The Joneses were unhappy with Cowboys’ approach in Rio loss, and they have input for HC Brian Schottenheimer
The Dallas Cowboys execs openly admitted they had feedback for Brian Schottenheimer and his coaching staff following the loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Most fans don’t like the level of involvement Jerry and Stephen Jones can have in the day-to-day football operations of the Dallas Cowboys. It’s no secret they sit down with coaches during the regular season. Jerry is still the GM and Stephen plays a major role in team building as the Director of Player Personnel.
This time, fans might not mind it one bit. Following the disastrous endgame sequence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that cost the Cowboys a game they should have won, the Jones are having a word with the coaching staff.
And it’s no small thing, either. According to Stephen Jones, they want the coaching staff and players to be more aggressive.
Stephen, Jerry want more aggressive decisions
During a radio interview on Monday, Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan that his postgame trip included a conversation with Jerry in which several things were discussed. Among them was a specific bit of feedback for the coaches and players.
“We had three or four hours there just talking about all the things that we need to do and can do to be better and where the positives are and where we can certainly encourage our coaching staff, our players to even be more aggressive.,” Stephen said.
That comment would have raised eyebrows in any other situation. But it did more so on the heels of the Cowboys playing for a tie instead of trying to punch it in in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Instead of going to overtime, the Cowboys paid for it when the Ravens did play for the win and nailed a 56-yard game-winning field goal moments later.
Specifically, the Cowboys’ decision to throw it away on third and goal was as conservative as it gets. The Joneses appear to agree with the consensus opinion, which to put it one way has been: That was soft by the Cowboys.
Reading between the lines, that’s where Stephen expected a more aggressive approach.
“We’ve just got to continue to be as aggressive as possible and continue to take advantage of having an offense like we have that can, as we saw last night, can move the ball basically 80 yards in about a minute with no problem at all,” Jones added. “And that was with running time off the clock.”
Jerry echoes Stephen’s take on Cowboys approach
Jerry was asked to give his take on Stephen’s comments on Tuesday during his own 105.3 The Fan appearance. Specifically, Jerry was asked to clarify where do the Cowboys want to see their coaching staff and players be more aggressive?
“It would be more about aggressive in the decisions,” Jerry said. “What is aggressive? Well, that is basically throwing it up or not having an option of living with a more conservative call. So, an aggressive—I’d say when you look at the makeup of what we’ve got on offense, then you can use that term a little bit. In general, say let’s be more aggressive because of the talent we’ve got over on the offensive side of the ball.”
Like the fans, the Joneses aren’t happy with how Schottenheimer and Co. approached the end of the fourth quarter. And while I understand fans not wanting the owners getting ont heir coaches’ ears, this one is hard to argue against.
The Cowboys should have won in Rio and they didn’t because of their own decision-making more than anything else. On third and goal, you have to trust your $60 million quarterback, your (combined) $64 million wide receivers, and your $8 million running back to ice the game.
More aggressiveness is the right path.
