As the Dallas Cowboys‘ buses arrived at training camp in Oxnard yesterday, players and coaches filed out of the vehicles and were greeted by tons of cameras and reporters waiting to catch their first glimpse of the team before training camp began.
A few days before the official press conference the coach, EVP, and owner had set for Tuesday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy received a question from the press that he did not like. It was about his job security — a narrative that has loomed larger throughout this offseason.
McCarthy gave an emphatic response to The Dallas Morning News when asked about his viewpoint in terms of where he stands with the franchise:
“It’s irritating that the first question you ask me has nothing to do with how I do my job. I show up every day for work to win a championship. How do we win today? That’s what I’m asking. My viewpoint is it’s not a story. It’s a media-driven narrative or at least a narrative driven outside my realm.”
Unsurprisingly, the coach who led his team to a 12-5 record and has had to negate Sean Payton rumors all summer is getting a bit tired of the hot seat conversation.
And, apparently, the Cowboys’ GM is, too.
Jerry Jones defends Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys HC expressed frustration about job security questions
Before any members of the media even got a chance to ask a question Tuesday morning, Jones opened by saying that he wanted to squash one thing: the McCarthy rumors. He told the press that the coach wouldn’t be sitting there if he didn’t think he could win his franchise a Super Bowl. Jones, of course, couldn’t just leave it there and had to end the statement by saying, “and I have choices.”
Nonetheless, the move to get the media off McCarthy’s back is a good one. The ironic thing is that, had Jones just confirmed his head coach’s immediate future back in February, there probably wouldn’t be so many rumors about McCarthy’s job security. Jones even paraded around the idea that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn could be the head coach.
Jones sticking with McCarthy as the guy
Despite all of that, Jones is sticking strong to his current narrative that McCarthy is the guy. In his 14 years with the Packers, McCarthy led his team to nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl win. His resume is impressive. Fans also seem to forget that the coach’s first year with Dallas was a season where the team was often dealing with injuries, including the absence of quarterback Dak Prescott after a major ankle injury.
McCarthy shared with the press that what Jones said seemed to align with the conversations the two had in private. At the end of the day, the two are both here to bring a championship back to Dallas for the first time in 27 years.
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