Jerry Jones weighs coaches, players as Cowboys move forward: ‘We deserve better’

The Cowboys owner is still stinging following the team’s early playoff exit. There’s no telling who- if anyone- will be held accountable. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is still hurting, five full days after the team’s ouster from the postseason. During a wide-ranging and eye-opening interview on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan on Friday afternoon, a noticeable frustrated Jones took plenty of shots following the 23-17 loss to San Francisco, with coaches and players alike landing in his crosshairs.

Head coach Mike McCarthy may not be as safe as previously thought. The same goes for recently untouchable assets like wideout Amari Cooper. Jones kept his options open during the conversation, but made it clear by the tone of his voice that a rinse-and-repeat won’t be acceptable for next season.

Jones admitted that the loss still stung on Monday as he addressed the team during the final dispersal meeting. But he wished the players and coaches could have gotten the full, undiluted brunt of the disappointment he felt immediately after the loss.

“When I spoke to everybody Monday after the game, I said I wish- and I don’t know why I’m rubbing salt in it. I’m just trying to make it hurt more,” Jones told the K&C Masterpiece show. “I’d like to have a meeting like that the day of the game, so that we could all feel together just how you feel when you look up and there’s no more to play.”

A significant portion of Cowboys Nation is calling for sweeping changes to the staff after the collapse of such a promising roster. Before he left AT&T Stadium Sunday night, Jones was cryptic when asked about McCarthy’s future, saying, “I don’t even want to discuss anything like that at this particular time.” Team executive vice president Stephen Jones swooped in Monday, though, to say he felt “very confident” that McCarthy would be staying on.

But maybe not everything in Dallas is set in stone, as Jerry was quick to point out.

“I haven’t completed my overall evaluation, and I don’t have any idea when I will complete my overall evaluation. But there are a lot of moving parts here, as you know. We have 29 coaches. It’s not uncommon at all for members of coaching staff to come and go. This is par for the course. That’s the NFL today,” Jones said. “I won’t get into any conversations that I’ve had with anybody relative to anything to do with the staff. I understand the interest in it, but there’s nothing compelling me.”

No, there’s nothing compelling Jones to speak publicly on his mindset concerning the Cowboys coaches. But there also wasn’t a question asked about it. Jones had actually been asked for an overall evaluation of the season; he volunteered to start his answer by talking about coaching changes.

He finished the answer there, too.

“I’ve got a lot to think about regarding these coaches. I’ve got a lot regarding these scouts. I’ve got a lot to think about regarding various aspects of the organization.”

Whether that’s a foreshadowing of some kind of seismic shift at The Star or just in-the-moment window dressing to placate an angry fanbase remains to be seen.

Of course, it’s the coaching staff who has come under fire for many of the team’s weaknesses. Fixable issues like pre-snap penalties, missed kicks, clock management, and playcalling gaffes- many of the issues that came into play Sunday against the 49ers- had haunted the Cowboys as early as Week 1.

Jones appears to have tired of those items not being adequately addressed in the 18 weeks that followed.

“One of the pet peeves I have is that I don’t like this, ‘Well, we’ve got to work on this in the offseason, we’ve got to work on this.’ I don’t go for that. I’ve been trying to push that. I want those things recognized and addressed after we play Tampa, after the first game, or after we play the sixth game. I don’t want to wait until we’re sitting here with no season left to address these things we’re doing or not doing.”

The club was effective, however, in shoring up many weaknesses on the roster. McCarthy and his staff were able to bring in an assortment of veterans in free agency who helped Dallas engineer an impressive turnaround, doubling 2020’s win total.

“Those free agents, those one- and two-year free agents that we added in here were an outstanding group of players, and they really were contributors and could have contributed more,” Jones offered. “We had outstanding receivers, and there are people playing with a lot less on the offensive line than we are in the NFL. And so we’ve got to step up here and analyze how we’re going to approach it. This is all good to look back. Nothing wrong with living in the past and looking back a little bit.”

