Jerry Jones - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys Notes: Jerry, Dez, Witten

February 27th, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Rory Parks

This is not exactly surprising given that he’ll turn 78 in October, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not planning to remain at the helm beyond the expiration of the next CBA, as Jon Machota of The Athletic tweets. Of course, the proposed CBA that will soon be voted on by the league’s workforce is another 10-year agreement, so it makes sense that Jones, who has owned the club since 1989, would be prepared to step down around the time the players and owners sit down again in another decade or so.

However, he is adamant that the proposed CBA is the right move for the league and should be ratified by the players.

Now for more from Dallas:

Former star wideout Dez Bryant hasn’t played since 2017, but he wants to continue his NFL career and recently expressed his desire to rejoin the Cowboys. For what it’s worth, Jones said he hasn’t ruled it out, as Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Jones even revealed a little more than we may have liked, saying he has considered the matter while in the shower.
Jones would also like tight end Jason Witten to return to the team, as Hill notes (Twitter link). However, it sounds like Jones has a reduced role in mind for Witten, and it remains to be seen whether Witten — who is open to signing elsewhere — will be receptive to that.
Likewise, Jones wants to retain pass-rusher Robert Quinn (Twitter link via Hill). The last we heard, the Cowboys had not discussed a new contract with Quinn — understandable, as the club has bigger fish to fry at the moment — but Quinn posted 11.5 sacks in a resurgent 2019 campaign, and Jones hopes there is a way he can keep him in Dallas.
Another member of the Cowboys’ front seven, Tyrone Crawford, is under contract through 2020, but the Cowboys could save $6.9MM by cutting him. That could be tempting, given that Crawford played in just four games in 2019 and had surgery on both of his hips. However, the 30-year-old said he could return to the field this spring, and Jones expects him to be on the roster, though he is definitely a restructure candidate (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News).
Cowboys DE Michael Bennett signed a new contract with the Cowboys after Dallas acquired him from the Patriots in October that allows him to hit free agency this year. As such, his comments to ESPN’s Josina Anderson indicating that he wants to play in 2020 are not surprising (Twitter link). It sounds as though Bennett, 34, wants to hook on with a contender, and there should be a market for his services.

Cowboys Officially Part With Jason Garrett

January 5th, 2020 at 6:01pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Cowboys have officially announced that Jason Garrett will not return as the team’s head coach next season. While the news does not come as a surprise, the team had yet to make an official announcement. The announcement confirms an earlier report from Jay Glazer of Fox Sports that Dallas had informed Garrett of the decision.

Garrett’s status had been under question for much of the season and when the Cowboys were officially eliminated from the playoffs his fate seemed sealed. While nothing was officially announced, Dallas began interviewing other head coaching candidates, including former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy earlier this week.

The team’s statement refuses to call the move a firing, but rather says “the team would not seek a new agreement [with Garrett].” Garrett has long been held by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in high regard dating back to his days as a backup quarterback, but his inability to take Dallas deep into the playoffs forced Jones to make a move. In the end, Garrett finished his 10-year tenure as Cowboys head coach with an 85-67 regular season record and 2-3 postseason record.

Latest On Jason Garrett, Cowboys

December 21st, 2019 at 11:57am CST by Ben Levine

If Jason Garrett wants to keep his job, he’ll have to lead the Cowboys to the NFC Championship Game. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Dallas will have to make the conference championship to prevent his firing.

Specifically, Jerry Jones wants the Cowboys to win the division and then make it further in the playoffs than they did last year. That means Dallas has to continue winning, especially against the Eagles tomorrow. That also means Dallas has to get past the divisional round, as the Cowboys lost to the Rams in that round during last year’s playoffs.

There were rumblings earlier this year that Garrett could be on the hot seat, but the organization made it clear that they wouldn’t make a coaching change this season. The Cowboys currently sit at an underwhelming 7-7, but that’s good enough for them to sit tied for first (with Philly) for the top spot in the NFC East. Garrett took over the head coach position midway through the 2010 season, and he’s led Dallas to an 84-66 record. The Cowboys only have three playoff appearances during the coach’s stint.

We heard earlier this month that the Cowboys would have interest in Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley if they elect to move on from Garrett. Owner Jerry Jones and his family already have a relationship with Riley stemming from Riley’s recruitment of Jones’ grandson, John Stephen Jones, who ultimately elected to play his collegiate ball at Arkansas.

Cowboys Notes: Beasley, Garrett, Maher

November 29th, 2019 at 11:57am CST by Marc Delucchi

Former Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley had a bumpy tenure with the team. Beasley was a fan favorite in Dallas from 2012-2018, but became frustrated with the team when his role did not expand to the degree he thought it should. After signing with the Bills this offseason, Beasley got to exert his revenge in Buffalo’s 26-15 victory in Dallas on Thursday.

