5 questions for... Ed Werder
Q: How did you handle being laid off by ESPN?
A: It was hard. One of the most distressing things I heard when I was let go was, because of the way they are taking this write-off from our salary, was we could never got back to ESPN. That turned out not to be true, but it was something that bothered me for a really long time. It was so surreal after being there 20 years and having such a close attachment to, then suddenly be disconnected from everybody.
Q: What’s different now than it was in 2017?
A: There’s a different president in charge of the company now. I think we’ve seen some philosophical changes enacted. There was a real interest internally in bolstering the NFL coverage for “SportsCenter” and a real interest, given the Cowboys situation, to bringing me back to take advantage of the relationships I have there and knowing Jerry Jones’ football circus probably as well as anyone in journalism.
Q: What is the confidence level at Cowboys camp?
A: The sense is that this is the best team they’ve put together since they won three Super Bowls in the 1990s. They think they have that much talent. There’s also this sense of everybody’s back is against the wall. They won division titles, playoff games, but it’s been 24 years since they’ve been to a conference championship game and a Super Bowl. Jerry and Stephen [Jones] are very well aware of that. As much faith as Jerry Jones has in Jason Garrett, as many times as he didn’t bend to the public and fire him, he’s making Garrett coach in the final year of his contract and anointed a play-caller in Kellen Moore who is doing it for the first time.
Q: What is that GarrettJones dynamic like?
A: Jerry is a guy who is very determined to prove his controversial decisions correct. I think Garrett is the beneficiary of that. It’s not like he’s an abject failure; he’s got more wins than anybody in franchise history except Tom Landry. But, at the same time, he hasn’t been able to get them beyond the divisional round of the playoffs, and they’ve had many opportunities to do so. I think Jerry would have a hard time making a coaching change, but I am not sure everyone in that organization feels that same level of commitment. Q: Where are these Ezekiel Elliott talks headed? A: Given the pressure on Garrett and expectations, I have a hard time fathoming that Jerry Jones is not going to have Ezekiel Elliott out on the football field Week 1 against the Giants. They’ve got these other contracts to do. On some level, they want to reward Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, who are both closer to free agency than Elliott is, but he’s just that good and he knows it.