Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Jason Garrett’s Job Security
For most of the season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has stood behind head coach Jason Garrett. That’s not necessarily the case today, however, following a 13-9 loss to the Patriots.
[RELATED: Giants Eyeing Jason Garrett As HC?]
On Tuesday morning, Jones told 105.3 The Fan that he is beyond “disappointed” with the club at this moment. Furthermore, he indicated that Garrett’s job is on the line, though he said that there would not be an in-season change.
“Disappointed is not the word. There’s no question that we were given an opportunity, there were things we could have taken advantage of,” Jones said.
Jones lit up Garrett after Sunday’s game and doesn’t seem to have cooled down much in the last 48 hours. Meanwhile, Garrett has five games left to restore the confidence of his boss.
With a 6-5 record, the Cowboys are atop the NFC East, with an edge over the second place Eagles (5-6). According to FiveThirtyEight, the Cowboys have a 65% shot of reaching the playoffs.
Garrett and the Cowboys will finish out the regular season against the Bills, Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Redskins.
Jerry Jones Critical Of Cowboys’ Coaching Staff
NOV. 25: The Cowboys will not fire Garrett or make any immediate changes to his staff, per Werder (via Twitter). Werder reminds us that OL coach Paul Alexander was fired during the team’s bye week in 2018, so there is precedent there, but Garrett, O’Quinn, et al. are safe for now (Twitter link).
NOV. 24: Earlier on Sunday, a report emerged suggesting current Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett could be the next head coach of the rival Giants. New York has struggled under Pat Shurmur and there appeared to be mutual interest between Garrett and the Giants. One thing that remains unclear is whether Garrett will be available. While he has been on the hot seat for much of the season, it would not be the first time public perceptions of Garrett’s job status were incorrect.
At least publicly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has remained supportive and confident in Garrett — until now. After Dallas’ 13-9 loss to the Patriots, Jones was very critical of his coaching staff, according to Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan. The most critical commentary focused on the special teams unit, which had a number of crucial mishaps against New England. That does fall under Garrett’s supervision, but likely has larger ramifications for special teams ccoordinator Keith O’Quinn.
With that said, some of Jones’ criticism seemed like a more direct indictment of Garrett as well. “When we run up against an opponent that gets it together, we have a tough time coordinating how we put our offense and defense out there and have them playing [well] at the same time,” Jones said. The owner went as far to say that they had been “outcoached” and lacked “coaching fundamentals.”
Fisher had speculated earlier in the day that the rumors connecting Garrett to the Giants could have been an attempt from Garrett’s side to pressure Jones into an extension. However, Fisher opined for Sports Illustrated that could backfire and cause the owner to lose patience with Garrett even quicker than he would otherwise. The shift in Jones’ public discussion lends credence to that argument.
Indeed, Ed Werder of ESPN.com calls Jones’ comments with respect to Garrett his most damning review of Garrett’s work (Twitter link). Werder also speculates (via Twitter) that the Cowboys may have to win all of their remaining regular season games and at least two playoff games for Jones to retain Garrett.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones On Jason Garrett
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly backed Jason Garrett amidst rumblings about the head coach’s job security, but no one seems to believe him. This week, Jones discussed Garrett – and Urban Meyer‘s recent comments – in interviews with Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram and 105.3 The Fan. Here’s a look at the highlights:
On Garrett’s future with the team:
“I am looking for reasons. I’m looking for reasons to keep him. It’s merited here. It’s hard to get an effective coach and get it locked in with all you have to retool and redo. I’m comfortable. We have established some security apart from the won-loss. He represents the organization well on and off the field. You don’t have to wake up in the morning reading about it.”
On Garrett’s relationship with players:
“[The] head coach, right there beside him the offensive coordinator.. they’re going to get a lot of shots from time to time because we all know it doesn’t go right at all [all the time], so get ready. But ,I’ve seen him, and I’ve seen him handle it. I’ve not seen a concern, and I’ve experienced it to where key players have an issue with the coach. I haven’t seen that with Garrett.”
