Jerry Jones said what he said on Sunday. On Tuesday, he said enough to make it clear that he meant what he said.
So what does it all mean?
Coupled with Monday’s comments from Stephen Jones, who said “[w]e’ve got to go get on a run right now,” it could mean the failure to get on a run right now could get coach Jason Garrett run out of town. Which could give Black Friday a far different meaning for him than for the rest of us.
If Jerry (and Stephen) already have decided that change is coming absent a deep run into the playoffs, which Stephen seemed to suggest on Monday, a loss by America’s Team on America’s Holiday to the franchise the Cowboys beat twice in a row 27 and 26 years ago for Super Bowl trophies could be the thing that causes frustration to become desperation, with someone like Kris Richard getting a chance to get the most out of a highly talented team that the Joneses meticulously have crafted.
Usually, the firing of a coach triggers an artificial bump in the performance of an otherwise bad team, since the players realize it’s far better to help the interim coach become the permanent coach, because a new coach could make sweeping changes. For the Cowboys, the bump wouldn’t be artificial; any improvement would reflect a fulfill of the team’s vast potential.
And if Richard could do what the Joneses expect Garrett to do, then Richard would get a chance to keep doing it, starting at 0-0 not 6-6.
Of course, none of this matters unless the Bills beat the Cowboys. Garrett seems to do well when his back is against the wall, and the comments from his bosses over the past 48 hours make it abundantly clear that his back has never been pressed more tightly against the wall than it is right now. It adds up to a Cowboys win.
If they don’t win, things could get even more interesting. If nothing else, the dark cloud hovering over Garrett makes Thursday’s must-see game between the 8-3 Bills and 6-5 Cowboys even more of a must see.