USA TODAY International Edition
Meyer, Jerry Jones a perfect match
From the tire tracks all over Jason Garrett’s back, it’s clear the only thing standing in the way of the Cowboys and the Super Bowl is a better coach.
There’s no better match for Jerry Jones than Urban Meyer.
The Meyer- to- the- Cowboys rumors have been swirling for weeks, and Jones might as well have waved a contract in Meyer’s face Tuesday. He denied on his weekly radio show that he’s talked with the former Ohio State coach – or anyone else – but refused to say he won’t.
“Normally when someone says, ‘ Have you met with such and such? Are you interested in such and such?’ the implication is you’re not interested,” Jones said. “That shouldn’t be brought forward either. The facts are we just have not talked to any coach – potential coach in the NFL.”
But the pairing makes too much sense for Jones not to.
Dallas has fared best with a coach who was successful in college first, with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as the only ones since Tom Landry to lead the Cowboys to Super Bowls. The NFL is the one challenge Meyer hasn’t conquered; at 55, he is still young. He also coached Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State.
More than anything, though, Jones and Meyer deserve each other. Their outsized egos and penchant for insincerity would make the Jones- Bill Parcells pairing seem like a model of humility in comparison.
Part of the reason Garrett is so ineffective is because he’s never going to stand up to Jones.
This is also why Garrett has lasted as long as he has. Jones doesn’t want someone who will challenge him or suggest that perhaps the team would do well to invest in a safety or two. Or shore up its depth on the offensive line.
Meyer won’t be so passive. He’s used to running his teams like fiefdoms, enjoying complete control and answering to no one despite what the org chart says. Even the appeal of a glamour job like that of the Cowboys will wear thin when Jones ignores Meyer’s input or, worse, throws him under the bus.
Of course, this assumes Meyer even wants to coach again.
When he stepped down at Ohio State, Meyer said it was due, in part, to health concerns exacerbated by the intensity of coaching. He also insisted, at the time and in interviews early in the fall, that he was at peace with his decision and didn’t think he’d coach again.
But much like Jones, what Meyer says is less important than what he does.
When asked in October if he’d consider the Cowboys’ job, Meyer’s response was “absolutely.”
“That’s the New York Yankees,” he said during an interview with Fox’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “To me, that’s the one job in professional football that you say, ‘ I got to go do that.’ ”
Never mind that the job was, and still is, Garrett’s.
For people like Meyer, and Jones, their own interests are paramount. Everything, and everyone, else is expendable.
If Jones persuades Meyer to coach the Cowboys, they’ll both get what they deserve.