But gazing in the rear-view mirror, the 79-year-old owner knows not all of the same contributors will be in the Cowboys’ future for 2022. That certainly goes for players, but would also seem to apply to coaches, scouts, and anyone else currently on the Cowboys payroll.

“Nothing counts but this morning, this afternoon, and the next weeks ahead. So we’re going to do something about it,” Jones promised. “If I thought changing out men at any level would improve us, I would change it out. I’ve looked around. I see a lot of names, a lot of great names, a lot of names from colleges, a lot of great names. I see them coming through. I’ve seen a lot of great names at various duties in the NFL come and go over the last 30 years. I haven’t seen but a couple of them that might have a straight shot into what’s up above.”

Of course, it’s all about putting the Cowboys into the uppermost echelon by winning a sixth Lombardi Trophy. That goal has eluded Jones for a quarter-century now, and has swallowed whole the career of many a player who, at one time or another, seemed to carry the hopes of the franchise on his back.

“I’m very, very frustrated and upset that we’ve- you can call it COVID, you can call it anything,” Jones said. “But we have used up some very talented players over the last few years.”

This season was just the latest chapter of a book that Cowboys Nation has gotten used to reading.

For longtime veterans like the aforementioned Cooper and DeMarcus Lawrence, 2021 represented perhaps their best chance at a Super Bowl. Their huge contracts certainly represented a belief by Jones that they’d be instrumental pieces in getting the Cowboys there.

Now with major surgery required to get the club under the salary cap for 2022, both players are suddenly less of a sure thing as the roster-building starts all over again.

“We have ten players- and this is the way it is around the NFL,” Jones reminded, “we have ten players that get two-thirds of the money. Ten… that gets two-thirds of the money. And so you’ve got to have a lot of other things that is [part of the] thought process when you’re sitting here talking about somebody’s contracts.”

One of those other things is, obviously, on-the-field performance. Cooper’s, especially, dropped off considerably. His 865 receiving yards was his lowest output for a season since 2017; his catch percentage of 65.4% is also his lowest since that same year. Not what Jones had been hoping for when he cracked open the vault for Cooper in 2020.

With second-year receiver CeeDee Lamb still on the rise and Michael Gallup still in the building, many have suggested that Cooper is the most expendable one of the talented group, given his exorbitant price.

Jones wasn’t ready to speak specifically about Cooper’s future with the club. But he did intimate that the team should have been getting more bang for their buck, especially down the stretch.

“No, I don’t have any comment on Cooper’s contract. I thought that the way we were playing early, when we did make something happen, I thought Cooper had a big part in that,” Jones went on. “How he fits in, he should take half the field with him when he runs a route. Not half, that’s an exaggeration, of course, but a whole bunch of that defense ought to have to honor Cooper. He ought to be able to catch it in the middle when they’re going with him. Others do; you throw to people that are covered all the time in the NFL. You have to.”

McCarthy and Cooper are just two examples, of course. There’s a much longer list of individuals who have room for improvement and a plethora of reasons why the Cowboys are watching the divisional round of the playoffs from the couch instead of taking the field.

When the expectations are high, so is the fall when they aren’t reached.

“I thought we did a really, a really good job of getting to the playoffs,” Jones said. “Still, I can’t get over what we did in the playoffs.”

On this point, at least, the Cowboys owner and Cowboys fans are in perfect alignment.

“We deserve better than that.”

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Comes the Cowboys Reckoning: Dallas’ offensive line needs serious repair

There are many issues to be addressed after the Cowboys playoff loss to the 49ers but none is greater than the broken offensive line. @DailyGoonerRaf says the staff has work to do.

It’s the wake of a close Cowboys loss. Worse, it’s the wake after a close Cowboys playoff loss, a 23-17 defeat to the 49ers, and the familiarity of the disappointment have sent segments of the fan base looking for easy scapegoats and quick fixes towards a better 2022.

Fire the head coach! Fire the offensive coordinator! Change the culture! Trade the quarterback!

All have some merit, and there’s an abundance of vitriol devoted by the faithful towards the last drive, which ended with the clock striking 0:00 as Dak Prescott tried in vain to spike the ball, allowing one final throw into the end zone.

