GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys watches his team warm up before the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 25, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyboys defeated the Cardinals 28-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Although he may not be on the host seat right now, Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett can not afford to have another bad season in 2018.

It took legendary head coach Tom Landry seven years to lead the Dallas Cowboys to the playoffs after guiding the beloved franchise since it’s inception in 1960. Landry would go on to coach the Cowboys for 29 years, taking them to the Super Bowl five times, winning twice.

Current Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has been at the helm of America’s Team since 2010. Garrett has lead Dallas to the postseason twice in that span, having won a single playoff game. This upcoming season will mark his eighth as the team’s official head coach. And it’s the second largest tenure in franchise history, overshadowed only by Landry.

And many seem to feel that’s been a mistake. Undoubtedly, Garrett has been shown more leniency than any other coach under owner and general manager Jerry Jones. And that includes Landry, who was unceremoniously fired shortly after Jones purchased the team in 1989.

All of the Cowboys head coaches that came after Landry – Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Galley, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips – were fired or simply left after five seasons or less in Dallas.

But not Garrett. Somehow, he’s been able to stay afloat. The Princeton grad seemed to be on the hot seat prior to the 2014 season. That after posting three 8-8 seasons without a playoff appearance. But the Cowboys surged to a career-saving 12-4 record that year, and Garrett’s sole playoff victory, earning the inexperienced head coach a five-year, $30 million extension the following offseason.

High off that successful season, the Cowboys didn’t seem to blink as Garrett nosedived the team to a mirror-opposite 4-12 season in 2015. That mainly due to a collarbone injury that sidelined starting quarterback Tony Romo for all but four games.

But the team’s struggles that season allowed them to retool quickly in the 2016 NFL Draft, landing the dynamic duo of running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott. The rookie sensations led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record, a bid in the divisional round of the playoffs and earned Garrett the NFL Coach of the Year award. It also garnered him more job security, despite the team losing in their lone playoff appearance.

Last season, Garrett led this Cowboys team to a disappointing 9-7 record. And just like in 2015, there are plenty excuses as to why things didn’t work out. But Jerry Jones has assured us, his 51-year old head coach is not on the hot seat. Garrett will once again helm America’s Team in 2018.

But just how much longer can Garrett continue to dodge the hot seat bullet in Dallas? All signs point to another resurgence by this talented Cowboys team this upcoming season. Especially if Zeke Elliott is able to play all 16-games this go around.

Is there a chance that Jason Garrett is not the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2019? Possibly. But the only way I see it happening is if the Cowboys post a losing record this season. If Dallas returns to the playoffs, then I believe it gives Jerry Jones enough evidence to keep betting on Garrett. And also consider the options. If Garrett underwhelms, and there is another big name coach available, that might also make Jones finally pull the trigger on a coaching change.