Garrett: Defensive Changes Were Made “to Address the NFL in 2013”

Dallas will move from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 next season

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said several weeks ago that the team’s need for a “philosophical” change led to Rob Ryan being shown the door in Dallas. As you’ve probably heard, Ryan was replaced by the godfather of the Tampa 2 defense, Monte Kiffin--a man that, Garrett said in his press conference Wednesday, can affect such a change.

“One of the things we tried to do in bringing Monte and Rod in, in a lot of different ways, is to address the NFL in 2013,” Garrett said, per the Dallas Morning News. “Anybody who followed our football team last year knows that we were depleted on defense. The number of injuries that we had to really key, critical players, it was very difficult for us to overcome them.

“And one of the conclusions we came to is that in this day and age in the NFL, with shortened off-seasons, shortened training camps, injuries, it’s important to try and put offensive and defensive systems in place that allow you to deal with the schedule and absorb the injuries that very well could happen. That was one of the philosophical advantages of playing this 4-3.”

Garrett did take time during the press conference to praise Ryan and, indeed, all of the coaches who have departed Dallas this offseason. However, he suggested that the team wanted a simpler defense than the one brought by Ryan, and one that could produce more takeaways.

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