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Jimmy Johnson says Jerry Jones “will never change”
Posted by Mike Florio on November 12, 2010, 1:02 AM EST
As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones prepares to hire his seventh head coach in 21 years, the first coach Jones hired has offered up his two cents on the situation in Big D.
“Jerry will never change,” Jimmy Johnson tells Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. “Jerry wants to be right in the middle of it. That’s why he paid all that money to buy them.”
Johnson also addressed the question of leadership in Dallas. “The problem with the Cowboys is you’re not real sure who the leader is — and therein lies the problem,” Johnson said. “Their players haven’t answered to the head coach, and I think that’s a problem.”
The second coach Jones hired — Barry Switzer — took a different view about Jones’ level of involvement and/or interference. “He never interfered with me, never did one thing,” Switzer told Farmer. “Hell, he wasn’t even around. Jimmy didn’t let him around; that was the problem they had.”
Though they disagree on Jones’ role in running the team, they agree that the 2010 Cowboys have given up.
“Just the way they played the last couple of weeks, they just kind of quit,” Johnson said. “That was a shocker to me.”
“Backs don’t ricochet up into those dark holes like they did when they had a chance to get into the playoffs,” Switzer said. “When they aren’t going to the playoffs, they get out of bounds sooner. They get down quicker. . . . There are a few players that have the pride to do it every snap. But a lot of guys protect themselves. It’s human nature.”
The question going forward is whether Jones, coach Jason Garrett, someone else, or anyone at all will be inclined to protect the players after the 2010 season ends. And whether Jones will “want to be right in the middle of it” as the team tries to find its way back to respectability.
Posted by Mike Florio on November 12, 2010, 1:02 AM EST
As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones prepares to hire his seventh head coach in 21 years, the first coach Jones hired has offered up his two cents on the situation in Big D.
“Jerry will never change,” Jimmy Johnson tells Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. “Jerry wants to be right in the middle of it. That’s why he paid all that money to buy them.”
Johnson also addressed the question of leadership in Dallas. “The problem with the Cowboys is you’re not real sure who the leader is — and therein lies the problem,” Johnson said. “Their players haven’t answered to the head coach, and I think that’s a problem.”
The second coach Jones hired — Barry Switzer — took a different view about Jones’ level of involvement and/or interference. “He never interfered with me, never did one thing,” Switzer told Farmer. “Hell, he wasn’t even around. Jimmy didn’t let him around; that was the problem they had.”
Though they disagree on Jones’ role in running the team, they agree that the 2010 Cowboys have given up.
“Just the way they played the last couple of weeks, they just kind of quit,” Johnson said. “That was a shocker to me.”
“Backs don’t ricochet up into those dark holes like they did when they had a chance to get into the playoffs,” Switzer said. “When they aren’t going to the playoffs, they get out of bounds sooner. They get down quicker. . . . There are a few players that have the pride to do it every snap. But a lot of guys protect themselves. It’s human nature.”
The question going forward is whether Jones, coach Jason Garrett, someone else, or anyone at all will be inclined to protect the players after the 2010 season ends. And whether Jones will “want to be right in the middle of it” as the team tries to find its way back to respectability.
