‘Just To Send A Message’: Stephen Jones Addresses Dallas Cowboys’ Coaching Future After Overtime Loss To Arizona Cardinals
FRISCO, Texas — Stephen Jones said he does not believe in firing someone just to send a message after the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, speaking Monday on 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece”. The Cowboys COO and executive vice president said he is into making changes when they make the team better.
The loss dropped Dallas to 3-5. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is 10-14-1 in his second season. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after the game that a coaching change was “not in my mind at this time.” Stephen Jones said his father can speak for himself on that question.
“I don’t think you just say, hey, you fire somebody just to send a message,” Stephen Jones said. “If it’s something that’s there that you need to make a change because it’ll make us better in the long haul, then you certainly have to take a look at that. But not necessarily. Jerry can obviously speak for himself on that. But I’m into making changes when it makes you better.”
Stephen Jones Points To Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett Change In 2010
The Cowboys fired Wade Phillips on Nov. 8, 2010, after a 1-7 start. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over as interim coach and stayed through the 2019 season. A lot of teams look at whether there is a successor on staff, according to Jones, and Dallas had one in 2010.
“I know we made the change with Wade the one year because we did have … Jason, who was on the staff, and I really thought that he was going to … might be our next head coach, so it made a lot of sense,” Jones explained. “But I know obviously we hadn’t played well, but there’s still a lot of football to be played.”
“We’re in a division that’s struggling to some degree, and we still have nine games left,” Jones continued. “And we certainly feel like there’s signs that we can do some things really well at times. And if we can just get consistency during the game and finish, then good things can happen for this team.”
Dallas Cowboys Sit Second In NFC East
The New York Giants sit atop the NFC East at 4-2-1 coming out of their Week 8 bye, with Dallas second at 3-5, ahead of the Washington Commanders at 2-4-1 and the Philadelphia Eagles at 2-6. The Giants beat the Cowboys 28-20 in the Sept. 13 opener.
Jones called it the toughest loss of the season for the team, but he said the Cowboys are not chalking it up to bad luck.
“But I know we’ve got a lot of work,” Jones said. “We’re certainly not living in a fantasy world that’s thinking if we … we’re just unlucky right now. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to play better in all three phases. But at the same time, I think we can do that.”
Dallas visits the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX. The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10.
