James W. Garrett was a US football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player

Player (game)

A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....

, coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

, and scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

. He starred as a fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 and linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 for Rutherford High School (NJ) (1944–1948) and as a running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 playing college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Utah State University

Utah State University

Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

. He had a short-lived pro career as a fullback with the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (1954) and the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (1956). He began coaching at the United States Coast Guard Academy

United States Coast Guard Academy

Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...

 and Lehigh University

Lehigh University

Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

 and found success as head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 at Susquehanna University

Susquehanna University

Susquehanna University is a liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the state capital, Harrisburg.-Academics:...

 (1960–65), leading them to a 39-11-1 record which included undefeated seasons in 1961 and 1962. Unfortunately, he was fired during the 7th game of the 1965 season for assaulting a player. He spent most of the next forty years in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 as an assistant coach with the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (1970–73), the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 (1976–77), and the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (running backs 1978-84), as well as head coach of the Houston Texans

Shreveport Steamer

The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome...

 of the fledgling World Football League

World Football League

The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

 (1974). His last coaching job as head coach of Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1985 was fraught with controversy as the team went 0-10 and accusations of verbal and physical abuse surfaced. After the season, his sons John, Jason

Jason Garrett

Jason Calvin Garrett is an American former National Football League player and the current head coach of the Dallas Cowboys...

 and Judd

Judd Garrett

Judd Garrett is an American football coach and former running back. He is currently the director of pro scouting for the Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:...

, who were enrolled at Columbia, transferred to Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

. From 1987 to 2004, he served as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

.

Jim and his wife Jane (Lentz) are the parents of eight children, Jim III, Jane, Jennifer, Janine, Jill, John, Jason, and Judd, and grandparents of twenty-seven grandchildren. His sons John, Jason, and Judd played and coached in the NFL. Jason is the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys, John is an assistant coaches with the Dallas Cowboys, Judd is a front office executive with the Cowboys,and Jim III coaches high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 with University School

University School

University School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys K - 12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area...

 near Cleveland, Ohio.

In 2001, Susquehanna University

Susquehanna University

Susquehanna University is a liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the state capital, Harrisburg.-Academics:...

 named their new sports complex in his honor.

Inducted into the Rutherford High School (NJ) Athletic Hall of Fame (1996).