DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ weekly appointment on the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan was an explosive edition with Jones on the defensive following a shameful third home loss in three tries for Dallas.
In Tuesday’s installment, the owner was quite contentious following the Week 6 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions while also touching on the mounting team injuries, and where his squad stands heading into their bye.
Despite things turning combative later in the interview, the owner opened with a joke: “It’s probably a good time to be laying low and get out of town, it could be dangerous out here,” said Jones following his birthday embarrassment. Of course, opening with levity didn’t do much to dispel the notion that Jones cares more about money than winning games.
Watch the full interview here (the heated exchange happens about 13 minutes in):
How big is the gap between the Cowboys and the other teams in the NFC?
“The gap we’re assessing is what you saw the other day,” Jones surmised. “That gap needs addressing, we knew coming in we needed to have a special plan and we thought we had the plan in mind, but we didn’t execute or play well enough to execute any plan.”
Jones went on to say they were playing with a young offensive line who they thought would perform well, and one he feels will get better. He also added that the places that concerned him the most are the places where they can get better across the board, including quarterback Dak Prescott.
To that note, Sunday’s loss was one of worst performances from Prescott in a long time, as the franchise QB didn’t appear to be seeing the field clearly and his play seemed to be hurried.
How are the offseason top priorities faring?
Jones deflected at first by saying that the top priorities were getting Prescott and CeeDee Lamb’s contracts done, but the timeline for those deals don’t match for a top priority when they were completed virtually at the last minute during the summer after the entire offseason had transpired. The team waited months to get those deals done and if they were of the utmost of importance, why weren’t they done sooner?
Then Jones dropped the popular catchphrase that signing those guys was a good definition of “all in” before adding, "[does] anybody want to argue with that?”
The owner wasn’t pressed on the statement of being “all in” simply because they managed to sign their top two priorities this offseason, but there isn’t another football fan alive that believes signing Prescott and Lamb means the Cowboys went “all in.” If anything, those moves were no-brainers that Jones dragged his feet on.
Is a coaching change in the cards?
“I won’t be making any [changes] during the season,” Jones emphatically ended the notion that head coach Mike McCarthy was on the chopping block in the immediate future.
Around this point of the interview, things turned heated. Jones was asked if the execution has become such a problem that the team is turning in losses like the ones against New Orleans and Detroit, why are these the right players for the Cowboys?
“Where are you gonna go to get any players,” Jones barked back. “Seriously, where are you going to get any players for next week versus San Francisco? I’ve also seen these players do it, it didn’t happen the other day, but I’ve seen them do it and we have outstanding personnel.”
Jones again reiterated that he made Prescott the highest paid player in the NFL and put Lamb near the top of the highest paid at his position, but he also cited injuries and depth issues as the reason they haven’t succeeded.
Did Dallas fail to improve during the offseason?
“Don’t tell me about how we should’ve gotten a guy in the offseason,” Jones replied defensively. “I’m dealing with how we line up against San Francisco, not what I did wrong last week, or last month, or two months ago, or two years ago. If I gave you guys a list of what I’ve done wrong over the last few years, you wouldn’t be able to be on this program for the next five years. But every now and then you do some right things and at the end of the day, you add it up and the rights give you a better spot than the wrongs.”
The hosts’ credit, they didn’t let Jones off the hook as they pressed forward with questions about the franchise not being aggressive in acquiring talent in the offseason.
“I remember the criticisms,” Jones replied. “Well, so what? What’s your point? I will let us sit down and look at the decisions we’ve made over the last several years. Now if you think I’m interested in, over a damn phone call over the radio, and sitting here throwing all the good out with the dishwater, you gotta be smoking something this morning.”
Jones continued to express his dismay at being asked a question about his decision making in the offseason, rather than answering the question itself.
Is Jones worried about fan apathy?
“I’m not worried about fan apathy,” said Jones. “If you saw the letters and things I’m getting, it’s the last thing from apathy. You’re seeing very, very keen, intense passion, about what we’re not doing. And concern for what we’re doing…I love the passion, and nobody’s more passionate than our Dallas Cowboys fans.”
Do tough questions make Jones mad?
“I don’t get mad at people that I can not be with if I don’t wanna be with,” Jones retorted. “I don’t get mad. We gotta play better, and we gotta play better at specific points.” Jones continued to say he likes his players, who are highly regarded around the league.
Ultimately, this was one of the more hostile interviews for Jones during his time joining a weekly show on 105.3 The Fan, but the points brought up by the hosts were valid. Perhaps that’s why things got as argumentative as they did when Jones was tasked with facing the music.
The inability of Jones and the organization to be aggressive in signing their own talent and finding free agent players to augment their stars is a huge part of the problem. It has been this way for over 10 years now, and this year, the team was even more dormant during the offseason.
Whether Jones likes it or not, the lack of activity in improving the team is a big reason for why the Cowboys keep getting embarrassed and why he’s in the position to answer for the embarrassment.
Do you think Jerry Jones was out of line during his radio appearance on Tuesday? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.
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