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The Cowboys reportedly took their time in moving on from Jason Garrett out of an “abundance of care and respect” for Garrett. His official departure from the organization came Sunday afternoon, a week after the Cowboys ended their season.

Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who once had Garrett as his backup, disagreed with that assessment.

Aikman, now an analyst for Fox, said Sunday night that the Cowboys did a disservice to Garrett by interviewing Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy for Garrett’s job before dismissing Garrett, whose contract expires Jan. 14.

“He committed everything he had to the organization and to doing the best job that he could,” Aikman told Mike Doocy of Fox 4, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “He made it a priority, and he committed himself. Breakups are always hard. We all understand that at whatever level that they occur, but I don’t know that after all that he gave and committed to this organization that he received the same in return. When the organization was unwilling, for whatever reasons, and I don’t know the back stories to it all, but when the organization was unwilling to come out publicly and say that, ‘We are seeking a new coach,’ and yet at the same time, reports are coming out that they’re interviewing potential new candidates for the head coaching position, that’s disappointing. I think in a lot of ways it shines a light on some of the dysfunction, if you will, within the organization and kind of how they got to the point that they’re in now.”

The Cowboys have not reached the NFC Championship Game, much less the Super Bowl, since 1995 when Aikman still was their quarterback.

And now owner Jerry Jones is searching for his eighth head coach since 1989.

Jones interviewed Bill Parcells two weeks before the end of the 2002 season while Dave Campo still held the job. Parcells held the job from 2003-06.