellent value. lol I think Im the only one high on this guy…and thats ok. If your looking to draft a TE like Antonio Gates then you would be disappointed with him. then again how many TEs in this draft are like Antonio Gates…

  33. SeanyMac in SC Says:

    I like Joe stirring up the conspiracy theory about if Josh did or did not interview his position coach but VJax did. It sure make you go hmmmmm. I think to Joe’s point, action speaks louder than words in cases like these.

  34. Capt. Tim Says:

    Wow! We are Di lucky to have Vincent Jackson on this team. Everything you see and hear about him is both positive and professional! So refreshing to see this kind of player on the team! Makes me very optimistic about the future!