With an open process, Super Bowl champion coaching free agents such as Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher and Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, if he is let go, would certainly be associated with the Cowboys job.

But it’s very clear inside Cowboys headquarters that Garrett is the man for the job.

He has long been a favorite of Jones’ dating to his days as a backup quarterback on the Cowboys’ Super Bowl title teams of the 1990s.

And in guiding the Cowboys to four wins in seven games since taking over for the fired Wade Phillips after Dallas’ 1-7 start, Garrett has proved to Jones that he is more than just a bright offensive mind. He has shown to be an effective leader who can run the team and get players to respond to him.

The hiring of Garrett would also allow Jones to continue business as usual as the general manager and top personnel decision maker on the team.

The smart money was always on Garrett. Because it’s the Cowboys, people assumed that Jones would go out and hire a big name. But don’t forget that Garrett was handpicked by Jones, so the Dallas owner wasn’t going to groom him and let him succeed elsewhere. Plus, as the article points out, Jones wants to remain as general manager of the team. If he hired someone like Cowher, he would likely have to concede a lot of his power when it comes to personnel decisions, which he doesn’t want to do.

Update: The NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi is reporting that it’s a done deal: Garrett will be retained as head coach. The ‘Boys managed to interview wide receiver coach Ray Sherman to comply with the Rooney Rule, so they’re all set.