The times, they are a changing with the Dallas Cowboys. We knew things were going to be different without former head coach Jason Garrett, but since the season ended, things have begun to transform. Mike McCarthy’s hiring signaled a shift for the Cowboys’ organization, but it’s not the only noticeable change.
It’s long been known Jerry Jones’ way of running his franchise is different than any other NFL team. There are no other owners who are also the general manager or who have weekly spots on local radio stations during the season. Jones is also thought of, by many, to be one of the larger issues with the Cowboys. His over-involvement in everything Cowboys has been well documented and it’s something Troy Aikman has been preaching over the past month. It appears however that Jones might be budging on some of his principles.
When the 2019 season ended with a dud, both Jerry and Stephen Jones cancelled their scheduled weekly interviews. There was no season-ending press conference, no interviews, no anything, just radio silence, an odd occurrence. Even stranger, it remained that way as the unconventional situation with Garrett played out in the media.
The Cowboys then moved quickly on hiring McCarthy. There was very little known about the teams search for a new coach until Marvin Lewis and McCarthy were brought in, and then the news of McCarthy being hired happened seemingly overnight.
It’s rare that Jones can keep things quiet for so long when there was so much guessing going on in public. Nobody knew what was happening with the Cowboys and there was barely a peep from Jones.
There came more evidence things have changed after Dallas hired their new coach. Despite the rumors McCarthy could keep some of the assistant coaches, he has begun putting together a staff that includes many of his former lieutenants and coworkers. Although the assistants haven’t been officially announced, it looks like McCarthy is hiring his guys to come and coach with the Cowboys.
Gone are the assistant coaches who worked with Garrett and the Cowboys for years. Gone are the days of Jones hiring coaches he was comfortable and familiar with.
Jones had been known to hire some assistant staffers for his head coaches, which appears to have stopped with McCarthy. Jones can deny that it’s happened before, as he did at McCarthy’s introductory press conference, but it’s happened. The easiest example was hiring Garrett as offensive coordinator before hiring Wade Phillips as the Cowboys’ head coach.
It’s too early to know if there will be any changes in any other aspect of the organization, but McCarthy said all the right things about making “we” decisions with the team. That statement at least indicates Jones is amenable to more of a partnership with McCarthy than he was with Garrett. Time will tell.
The season didn’t end that long ago, but things are already looking much different for the Cowboys. The winds of change are blowing.
Now the question becomes, will it all last?
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi
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