Reeves: “Coaches Never Punch A Clock”

Dan Reeves remains mystified that his prospective consultant job with the Dallas Cowboys fell apart over team owner Jerry Jones’ insistence on a contractual clause that required Reeves to work a certain amount of hours, according to Ray Buck of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Coaches never punch a clock,” Reeves said. Months later, Reeves is still surprised that the deal unraveled at the eleventh hour. “Although I respected Jerry’s decision, I didn’t understand it, and it wasn’t something that was even negotiable,” Reeves said. “I just couldn’t sign something that, in my opinion, would mean I’d be working day-to-day. “But for some reason, Jerry felt like he had to [have in writing] that I work as many, or more, hours as the head coach [Wade Phillips] and offensive coordinator [Jason Garrett]. That meant, at any time, [Jones] could say, ‘You didn’t work as many hours as Wade did yesterday, therefore, you’ve voided your contract.’” Reeves had turned down the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator offer prior to nearly landing in Dallas. Reeves recalled that Jones was the one who first acknowledged that the punch-the-clock issue was a deal-breaker. “If I feel it’s important and you feel it’s something you can’t live with, why don’t we just part ways?” Reeves said. “Maybe it was a case of Jerry changing his mind [about me], and this was the way to get out of it. I don’t know.”