Tactical critiques miss the mark, I believe. Sure, there are plenty of mistakes to parse, from Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy, and even from Dan Quinn’s defense. All contributed to a 14-penalty abomination that kept Dallas from seriously challenging for the win.

That said, I think those critiques miss a much bigger problem. Sure, Moore and McCarthy might have called the end game differently. Sure, Jerry Jones would have closed the curtains in the sun end zone and helped his offense jump start its sputtering self just before the half.

Even had the Cowboys found a way to pull a playoff win away from their many miscues, they would be facing a constant shortcoming that would make them certain underdogs to Tampa Bay, one that must be addressed if the organization wants to improve next season and not backslide into the 8-8 maw.

Their offensive line was manhandled by the 49ers defensive front, And this mismatch persisted for four quarters, even after San Francisco’s starting defensive ends left the game with injuries and the middle linebacker limped off the field with a knee injury.

“We have to do better,” said right guard Zack Martin after the loss. But looking at this contest, and every contest since Dallas beat Minnesota on the last day of October, the most apt question should be, can they do better?

I’m skeptical. And if the Cowboys brass deceives itself into thinking it can, a playoff berth next year is far from certain.

Lessons Learned: Undisciplined teams lose big games, executing a game plan is key

A lesson in exerting will and maintaining focus was beat into the Cowboys subconscious on Sunday. | From @CDPiglet

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady they’d meet again in the playoffs after a loss in Week 1 of the season. 18 weeks later the Cowboys had their chance to make that statement come true. A loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when the time ran out as they drove for a chance at a winning touchdown ended that chance Sunday.

Although Dallas had a chance on the final drive, the game wasn’t even as competitive as the final score indicated. Conservative play calling from Kyle Shanahan, like kicking a field goal on fourth-and-one from the Cowboys 22 yard-line, along with mistakes from Jimmy Garoppolo allowed the Cowboys to stay in a game in which they were physically dominated.

The season is now over, but great teams learn from the most devastating defeats. Here are some lessons learned from the playoff loss to the 49ers.

Troy Aikman baffled by Cowboys abandoning CeeDee Lamb vs 49ers: ‘The game is not that difficult’

The HOF quarterback can’t understand why the offense got so far away from electrifying WR CeeDee Lamb, given the 49ers’ coverage scheme. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Everyone has an opinion on what the Cowboys should have done Sunday against the 49ers. An after-the-fact gameplan from your cousin Carl who almost made it to state one year and still watches, like, all the games is one thing. When the armchair quarterback in question has three Super Bowl rings and a bronze bust in Canton, though, it’s probably worth paying attention to.

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman had some things to say during a radio interview with Dallas radio station KTCK The Ticket 1310 AM/96.7 FM on Wednesday. In a nutshell, the former Cowboys signal-caller believes the current squad may have simply tried to get too cute when it mattered the most, all but abandoning one of their top playmakers.

“CeeDee Lamb, what did he have? One catch in the game?” Aikman asked.

Here’s a look at the second-year receiver’s day, quarter by quarter:

1Q 32-yard reception wiped out by penalty
2Q 5-yard rush
3Q 0 catches (3 targets)
18-yard reception wiped out by penalty
4Q 10-yard reception
0 catches (1 target)
11 yards after Cedrick Wilson lateral

A single recorded catch. Twenty-one yards, 11 of them tacked on to the end of one of someone else’s grabs. It was the only game Lamb played in all season where he didn’t finish with multiple receptions.

One of the most electrifying players in the league was almost completely shut down… but it was by his own offense.

“There was a lot of single coverage on CeeDee Lamb,” Aikman continued. “If it was back when I was playing — and I hate going back to that point because nobody cares — but what I see around the league… a lot of these offenses, they want to scheme things. The coordinators, it’s all about scheme rather than this corner is playing soft, he’s scared to death. Just run the route tree. Just run a comeback. Run a dig route. Run a curl. Run anything. And you’re going to complete the pass whenever you want, and [Michael] Irvin would have had 10 catches at halftime if they played us the way that they played CeeDee Lamb in that game. So, I just don’t quite understand that.”

