Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, quarterback Dak Prescott
What he says publicly and what he thinks privately are separate realities, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones claims to not have buyer’s remorse over making Dak Prescott the richest player in franchise history.
In fact, during a recent radio interview, Jones strongly endorsed Prescott as his quarterback of the future, believing the $160 million man is capable of leading Dallas to — and winning — a Super Bowl.
“Ben Franklin had a rule when he was down and low down and had to have setbacks, he took all the positives on the left side of the page and listed them, and all the negatives on the right,” Jones said Friday, January 21 on 105.3 The Fan, via Jori Epstein of USA Today. “If the left side was longer than the right, he walked out with a spark in his step and a smile. If the right side was longer, then he drank all day, let’s say. My point is, and I’m not trying to be any sort of way, I start right there with a big circle and a big plus.
“He has shown every time he’s ever gotten in a position, he’s shown he’s a winner in football. He has shown that every time he’s ever had a chance to. As you well know, especially at that point, it’s hard to pinpoint ‘the’ skill that makes it happen. It’s hard to pinpoint that. But Dak Prescott has the skill to make it happen. We’ve got skilled players. (Ezekiel) Elliott has the skills to make it happen. We’ve got the offensive line talent to make it happen. We’ve just got to get it right and going in the same direction.”
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‘We Did Deserve Better’
The Cowboys’ loss to the 49ers in the NFC Wild Card round was a bitter end to a promising 2021 campaign loaded with Super Bowl aspirations. At times, the 12-win team was carried by Prescott, who completed 68.79% of his passes for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Other times, they were carried by its defense — namely Defensive Rookie of the Year shoo-in Micah Parsons and All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs.
But the result was the same: elimination. And the reality the same: no Super Bowl titles since 1995. The latter depressingly sank in for Jones, who rued the nearly three-decade-long drought.
“The bottom line is we did deserve better than ending up this way. … You can look at it from a lot of different angles, the facts are we should have, and our fans deserve that, with the squad that we put together, and it was an outstanding group of players, and they really were contributors, and could’ve contributed more,” Jones said January 21 on 105.3 The Fan.
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Jerry to Enter Evaluation Mode
With the pain of defeat not yet subsiding, Jones said he “won’t be getting to statements for evaluations for several weeks.” When he does, however, the 79-year-old has much to consider about his $6.5 billion operation.
Namely, Jones must decide whether to retain head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff — McCarthy is tentatively expected to return in 2022 — and weigh the futures of several high-priced players, including running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
“If I thought changing out men at any level would improve us, I would change it out…Bottom line is, yes, I’m very frustrated that — you can call it COVID — we have used up some very talented players over the last few years,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan.