Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins today named Jason Garrett (pictured) as their quarterbacks coach and re-signed wide receiver Kendall Newson to a one-year contract.

Garrett joins the Dolphins staff following a 12-year playing career which culminated by spending the final six games of the 2004 season as a member of the Dolphins.

"We're pleased to have added such a quality person as Jason Garrett to our coaching staff," Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban said. "His 12 years of experience as a player in the NFL will be a valuable asset to our staff and our quarterbacks. Jason was an extremely smart player who has been around football his entire life and understands all the intricacies of the position."

Garrett spent the first seven years of his career (1993-99) with Dallas where he started nine of the 23 games in which he played. He was part of two Super Bowl Champions there as a backup to Troy Aikman. Garrett also served as the primary backup to Kerry Collins during the New York Giants' run to the Super Bowl in 2000, and played the entire fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game that year. He also spent the next three seasons with the Giants.

Garrett then went to training camp with Tampa Bay last year before being released on August 31. The Buccaneers resigned him on October 13 and he spent the next two games as the team's third quarterback before being released again on November 6. Overall in his 12 NFL seasons, Garrett started nine of the 40 regular season games in which he played and completed 165 of 294 passes for 2,042 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Garrett entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 1989 with the Saints' developmental squad before being released prior to the 1990 season. He spent that year as assistant coach at Princeton University, his alma mater, where he had been an honorable mention All-American and Ivy League Player of the Year as a senior in 1988. In 1991 Garrett moved on to play in the World League and the Canadian Football League before joining the Cowboys~R practice squad in 1992.

Newson spent all of 2004 on the team's injured reserve list with a torn left Achilles~R tendon that he sustained in the Dolphins~R first preseason games, on August 14 against Jacksonville.