The three-time Super Bowl champ and current FOX analyst went on to say that he was talking about the trend with Peyton Manning at John Madden’s memorial service on Tuesday.

“He agreed,” Aikman shared. “The game is not that difficult. If I’ve got a great player at wide receiver, and a corner is playing him single-coverage, throw him the ball. He’s going to win most of the time.”

By ignoring their bread and butter and trying to throw the kitchen sink at San Francisco instead, the Cowboys were sent home unsatisfied once again, still starving when it comes to deep postseason success.

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Stephen Jones on Cowboys keeping McCarthy: ‘Absolutely. Very confident.’

Jerry had no comment Sunday night, but Stephen was decisive Monday: McCarthy will return in 2022, even as 2 coordinators could leave. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Sunday night, in the immediate aftermath of the Cowboys’ stunning loss to San Francisco in the wild card round of the 2021 postseason, team owner Jerry Jones was unwilling to discuss the future of head coach Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy has been on the job just two seasons, compiling an 18-15 regular-season record. But the sky-high expectations for this season’s squad, coupled with a series of underachieving and embarrassing losses, plus a pair of coordinators who are already hot prospects on the head-coach-interview circuit, have cast serious doubt on the long-term belief in the McCarthy Experiment, for many fans and football minds alike.

But Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, speaking on Dallas radio Monday, tried to put the debate to bed when he was asked about McCarthy’s continued employment with the organization.

He gave a three-word answer.

That curt vote of confidence comes as offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn prepare for a busy week of interviews with other clubs.

At least one NFL insider reported over the weekend that were the Cowboys to fall to the 49ers, the Jones family would be forced to at least consider firing McCarthy and replacing him with either Moore or Quinn. Those reports only gained traction and volume with the Cowboys’ anemic and unprepared showing in the 23-17 loss.

A contingent from the Broncos will travel to Dallas to interview with both Cowboys assistants on Tuesday. Quinn is said to have three other interviews lined up for the week. Moore has been invited to speak to other teams, too.

“It’s real hard to keep people from taking a head football coaching opportunity,” Jones told The K&C Masterpiece Show. “There’s a big difference between being a coordinator and being a head coach. Certainly, we understand; they deserve it. They have their full body of work and a very successful season. Dan has had success as a head coach. That just comes with the territory, and we’ll have to roll up out sleeves with them. We’ve had great relationships with both men, and we’ll just work with them as they navigate these waters. And as we do that, we’ll be thinking about what the future holds for the Cowboys, as well. Obviously, that will be first and foremost.”

Trying to reading between the lines of what a Jones says in a live radio interview is always rife with danger. Both Jerry and Stephen have been known to blow smoke or spin a story the way they want it perceived in the public eye.

But Stephen’s answer sure makes it sound like the Cowboys are committed to McCarthy, even if that means losing both Moore and Quinn.

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Keystone Kops, blown opportunities, misspellings, the sun: Details doom Cowboys in comedy of errors

There was plenty that didn’t go the Cowboys’ way Sunday, from jersey misspellings to confusion over plays to the big ball of gas in the sky. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The image of quarterback Dak Prescott and umpire Ramon George literally bumping into one another Sunday as the game clock at AT&T Stadium ticked down to zeroes will be the one that sticks with Cowboys fans the longest after the gut-wrenching 23-17 loss to bounce them from the postseason bracket.

But think back through the game, and there are so many other snapshots that will leave the fanbase shaking its collective head. So many reasons why the ’21 Cowboys are the laughingstock of the league on wild card weekend. So many details that showed this Dallas team was unprepared for the magnitude of the moment.

Jerry Jones: ‘Quite a letdown’, but won’t discuss McCarthy’s status as HC

The Cowboys owner said, ‘We needed to make this happen.’ After another early playoff exit for the team, something else may have to happen. | From @ToddBrock24f7

In the end, it was Jerry Jones who perhaps summed it up best.

