That was one messy breakup.

Before the Cowboys officially parted ways with Jason Garrett on Sunday night, the longtime head coach refused to accept that his tenure with the team was coming to an end, even as Dallas has interviewed potential replacements and indicated several times that it was over.

“Never seen anything like it,” Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported Sunday before Garrett’s fate became official. “Because Jason Garrett, they’ve gone to him now multiple times this week to say, ‘OK, you’re out as the head coach.’ And he says, ‘Hold on, don’t do it yet, I still want to be considered for this.’ And every time they do it, say, ‘We’re moving on, we’re starting to interview other people’ … They have to tell Jason Garrett, ‘No, you’re gone, we’re moving on.’”

It wasn’t until the Cowboys finally announced they wouldn’t renew Garrett’s contract, which will end Jan. 14, that he conceded he would no longer be the head coach in Dallas.

This past season was considered make-or-break for Garrett, who had never advanced past the divisional round in nine-plus years as head coach. The Cowboys went 8-8 this season and missed the playoffs, despite having one of the league’s most talented rosters and playing in the horrid NFC East.

There was speculation the Cowboys didn’t want to publicly fire Garrett due to his history with the franchise, instead preferring to let his contract run out. In addition to his nine-plus seasons as head coach, the 53-year-old Garrett won two Super Bowls with Dallas as a backup quarterback.

But that didn’t stop the Cowboys from interviewing prospective coaches over the weekend, including former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.

Dallas reportedly also is expected to reach out to Lincoln Riley, the highly touted Oklahoma Sooners head coach.