On Meyer saying that he would “absolutely” accept the Cowboys job, if offered:
“For Urban Meyer to say that is a compliment,” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News). “Period. I really know that. The job is a great job. Now, that’s not implying that I made it that way or I don’t make it that way. It’s just the place to be.”
Extra Points: Garrett, Rosen, Mariota
The Cowboys got off to a red-hot start this season, and many were talking about them as Super Bowl contenders. Then the schedule toughened up, and Dallas has now lost three straight games. We heard earlier this morning that the Cowboys could make a coaching change after this season, and things certainly didn’t get better for Jason Garrett when he lost to the Jets Sunday. Speaking after his team’s loss to New York, owner Jerry Jones didn’t exactly offer a ringing endorsement. Asked about Garrett’s future with the team, Jones said “I’m not even coming close to those future type considerations,” via Jon Machota of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“I haven’t even glanced there in my mind about long-term future. I’m looking in the future as next week against those Eagles,” he continued. That’s obviously not a sign that Jones is very confident in Garrett, and things will get even worse if the Cowboys lose a pivotal divisional game to Philly next Sunday night. Garrett is in the final year of his contract as a lame-duck coach, and after the first few games it appeared he was well on his way to earning an extension. Things change fast in the NFL though, and Jones thinks his team is championship caliber and isn’t going to settle for anything less. For what it’s worth a Cowboys source said “absolutely not” when asked if Garret’s job was in immediate jeopardy, per Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That being said, Garrett’s seat is definitely starting to heat up.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Dolphins benched Josh Rosen during their close loss to the Redskins today, and Ryan Fitzpatrick provided a spark off the bench. Fitzpatrick led two late touchdown drives and had Miami within a two-point conversion of their first win of the season, but he won’t be holding the job moving forward. Speaking after the game head coach Brian Flores confirmed Rosen would remain the team’s starter next week against the Bills, according to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com. Flores had said recently Rosen would be the team’s starter for the rest of the year barring injury, so this isn’t surprising. Still, Fitzpatrick undeniably played much better Sunday. Obviously winning isn’t the top priority for Miami right now so it sounds like they’ll continue to take a long look at the UCLA product, although it won’t be shocking if he gets pulled again soon.
- Speaking of quarterbacks getting benched, the Titans yanked Marcus Mariota from their loss to the Broncos, replacing him with Ryan Tannehill. After the game head coach Mike Vrabel was tight-lipped about his plans moving forward, and didn’t say who would start next week. Tannehill also told the media he didn’t know if he’d be under center in Week 7 against the Chargers, so stay tuned as we should have an update in the next day or two. Mariota had thrown for just 63 yards on 18 attempts with two interceptions before getting pulled. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal so even if he retains the starting job moving forward, it’s highly possible we witnessed the beginning of the end of the Mariota era in Tennessee today.
- In case you missed it, the Redskins are reportedly going to make a push to trade for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
Jerry Jones Says Dak Prescott Extension Is ‘Imminent’
Everything continues to point toward Dak Prescott getting his long-awaited extension from the Cowboys any day now. Speaking to the media after Dallas’ season-opening win over the Giants, owner Jerry Jones hinted that an agreement is right around the corner.
Jones said after the game that an extension is “imminent,” according to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com. “What’s imminent? Well, days. Days. Or something like that.” In our most recent update earlier this morning, Prescott insisted he wasn’t concerned about talks and everything seemed to be progressing nicely. Jones’ comments today are the latest indicator of that. Prescott had one of the best games of his career against New York, throwing for 405 yards on only 32 attempts while tossing four touchdowns.
Performances like that are sure to embolden Prescott’s representatives, who are likely seeking record money. Jared Goff just got the largest guarantee in NFL history from the Rams, and Prescott could be seeking to eclipse that. The Mississippi State product is set to be a free agent at the end of the year, but there hasn’t ever been much panic since the Cowboys could control him through the franchise tag if worst came to worst.
Dallas has been locking up players left and right, and Prescott could be the final domino to fall this season if talks continue to stay stalled between the team and Amari Cooper. If Prescott is going to keep playing like he did in Week 1, it’s definitely in Jones’ best interest to get something done quickly before the price gets even higher.
