I appreciate Jerry Jones actually standing in front of a microphone and talking to people. It’s something his brothers in NFL ownership reject, and if they did, they might have the most valuable sports franchise in the entire world. Is Jones speaking in a way other team owners would never do, like on a weekly radio show, for the sake of transparency, or is he doing it because it’s ego-satiating for that particular billionaire? I’m not here to judge what’s on Jones’ mind, but what he’s saying into microphones is public information.
He sat in front of the media on Tuesday on the far right, his son Stephen on the far left and coach Mike McCarthy in the middle. Nice try with the seating plan, but you’re not fooling anyone.
A reporter called back to something Jones said earlier in the press conference. He said the phone isn’t ringing, but they’re calling to move the draft forward. She admitted he might have been joking, but she threw the sentence back at him, and asked Jones when calling someone about draft changes. He again joked that the phrase came from a country song and might have come from Rusty Jones.When the phone doesn’t ring, you know it’s me.“That’s pretty low-cut though, with only 2,000 YouTube views and from 2012, and Jimmy Buffett’s 1985 release of a song with a similar title is definitely not a country song.
Separately, Jones then spent a full four minutes and 15 seconds talking about how risk aversion makes a team average and how everyone from leaders to coaches is included in the process. He punctuated this monologue by throwing his son under the bus. Jones paid tribute to last season’s pick of Micah Parsons – first-team All-Pro as a rookie – and laid Taco Charlton’s 2017 pick at the feet of son Stephen. Charlton may not have worked for the Cowboys, but Cowboys Nation absolutely had fun with these Taco Bueno advertising before he even played a game.
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While it’s not customary for billionaires to answer questions from us farmers, Jones should realize he’s speaking from the clearest glass house in America as he jabs at his son. The man sitting between them, Coach McCarhty, is a poor decision made on his watch. The Green Bay Packers thrived under McCarthy’s watch but didn’t sniff at a Super Bowl after that win in 2010. Aaron Rodgers A less candid Kyrie Irving may be, but he’s also one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. As much of the talent on this team got old, McCarthy ran out of counters.
Don’t forget that in an emergency, the Packers had to start wide receiver Ty Montgomery as running back because their backfield was decimated by injury. McCarthy saw 451 yards in 10 regular season starts and 91 yards in three playoff starts as reason to allow a Stanford wide receiver the running back starting position the following season. He gained 271 total yards and started only five games.
And what of the Cowboys’ design flaws does Jones have? I’ll let him loose a bit on Felix Jones’ injury (although Rashard Mendenhall was much better) but what about Bobby Carpenter? Was it Stephen’s decision to pick Gavin Escobar in the second round of the 2013 draft to potentially replace Jason Witten? How about swapping three draft picks to select Roy Williams, who I remember the most because Dez Bryant refused to wear his pads?
Speaking of trades, how did it play out with Joey Galloway? Jones traded two first-round picks for a wide receiver in 2000. The ACL injury wasn’t Jones’ fault, but not having a first-round pick for a wide receiver in two straight years when Troy Aikman hasn’t made a Pro Bowl since 1996, he can take all the blame for that.
And let’s not forget Jones’ biggest mistake, firing one of the greatest coaches in football history over an ego struggle. Jimmy Johnson should have coached the Cowboys until he decided to stop coaching. Instead it was a bunch of Barry Switzers, Dave Campos, Jason Garretts and now Mike McCarthys, marching to the beat of Jerry’s drum.
I get the joke and how much ego it takes to make public statements when you’re worth so much money you don’t have to speak to anyone but your assistants. But, Jerry, I mean congratulations on picking the Parsons and the other accomplishments you’ve had, Tyron Smith, Dak Prescott, etc. However, the most valuable sports franchise in the world hasn’t sniffed a championship since your Pizza Hut advertising with Deion Sanders. It’s definitely not Stephen’s fault.
