What now, Jerry?
Jerry Jones, one of the most visible forces in the NFL as the bombastic owner of the Cowboys, is mired in a massive dilemma.
He’s 82 years old and wants results now, to borrow from the famous Leon Hess rant when he fired Pete Carroll as the Jets coach and hired Rich Kotite in 1995.
Jones has built the Cowboys into one of the most recognizable and profitable franchises in American sports, and yet his team hasn’t won a title since 1995. Now he is stuck with his team 3-5 entering Sunday’s home game against NFC East rival Philadelphia, and Dallas is without its franchise quarterback — Dak Prescott is out indefinitely with a significant hamstring injury suffered last week.
Oh yes, and Jones is presiding over his head coach, Mike McCarthy — whom he is fond of, but not enough to have given him a contract extension before this season, leaving McCarthy as a lame-duck head coach.
Jones’ Cowboys are at a serious crossroads. They’re a mess. They’re on the cusp of falling into the worst, most hurtful and insulting scenario of all for the attention-addicted Jones: irrelevance.
Now, one of the Cowboys most hated rivals are lying in wait to deliver the knockout blow to the Dallas season. The Eagles (6-2) are flying, having won four consecutive games, and the Cowboys have been abysmal at home at their crown-jewel AT&T Stadium, where they are 0-3 and have allowed an average of 40 points per game.
After the Cowboys’ loss last week to the Falcons, Jones continued to show public support for McCarthy despite the fact that it’s clear to everyone that, barring a miraculous Dallas turnaround in the second half of the season, he’s a dead coach walking.
Jones praised McCarthy’s “outstanding coaching record” and lauded “how hard he works,’’ adding, “I like his football mind.’’
“He’s really good with the players,” Jones said. “They think highly of him. He’s got a lot of fire in his belly. I’m good with Mike.”
But for how long?
The Bill Belichick sweepstakes will commence as soon as the season is over, and by all accounts Belichick wants to coach again. Dallas, which has Prescott locked up to a long-term contract and has talent, probably makes the most sense for the former Patriots head coach.
Jones, too, is a big-game hunter. And, as mentioned above, he’s 82 years old. Belichick is 72 and, if he’s going to coach again, he’s not picking a team that isn’t at least close to winning quickly.
That makes Jones and Belichick a perfect marriage.
The sticking point to that relationship is how much power over personnel would Jones be willing to hand to Belichick, who had final say in his years in New England?
Jones is not only the Cowboys owner, he’s the de facto general manager, and he’s paying for his misses on personnel — the most egregious being not making a hard run at running back Derrick Henry in free agency.
Henry instead signed by Baltimore and is ripping the league apart this season.
And now the Cowboys, already without a running game, are rudderless without Prescott, the highest-paid player in the league.
With Prescott seemingly headed to IR, meaning he would be out for at least four games (and possibly more depending on how quickly his hamstring heals), the Cowboys are moving forward with backup Cooper Rush until further notice.
Rush led the Cowboys to a 4-1 record two seasons ago after Prescott broke the thumb on his throwing hand in a season-opening loss. He also won a game in 2021 when Prescott was out with a strained calf.
But anyone who thinks Rush is going to lead Dallas to the playoffs is highly optimistic.
Sunday’s matchup with the Eagles, on paper, looks like a mismatch. The Eagles are ranked No. 6 overall in total offense and No. 3 in defense. The Cowboys are ranked 14th on offense and 27th on defense.
Worst of all is Dallas’ 31st ranking in rushing offense and 30th in rushing defense. Philadelphia will bring rejuvenated running back Saquon Barkley to Texas. And based on the season Barkley is having, this figures to be trouble for the Cowboys.
Barkley has 925 rushing yards in eight games (116 per game) and enters this week rising three consecutive 100-yard games to his five overall. He produced a season-high 199 yards from scrimmage last Sunday against Jacksonville.
The Cowboys hope to get a defensive boost with the possible return of their star edge rusher Micah Parsons, who has missed the past four games with a high ankle sprain.
Parsons and Barkley, both Penn State products, are close, with Parsons on record saying he’s Barkley was one of the reasons he chose Penn State.
That matchup figures to be a compelling subplot to a game that’s likely to further damage the Cowboys’ chances at remaining relevant this season. And that will further force Jones’ hand to make significant change.
