Jerry Jones tries to put the toothpaste back in the glory hole.
On Tuesday, Jones made a absurd case for the idea that there is “no correlation” between coaching compensation and winning. On Friday, Jones claimed he was willing to pay for coaches — despite his unequivocal assertion that there is no connection between paying coaches big money and getting big results.
“Nobody will ever know if I was ever interested in someone who, at the time, was known to have, let’s say, a big financial deal,” Jones said during his final appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “No one will ever know. Well, the facts are I’ve been out there and tried to lure high-performing coaches away from the teams they were on. And I knew very well that I was going to pay them for all their success. . . . It’s absolutely ridiculous, and I actually smile when someone says, “Jerry isn’t willing to pay money to hire the right type of coach.” . . .’ I have five pits that cost more than any coach I know, every one of them, in the NFL.
He can smile as much as he wants. But he said what he said. And now he says something different because the reaction has been universal.
There is absolutely a connection between paying for a good coach and reaping the rewards of having one.
Showing its oil wells is gas. Jones personally doesn’t see the benefit of paying big money for an accomplished coach. So he prefers to treat the search for a good coach like prospecting, looking for a low-rent coach who generates penthouse results.
The other factor is the power that comes from signing a coach to a market-level deal. Enough power to ignore Jones and coach the team as he sees fit, trusting that Jerry won’t fire him and risk having to pay the entire buyout.
So why did Jerry react the way he did? He needs fans to think he’s “all in” when it comes to chasing a championship (or, at a minimum, the franchise’s first place in the NFC Championship in 31-plus years). The moment fans realize it’s all bluster, carnival barking, and penny-pinching is the moment they’ll stop going to Cowboys games and start looking for another team to support.
Tuesday’s comments were far too revealing. And, for the loyal fans who give their time, money and emotions to the Cowboys, it’s far too damning about how the general manager, who can’t be fired, is mismanaging the team.
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