By Jon Machota / Special Contributor
jmachota@dallasnews.com
Jerry Jones didn’t sound like a general manager ready to get rid of his head coach when he spoke Tuesday on his weekly radio show.
While talking about the Cowboys struggling under Jason Garrett, who is in his second full season as head coach, Jones mentioned firing a previous coach too soon, a mistake he doesn’t want to make again.
But the highlight of his answer came when discussing how Super Bowl-winning coaches like Bill Belichick and Tom Landry didn’t have success early in their careers.
“I think you got to look at his short tenure as our coach as well as potential for the future,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Now, that’s a combination that’s worth looking at real good. Because, yes, I made a coaching change with a coach in here that had only been here two years — Chan Gailey. I regretted it. That was not the thing to do at the time. A lot of people would take issue with the statement I just made, but it’s probably one of just a few things regarding the coaching thing that I would take back. That was a pretty quick tenure for him. Fair is not the word, but I don’t know that it was fair to our team and our fans.
“Having said all that, you need to look at how short of a time that Jason’s been here. You need to look at the potential that he has. You need to look at a coach like Bill Belichick, that went up to Cleveland and was fired, and then turned around and was looking, trying to get a job and then ends up working his way back and ends up in New England later on. The books are full of coaches that initially started slower and ended up doing outstanding jobs. … Specifically, I do know of coaches that had they not stuck with them, Coach Landry, we don’t have to remind ourselves of his early years as a young coach.”
That certainly sounds like an owner/general manager that’s content with his current head coach.
Later in the interview, Jones addressed the speculation about the possibility of the Cowboys going after Sean Payton at the end of the season. Jones said he is not allowed to have any communication with the New Orleans Saints coach who is suspended for the season because of his alleged involvement in the Saints’ bounty scandal.
“I have no idea what they’re talking about, and I have no understanding about anything to do with his business or the Saints’ business,” Jones said. “All of that was news to me. I saw it just like you did, on television.”
jmachota@dallasnews.com
Jerry Jones didn’t sound like a general manager ready to get rid of his head coach when he spoke Tuesday on his weekly radio show.
While talking about the Cowboys struggling under Jason Garrett, who is in his second full season as head coach, Jones mentioned firing a previous coach too soon, a mistake he doesn’t want to make again.
But the highlight of his answer came when discussing how Super Bowl-winning coaches like Bill Belichick and Tom Landry didn’t have success early in their careers.
“I think you got to look at his short tenure as our coach as well as potential for the future,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Now, that’s a combination that’s worth looking at real good. Because, yes, I made a coaching change with a coach in here that had only been here two years — Chan Gailey. I regretted it. That was not the thing to do at the time. A lot of people would take issue with the statement I just made, but it’s probably one of just a few things regarding the coaching thing that I would take back. That was a pretty quick tenure for him. Fair is not the word, but I don’t know that it was fair to our team and our fans.
“Having said all that, you need to look at how short of a time that Jason’s been here. You need to look at the potential that he has. You need to look at a coach like Bill Belichick, that went up to Cleveland and was fired, and then turned around and was looking, trying to get a job and then ends up working his way back and ends up in New England later on. The books are full of coaches that initially started slower and ended up doing outstanding jobs. … Specifically, I do know of coaches that had they not stuck with them, Coach Landry, we don’t have to remind ourselves of his early years as a young coach.”
That certainly sounds like an owner/general manager that’s content with his current head coach.
Later in the interview, Jones addressed the speculation about the possibility of the Cowboys going after Sean Payton at the end of the season. Jones said he is not allowed to have any communication with the New Orleans Saints coach who is suspended for the season because of his alleged involvement in the Saints’ bounty scandal.
“I have no idea what they’re talking about, and I have no understanding about anything to do with his business or the Saints’ business,” Jones said. “All of that was news to me. I saw it just like you did, on television.”