In the postgame celebration of Buffalo’s Thanksgiving day victory, Beasley told reporters that he felt “disrespected” in Dallas and felt that they disrespected him again in his return, according to Angel Franco of The Dallas Morning News. Beasley caught six passes for 110 receiving yards and a touchdown against his former team.

Here’s some more Cowboys notes:

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones ripped his coaching staff after last week’s loss to the Patriots. After an even more disappointing loss to Buffalo on Thursday, all eyes were on the maverick owner to see if he would once again criticize his coaching staff. While Jones was not full of praise, he tried to calm the flames around the team by saying he will not make any coaching moves during the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. This does not remove the pressure on head coach Jason Garrett to make a deep playoff run, but should make it easier to focus on the upcoming schedule.
Cowboys placekicker Brett Maher is in the midst of a massive sophomore slump. After an impressive rookie season that included 6 makes on 7 attempts from at least 50 yards, the Nebraska product has made just 67.9% of his field goal attempts in 2019. While special teams has been a huge problem for the Cowboys, they will not be making a change at kicker, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. Maher has yet to miss an extra point on the season and remains 14 of 16 inside 40 yards, but will surely hope to improve his accuracy from deeper range during the rest of the season.

Jason Garrett Must Win Super Bowl To Keep Job

November 27th, 2019 at 9:38am CST by Marc Delucchi

Sources close to the Cowboys say head coach Jason Garrett must win the Super Bowl this season to retain his job, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. Freeman notes that Garrett has survived the hot seat many times before, but claims in this instance, “the rumors feel different.”

Just this morning, Dallas owner Jerry Jones intimated the same sentiment to Good Morning Football, but given Jones’ maverick history, reading into any one quote can be misleading. However, Freeman’s report confirms Garrett faces an ultimatum to reach a level he has never reached in his tenure as head coach.

Garrett holds a 83-64 overall record in his ten years as head coach in Dallas, but his 2-3 playoff record, which includes zero Super Bowl appearances remains the largest indictment on his record. His more recent refusal to integrate statistical analysis into his decision making has garnered large outside criticism, especially after he decided to kick a field goal during the Cowboys 13-9 loss to the Patriots on Sunday.

Freeman reports that executives around the league believe Jones has begun to focus on two candidates to eventually replace Garrett: former Utah, Florida, and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Both candidates come with certain levels of risk. Meyer has never coached at the professional level and left Ohio State amidst off-field controversy. McDaniels’ was last the Broncos head coach, but was fired after a generally unsuccessful tenure. Of course, Garrett does appear to have a path to retaining his position: reaching the league’s pinnacle.

Coaching Notes: Belichick, Packers, Garrett

November 27th, 2019 at 9:15am CST by Marc Delucchi

Ben Volin of The Boston Globe dives into the tape of the Patriots 13-9 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday to explore the ways New England shutdown one of the most prolific offenses in football. Pats head coach Bill Belichick has long been one of the best defensive minds in football and Dallas tight end Jason Witten explained how Sunday’s scheme caused problems,“Even though it’s cover 0, it’s really not. When you think cover 0, you think all-out pressure and man-to-man [coverage]. But they’re dropping out to play whole help, so they have help coming inside. As receivers and quarterbacks, it puts a lot of pressure on you.”

The Pats defense may be one of the most aggressive units in the NFL, but that aggressiveness does not come with the greater risk we have come to expect. Volin notes that while New England has the tenth highest blitz rate in the league, their creative defensive scheme, which includes intricate decoys, limits an opponents ability to take advantage.

The Packers have one of the younger assistant coaching staffs in football under rookie head coach Matt LaFleur, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Tom Silverstein and LeRoy Butler of the Milwaukee Sentinel debate whether that could explain the inability for such a talented unit to really dominate opponents and get shutdown by the 49ers this past week. Silverstein opines that a more experienced staff might be better equipped to scheme their team advantages.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones once again offered strong public comments surrounding Dallas head coach Jason Garrett. This morning on Good Morning Football, Jones was asked about Garrett and responded, “I don’t have to win the Super Bowl in business every year. I can come in 6th and have a hell of a year. But in this business, you gotta come in first. I want Jason to get it done.” While the statement does not say anything definitively, it does suggest a certain level of ultimatum for his head coach: win the Super Bowl or else.

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Jason Garrett’s Job Security

November 26th, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Zachary Links

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.

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

November 25th, 2019 at 9:16am CST by Marc Delucchi

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

October 22nd, 2019 at 10:10am CST by Zachary Links

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

October 13th, 2019 at 9:02pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

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.