During a regularly scheduled radio interview on Tuesday, Jerry Jones threw a tantrum and criticized the station’s host.
But perhaps today marks the end of a short fuse in which the Dallas Cowboys owner told his interrogators that difficult questions were “not your business” and that “you should let someone else ask them.” covered up Jones’ biggest logical error.
Less than 48 hours after the team lost 47-9 at home to the Detroit Lions, Jones questioned whether the improvements fans had hoped for were realistic.
“Where are you going to get players from? Seriously,” Jones said on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “Where are you going to gather your players for next week’s game against San Francisco?”
Jerry Jones didn’t like being asked about the Cowboys’ offseason while appearing on 105.3 The Fan.
“Your job is not to make me explain all the reasons why I did something… That’s not your job. I’ll let other people ask these questions. I’m not kidding.” pic.twitter.com/Po2LJ8f6cX
— Terrible announcement (@awfulpayment) October 15, 2024
The team owner, who also serves as the Cowboys’ general manager, had already insisted that it would be impossible to replace players at this time.
There was merit in Jones’ argument, just as there was merit in defending the “Universal Participation Declaration heard around the world.” But on Tuesday, the Cowboys’ chief executive chose the wrong day to play the victim about how much he could change. Because while he laments his inability to rebuild or shore up the roster and find upgrades in personnel, the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills will acquire just that. This is because they were about to conclude a contract.
The Jets’ trade for six-time Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams and the Bills’ trade for five-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper reflect the AFC East’s urgency to earn a Super Bowl berth. There is.
The splash move also reflects Cowboys fans’ willingness to challenge what team owners don’t see.
Four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, acquired by the Jets in a trade last year, explained that mindset.
“Now it’s on us,” Rodgers said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I will do my best.”
Somewhere during the league game in Atlanta, Jones was shaking.
The meaning behind Jerry Jones’ words
If Jones had known in January how far his words would travel, even he would have been devastated.
The “all in” argument was powerful in a vacuum.
Were the Cowboys going to make a flashy trade to solve their postseason embarrassment after three straight 12-win seasons?
Were the Cowboys going to change head coach Mike McCarthy’s fortunes and bring in a legend like Bill Belichick? Just how much talent, strategy and, frankly, sports’ most valuable franchise (albeit one in a salary-cap-restricted league) will need to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since January 1996. Can I invest the money?
There was an irony in how much stock fans, media, and others focused on Jones’ words.
Because those who closely follow Jones and the Cowboys, and the line between the two has blurred for decades, know that the interview-friendly octogenarian is extremely Because they speak frequently and freely, they know that it is not uncommon for their opinions to contradict themselves not only over time, but also over time. Same conversation.
For example, in a March interview with several reporters, including Yahoo Sports, Jones said that within minutes of discussing the postseason drawbacks that quarterback Dak Prescott would factor into his contract extension, – Prescott expressed his belief that he can and will win the Super Bowl.
Jones praised McCarthy and his Super Bowl-winning history as a reason to believe his team can break its severe postseason drought. Jones, who sat in the same overstuffed chair and used the same notepad and whose doodles also went viral, expressed his belief that coaches were failing to get the best out of their players.
Any of the four stances had reason to fire if taken in a vacuum.
Jones knows it when he speaks on record with the microphone clearly visible. After all, he had given reporters plenty of off-the-record time in advance, so he had a chance to hold back for a more flavorful take when the recorders started rolling.
But when placed next to each other in a richer context, they painted a different picture.
Read critically, Jones’ contradictions might be dismissed as the ramblings of an old man, then 81 and now 82, who traveled long days and sometimes spoke his mind with circular logic. do not have.
Charity’s reading gives Jones a great deal of knowledge about the factors that influence a team’s success, and therefore is bound to influence his decisions.
On Tuesday, Jones alternated between caution and discipline, and both sides of the coin flashed again.
It’s important to understand both in Confluence.
“Even stupid things can turn into good decisions.”
Jones’ anger, although he defended it hours later, should not be tolerated.
Threatening a host’s job, as Jones often does, even if it gets more attention, borders on an abuse of power.
It’s best that it never happen again.
Mr. Jones was nevertheless restless, and he presented evidence that contradicted some of the criticisms he often receives.
Will every decision Jones makes, both in football and in business, be in favor of winning at all costs?
There is strong evidence for this.
Still, does Jones probably care about his performance and reputation as much as any other player in the league?
Tuesday was a reminder that he is.
The Cowboys’ 2024 season could go downhill just as quickly as Jones’ radio interview. But the Cowboys’ chief executive made two colorful but fair points in his emotional defense.
“Sometimes stupid things turn out to be good decisions, right?” Jones said. “Sometimes a wise decision turns out to be a bad decision.”
Translation: The Bills and Jets are going to make a run for the playoffs, but acquiring talented players doesn’t guarantee success. After all, it was Jones six years ago who acquired Cooper at the trade deadline. And while the acquisition injected energy into his offense, an early playoff exit and subsequent .500 year still forced a coaching change.
This leads to point two.
“If you think I’m interested in getting on the radio with you and sitting here and throwing all the goodies out in the dishwasher, you must be smoking something,” Jones said. Ta.
Translation: Admittedly, the Cowboys’ 2024 run game hasn’t arrived yet. Their run defense is routinely broken, and their three home losses are as embarrassing as they are out of sync. But a roster centered around Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons could turn things around. Jones has seen wilder things happen.
There’s a good chance the Cowboys make a coaching change this offseason. Schematic, if not personnel, changes are likely to follow.
Or maybe it’s the same reversal of fortune that made Jones say the words “all in” that makes his now-questionable decision seem prescient.
“We have the ability to improve,” Jones said. “We’re taking steps that we think can narrow that gap that we’re seeing on the ground.”
