Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has received plenty of criticism for his in-game decision-making, most recently for calling a timeout with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter and then attempting a 49-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-1 in Sunday’s game against the Patriots. But McCarthy’s boss is on his side.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 that he supports McCarthy’s management of the clock and fourth-down decision-making.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game that you can’t point to aspects of it that are iffy. And sometimes it has a good result, sometimes it doesn’t. But overall I’m right in there with Mike on his game management,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “I think he does it extremely well, but more importantly, I want all of our fans to know how conscientious about how hard he works on it, the detail of situational rehearsal and practice that he does. And, so, while we all know you can’t quite replicate and practice every situation, it’s not from a lack of working at it. And, so, I think that’s part of us watching the game. I think that’s part of being a fan and being interactive in the game is to make the call in our minds the way we want to make it or the way we think it should have done and the second-guessing and everything that goes with it; that endgame activity, that concentration on the game makes it beautiful.”
McCarthy’s game management has not been beautiful this season, but with the Cowboys at 5-1, Jones will take it.