Latest On CBA Discussions, Jerry Jones’ Involvement
There is plenty of reason for optimism right now with respect to a new collective bargaining agreement, and we even heard today that the league and the union hope to have a new agreement hammered out before the 2019 regular season gets underway. While that is far from a certainty at this point, it’s at least encouraging that the two sides are actively trying to avoid a work stoppage like the one we saw in 2011.
One of the key figures in this round of negotiations is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Jones has taken a more visible and vocal role this time around after watching Patriots owner Robert Kraft take charge back in 2011. Jones reportedly wants a large share of the credit for getting the next deal done, though it’s unclear whether his involvement will facilitate matters or throw a wrench into the works.
Indeed, Florio reports that, at a recent bargaining session, Jones and Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander had a “spirited discussion” about player health and safety that created some friction. And Jones’ very public campaign against commissioner Roger Goodell in 2017 could be a source of tension, though Florio says the two men have largely reconciled.
One of the issues that Jones, his fellow owners, and the NFLPA will have to resolve is stadium credits. Albert Breer of TheMMQB (Twitter link) notes that media deals will also be a major topic of conversation — the league’s current broadcast deals expire in 2023, and the emergence of streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix will greatly complicate matters — and the revenue split between owners and players will be revisited.
Florio suggests that a new CBA is not likely to be agreed upon by the start of the season, and Breer likewise hears that the meetings that have taken place so far have been to identify issues, not necessarily to resolve them. Perhaps more substantive work will get done at the bargaining sessions that are currently scheduled for July 17-19.
Florio does indicate that Goodell is hoping to parlay the new CBA into a new round of media deals and then retire not long thereafter. The CBA and the network deals could be done, if not by the start of the season, then at least before the Super Bowl in February.
Cowboys Rumors: Earl Thomas, Witten, Draft
Seahawks free agent safety Earl Thomas is expected seek $15MM a year with his next deal, The Athletic’s Calvin Watkins tweets.
Watkins notes that figure might be too high for the Cowboys. Though possessing plenty of cap space this offseason, the team is expected to use most of that money in signing Demarcus Lawrence to a long-term deal and working on extensions for players like Dak Prescott and Byron Jones.
Thomas and the Cowboys have long been linked ever since the All-Pro safety told head coach Jason Garrett to “come get him” following a 2017 game. The Cowboys and Seahawks were in talks on trades for the star defender in the offseason but could not come to an agreement on draft-round compensation.
Thomas, a Texas native and longtime Cowboys fan, reportedly will not take a “hometown” discount with the team and is also expected to be courted by the 49ers.
Here’s more surrounding the Cowboys:
- When asked whether the newly signed Jason Witten is a “coach in waiting,” owner Jerry Jones said that he will be with the team in the future, whether that is as a coach or in another position, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets. After a year-long hiatus, Witten made a shocking decision when he decided to come back for another season in 2019. Long considered a future NFL coach, Witten is sure to make a move in that direction following what is, presumably, his last season.
- Speaking of Witten, when the future Hall of Famer rejoined the team, it was expected the Cowboys would not take a tight end early in the draft. That might not be the case, as the team has already met with Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson, The Dallas Morning News’ Jon Machota tweets. Though they might have interest, the Cowboys do not possess their first-round pick thanks to the Amari Cooper trade and the college standout will likely be gone before their Day 2 selection.
- Like we said earlier, the Cowboys are expected to use most of their cap space to resign their own players this year. The team has already met with the agents for Prescott, Jones and Cooper, and are expected to meet with Lawrence’s agent tonight, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill Jr. tweets. They have not met with Ezekiel Elliott‘s agent yet, but have indicated plenty of interest in resigning him at some point.
Cowboys Deny Trying To Pull Jason Witten Out Of Retirement
According to Jason Witten‘s ESPN coworker Adam Schefter, the Cowboys tried to pull the tight end out of retirement multiple times this year. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that’s not true. 
“That’s just not correct, period,” Jones said (via Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News) after the game. “He misses competing, but he’s got his head down and hands in the dirt, doing the job on ‘Monday Night Football’.”
