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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tried to (sort of) put to rest the Sean Payton rumors. Jones called into Dallas’ 105.3 the Fan on January 28 for an impromptu interview that covered everything from the Payton rumors to Mike McCarthy’s future.
The Cowboys owner noted that he had not spoken to Payton since the coach decided to step away from the Saints. Jones also denied the idea that he had to provide assurance to McCarthy after Payton’s announcement on his future.
“No, I did not, I did not because we’re sitting here building together our future,” Jones said of his conversations with McCarthy after Payton’s decision. “No, but he’s well aware of our relationship and long-term friendship with Payton. And I haven’t talked to Sean and not a part of any of the dialogue or any of the decision making relative to him leaving New Orleans.
“But my point is, we just really got our head down and getting this staff in shape, particularly at the top, the coordinator level and whether it be the special teams or whether it be offense, defense and frankly, [we’re] still kind of in that area right now regarding Kellen [Moore] until we see where that dust settles there.”
Here is a look at the full interview with Jones.
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Jones on Payton: ‘I Think a Lot of Sean’
When asked about his relationship with Payton, Jones went on to praise the veteran coach. Jones denied the idea that the current coaching staff has more pressure heading into the season with Payton being mentioned as a potential down-the-road candidate.
“Not at all and the rationale, I mean, I think a lot of Sean but there’s going to be somebody other than Sean win the Super Bowl this year, and if he doesn’t coach, it’d be somebody other than Sean win the Super Bowl next year,” Jones explained. “My point is you win Super Bowls and people win Super Bowls. There’s nobody, no one person indispensable as far as winning the Super Bowl’s concerned.”
Payton has continued to emphasize that he has no desire to coach anywhere next season and hinted at potentially joining a television network. If the Cowboys wanted to pursue Payton in 2023, the team would still have to work with the Saints to provide compensation since the former coach is still under contract with New Orleans.
Jones Backed McCarthy as the Cowboys Head Coach for 2022
One of the more interesting items Jones discussed was how McCarthy’s job security was never in doubt. Jones referenced Dan Quinn’s interviews with opposing teams as the main reason he did not want to previously say that McCarthy would definitely return next season.
“But the thing I want to clear up is that the idea of Mike [McCarthy] twisting in the wind just wasn’t the case at all,” Jones detailed. “We were sitting there trying to keep Dan Quinn and trying to maintain continuity on our coaching staff.”
As plenty of people have pointed out, it is stretch to infer that Quinn’s candidacy elsewhere would have any impact on a public endorsement of McCarthy.
“Jerry Jones purposely declined to endorse Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy last week when given a chance to,” Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill tweeted on January 28. “Now it’s the media fault for saying he left him twisting in the wind.”
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