In the moments following a devastating 23-17 loss to the 49ers that ousted Dallas from the postseason yet again, the the 79-year-old owner described the team’s pathetic performance as just the latest chapter in a book that Cowboys fans have grown all too accustomed to reading along with.

“We had a team that, all year, would basically disappoint to some degree, and then turn around and show,” Jones told reporters at AT&T Stadium Sunday night. “And this was a game that we needed to show. And against a team like San Francisco, as solid a team as they are, no matter how good we looked on paper, we needed to make this happen.”

Jones, though, was unwilling to entertain axing the character most are painting as the bad guy most responsible for that disappointment, head coach Mike McCarthy.

“I don’t even want to discuss anything like that at this particular time. No discussion.”

But like it or not, Jones will have to discuss a coaching change sooner rather than later. With offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn both listed on the slate for multiple head coaching interviews around the league, there is almost assuredly change coming at or very near the top of the Cowboys coaching staff.

The idea that Jones would be able to keep the trio of McCarthy, Moore, and Quinn intact for another season was always a far-fetched one. But that was before the sloppy and undisciplined playoff loss that Cowboys players simply looked unprepared for. Now, it’s doubtful that many around the team even want to keep all three.

“I’m not going to discuss coaching, the preparation, any of those things,” Jones repeated. “That’s not on the table. The game speaks for itself.”

That it does.

Five-of-14 on third downs. Just 77 rushing yards. A mind-numbing 14 penalties. Five sacks allowed. Only one drive with snaps inside the opponent’s red zone… and that was after the defense’s lone takeaway set up the offense eight yards away. A 53% completion rate from the $40 million-dollar quarterback. A special-teams unit that pulled off a fake punt, but couldn’t get the ball snapped on the ensuing first down without being called for delay of game. An offense that couldn’t execute a hurry-up spike as the clock ticked to zero.

“It’s quite a letdown,” Jones muttered in the stadium tunnel. “Quite a letdown.”

Time ran out on the Cowboys. And now time could be running out on Jones’s chances to bring a sixth Lombardi Trophy to Dallas.

“When you get this combination of players together, you need to have success, because we all know how it goes in the NFL,” Jones said. “The whole thing is set up to take away from the best and add to the ones that need improvement. And personnel-wise, I think we have one of the best.”

While Jones may still believe in the guys actually wearing helmets and pads on Sundays, the focus will, now, inevitably, turn to the guys with the headsets and whistles.

“This is one of the best group of players that I’ve been around.”

Jones himself emphasized the one key word in that sentence.

He knows changes are coming to the coaching staff. Which coordinators get lured away may be out of his control. But whether he elects to retain McCarthy- now 10-9 all-time in the postseason as a head coach- is for him and him alone to decide.

No matter how good we looked on paper, we needed to make this happen.

Those were Jones’s own words. Cowboys Nation waits to see what he will make happen before the 2022 edition.

We had a team that, all year, would basically disappoint to some degree, and then turn around and show.

They disappointed mightily on Sunday. Now it’s up to Jones to turn around and show… something.

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Wild-card round good, bad, ugly: Cowboys failed in myriad of ways vs 49ers

The Cowboys couldn’t overcome a bad game plan and poor discipline in their wild card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. | From @BenGrimaldi

Another season, another disappointing ending for the Dallas Cowboys. This year it came at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, in a home wild-card round playoff game, 23-17.

In a contest where the Cowboys had to play their best football in order to save their season, they played undisciplined and uninspired. In a win or go home situation, in a game where they had yet another chance to show they were a different version of the Cowboys than the last 25 iterations, they demonstrated that although the players and coaches were different, nothing really had changed.

The 49ers beat the Cowboys as much as the Cowboys beat themselves in a tough-to-watch playoff performance.

Winning the NFC East was fun, as was winning six straight and making Cowboys Nation believe things were different this year. In the end, though, it was the same type of issues that had plagued the Cowboys all year that got them dismissed from the playoffs. Bad penalties at the worst times and an offense that never found their rhythm cost Dallas their season.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Cowboys’ wild card loss to the 49ers.

Dak Prescott uncharacteristically nasty over Cowboys fans throwing trash at refs

Prescott was upset that fans threw trash at players leaving the field Sunday. When he heard they were aiming at refs, he changed his tune. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Things turned ugly at AT&T Stadium as the Cowboys’ first-round playoff game went final, but one team leader’s comments about it are leaving an aftertaste that, for some, is even worse.

The contest’s chaotic final minute of regulation saw quarterback Dak Prescott drive the Cowboys offense 56 yards in under 30 seconds toward what looked like would be at least a chance at a heroic game-winning touchdown. But time expired before Prescott could spike the ball to stop the clock, and there were a few moments of confusion as officials conferred. When referee Alex Kemp keyed his mic and declared the game over, the hometown crowd voiced their displeasure… and more.

Videos shared on social media shortly after the 23-17 Dallas loss showed fans pelting the field with bottles and trash as the team headed for the tunnel.

It’s a deplorable and dangerous scene that has, unfortunately, played out before at other stadiums. But as bad as it looked on the surface, the situation may have been made worse by comments made soon after; comments that came from the unlikeliest of sources.

When asked about it in his remarks to the media, Prescott admitted he was not aware of the fans’ postgame reaction.

“No, I didn’t see that,” the team captain told reporters. “It’s sad. You’re talking about a team, you’re talking about men coming out each and every day of their lives and give everything to this sport, give everything to this game of football. Nobody wants to succeed more than we want to succeed. I understand fans and the word ‘fan’ for fanatic, I get that. But to know everything that we put into this, day in and day out, try our hardest, nobody comes into the game wanting or expecting to lose, and for people to react that way when you’re supposed to be a supporter and be with us through thick and thin, that’s tough.”

But then Prescott was informed that the fans were more likely aiming at the officials, who were exiting the field alongside the team.

The normally even-keeled Prescott took the bait and went uncharacteristically nasty.

“Credit to them, then,” he said. “Credit to them.”

He got a laugh, but that’s a cringe-worthy look for the team’s leader and Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.

Yes, his team had just lost a heartbreaking playoff game. Prescott himself knows he will be criticized as part of the controversy over the final play; whether he should have run the ball, whether he should have downed himself earlier to save a few precious seconds, why he handed the ball to his center instead of to the umpire as is generally taught, and so on.

It was the heat of the moment, immediately following a gutting loss that he and many in the Dallas locker room and throughout Cowboys Nation are pinning on the referees.

Prescott’s frustration with the officials and anger over how Sunday’s game ended are understandable, but praising fans for potentially inflicting bodily harm, even if a poor attempt at a joke, is going too far.

Later in the press conference, Prescott was asked to clarify his earlier comment. He didn’t walk anything back, and in fact suggested that the fans merely felt the same way about the officiating as he and his teammates did.

“I guess it’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast,” he offered. “I think everybody was upset about the way that this thing played out.”

Yes, everybody who loves this team is upset about the loss.

But many who love this team’s quarterback and hold him up as a positive role model are now justifiably upset and disappointed about his thoughtless comments.

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WATCH: Anthony Brown INT leads to Prescott rushing TD, cutting lead

Dallas, which once looked dead late in the game, used a combo of an interception and Dak Prescott touchdown to regain life for the season.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Cowboys had a conundrum of drive leading to a field goal to make it a 23-10 game but things still looked bleak. The defense needed to create a splash play to give Dallas any hope.

To start the ensuing drive, the 49ers got near midfield but Jimmy Garoppolo got overzealous. On a 2nd down, the San Francisco quarterback had a wide open Brandon Aiyuk but sailed the throw straight into the hands of cornerback Anthony Brown, who was having a rough day and needed a spark.

The big mistake from the 49ers set up Dallas in opposing territory and quarterback Dak Prescott found his best receivers in CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper to move inside the 10-yard line. Prescott had a crucial third-and-goal and found a wide open gap for the first time of the day and waltzed into the end zone to make it a 23-17 game.

The opportunity opened up for the Cowboys and they took it. Now, the defense has to step up and give the offense another chance to win the game.