EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Although he expected a win at MetLife Stadium, Jerry Jones emphasized this week that Jason Garrett would continue to be the Cowboys’ head coach regardless of the regular-season finale’s score.

Jones didn’t change his mind after a 31-14 loss to the New York Giants with the NFC East title on the line, ending the Cowboys’ season with an 8-8 record.

“Unequivocally,” Jones said when asked whether he still felt the same way about Garrett. “I feel that Jason is our coach and we can build and do some good things from here. We can take some of the things that we need to do better and address them.”

Garrett’s first full season as a head coach will be remembered for the Cowboys blowing three double-digit fourth-quarter leads -- something that had happened only twice in the franchise’s previous 51 seasons -- and a clock-management crisis in the final 26 seconds of regulation in an overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It will be remembered for the Cowboys collapsing down the stretch, losing four of their last five games to miss the plays.

Jones, however, sees hope and growth when he evaluates a 45-year-old head coach with a 13-11 record.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” Jones said. “He has done a lot of good things here. He’s learned a lot this year. Hopefully we all do, but still he’s learned a lot. Our fans and Cowboys will take advantage of that.”