Don’t even bother asking Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones if head coach Jason Garrett is on the hot seat. He doesn’t want to hear it.
“I won’t even comment on that. Period. That’s ridiculous,” Jones said today.
Jones also brushed aside former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson’s recent claim that there’s a country-club atmosphere in Dallas, but he did lend his support to Garrett, who in Jones’s opinion has one of the best minds in football.
“First of all, I think Jason is incredibly smart. No one understands the game more,” Jones said. “He grew up at a breakfast table knowing about the NFL. His father was a coach. His father was a scout. He understands the league. He is a great leader. He leads our team in a great way. I think he understands the game. He has been a very success offensive coordinator. He started having success immediately. It wasn’t like there was a huge learning curve for him as a play caller. We have had a lot of great offenses here under Jason. We are moving the ball good this year for the most part. We are ranked pretty high in offense. The players respect him. He demands accountability.”
Jones also said that the Cowboys are “going in a good direction,” but in the next breath he acknowledged that the Cowboys are underachieving at 3-5.
“Absolutely. We had higher expectations than this. We are disappointed with our record. We have to play better. We have to finish,” Jones said.
If the Cowboys finish the 2012 season the way they’ve started it, it won’t be ridiculous to question whether Garrett will lead the team in 2013.