Of course, no one could blame the Cowboys if they did try to keep one of the most reliable and durable tight ends in the game, especially after an offseason that left them without a true No. 1 wide receiver. But, Jones says it’s not true, and at this point, the Cowboys appear to be doing okay without Witten. The tight ends filling in for Witten came through on Sunday, including Blake Jarwin who had a seven-catch, 56-yard performance against the Eagles. The Cowboys’ offense has also improved greatly since trading for wide receiver Amari Cooper, who caught yesterday’s game-winning TD.
Witten piled up 11 Pro Bowl nods and two First Team All-Pro selections over the course of his career, spent entirely with the Cowboys. Even if head coach Jason Garrett never tried to pull Witten out of the booth, it’s hard to imagine that they’d say no if the 36-year-old had a change of heart.
Owners To Revisit How NFL Conducts Investigations?
In the wake of the Kareem Hunt incident, some NFL owners want to reconsider how the league handles its investigations into criminal allegations made against players, The Washington Post’s Mark Maske writes. 
Sources tell Maske those owners would like to revise the league’s investigative methods with the possibility of considering if it should be conducting those investigations in the first place. Though some are interested in rehashing the process, it is not expected to be a large contingent and there is not believed to be a specific agenda item on the issue at the upcoming owners’ meeting in Dallas on Wednesday.
“It’s certainly an issue that needs discussion,” said one of those people with knowledge of those owners’ views, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. “Is there a way to do this better? If not, should the NFL even be in the investigative business?”
The NFL faced heavy scrutiny after security footage from a February 2018 incident at a Cleveland hotel surfaced last week of Hunt shoving a woman to the ground and kicking her. In its original investigation, the league was unable to obtain the footage to review and did not question the running back about the incident. Hunt was not punished when the incident first came to light, but after the release of the video he was placed on the Commissioners’ Exempt List and was released immediately by the Chiefs.
Maske notes the hurdles the NFL faces in conducting these independent investigations since it does not have subpoena power.
Among the leaders of the charge by the owners could be Jerry Jones, who was openly dissatisfied with the way the league handled investigation into star Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in 2017 that resulted in a six-game suspension and a drawn-out appeals process.
Extra Points: Jerry Jones, Gallup, Cowboys, Steelers, Howard, Buccaneers
Professional took a long winding path back to Los Angeles, and eventually ended with two teams. After many years of discussion, both the Chargers and Rams ended up relocating. There were a bunch of rumors over the years about other potential options for the NFL to make its way back to Los Angeles but we never really had many details, until now. Jerry Jones was reportedly approached and given the option to bring a team to L.A., according to ProFootballTalk.com.
Jones revealed what went down in a recent interview he did, saying “Several years back, I was approached by several owners that asked if I would consider selling the team, and the team being a more elite team and I take Los Angeles and build Los Angeles.” Jones explained that he never wanted to sell the Cowboys and it obviously never happened, but Jones re-establishing the L.A. market for the NFL would’ve been highly entertaining, if nothing else.
Here’s more from around the league:
- After the tragic passing of his brother, Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup‘s status was understandably in doubt for today’s Thanksgiving game. While he missed practice this week, Gallup will in fact play against the Redskins in today’s game, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). It’s great news for the Cowboys’ suddenly resurgent offense, and our thoughts are with Gallup and his family.
- The Steelers already have a couple of talented tight ends in Jesse James and Vance McDonald, but are apparently doing due diligence on the position. The team worked out former Eagles tight end Billy Brown yesterday, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Brown, a 2017 undrafted free agent, has never appeared in a regular season game so perhaps this is just for the updating of emergency lists.
- Promising Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard had his season ended last week by an ankle injury, but he did get some good news. Bucs coach Dirk Koetter announced that Howard’s injury wasn’t as bad as some initially thought and “won’t require surgery and shouldn’t be a long-term issue”, according to Scott Smith of the Buccaneers’ official website (Twitter link). It’s great news, and Howard should be poised to become one of the best tight ends in the league in 2019.