Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was fired up Tuesday during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan following Sunday’s blowout 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions.
He snapped back at critics and said he was “sick” about his team’s performance.
“You really think you’re gonna sit here with a microphone and tell me all of the things that I’ve done wrong without going over the rights?” Jones said. “Listen, we both know we’re talking to a lot of great fans, a lot of great listeners. And I’m very sorry for what happened out there Sunday. I’m sick about what happened Sunday.”
During the interview, Jones shut down the notion that Mike McCarthy would be fired in the middle of the season, noting that he had only done that one time before, back in 2010 when he fired Wade Phillips and moved on to Jason Garrett.
“I won’t be making any others during the season,” he said.
Jones went on to tell hosts Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy that in-season coaching changes “aren’t good, and they’re usually ineffective. They just aren’t good.”
The Cowboys (3-3) are currently third in the NFC East.
They have a plethora of roster issues and injuries, including an injury to star linebacker Micah Parsons. Dallas is 24th in total yards allowed (356.5), 26th in rushing yards allowed (143.2) and 30th in points allowed (28.0).
Offensively, Dallas is last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (77.2) and is averaging 21.0 points per game, a category they led a year ago with 29.9 points per game. And their 11 giveaways are second in the NFL.
Jones, 82, was defensive when asked about his decision not to make roster moves this offseason.
“This is not your job,” he said. “Your job isn’t to let me go over all the reasons that I did something and I’m sorry that I did it. That’s not your job. I’ll get somebody else to ask these questions. I’m not kidding. You’re not going to figure it out what the team is doing right or wrong. If you are, or any five or 10 like you, you need to come to this (NFL) meeting I’m going to today with 32 teams here, you’re geniuses.”
Dallas has an upcoming bye week, but over its next five weeks it will face four teams in playoff position: San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Washington Commanders.
Since 2020, 6.8 new teams on average have made the playoffs. The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat winner of the division since 2004; the Commanders currently lead the division at 4-2.
Jerry Jones is used to criticism
Jones appears on the Cowboys’ flagship radio station multiple times a week, so the interview Tuesday morning was right in his wheelhouse and comfort zone. The questions he was asked weren’t unfair or overly aggressive either, especially not relative to the type of disaster the Cowboys look like at 3-3 going into their bye week.
It’s certainly conceivable that Jones was not a big fan of the questions placing so much of the blame at his feet. He brought up how much money his quarterback is making multiple times, after Dak Prescott became the highest paid player in NFL history last month. So Jones’ tense demeanor has some reality to it.
However, this also feels like Jones, the brilliant owner and marketer, at work. The Cowboys are currently a mediocre football team, at best, going into the bye week. Apathy is setting in with the fanbase, perhaps more than ever before. With Jones’ radio interview, the Cowboys are front-page again. People are talking about them, which is a win for Jones. He said as much a few months ago at training camp. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
