San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
When it comes to hope, Jones faces a difficult sales pitch
FRISCO — Jerry Jones finds himself in a bind going into next season.
Hope and excitement. Few do a better job of selling that to their fan base than the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. But where does he turn after this season?
Excitement will take care of itself. In a league designed to produce as many close outcomes as possible, the Cowboys engage in more than their fair share. There’s always an individual performance, play or game management decision to capture the imagination or spark debate.
But these are temporary diversions over the course of a 17-game season. Hope? That’s more elusive.
What hope can Jones give fans that next season will be different? What assurances can he give or moves can he make to assure them his team won’t flame out again?
None.
The Cowboys’ 23-17 wild-card loss to San Francisco wasn’t the worst postseason moment over the last three-plus decades. But it was a painful reminder that this franchise has failed to advance past the divisional round for 26 years. It could be the final, emotional straw for a fan base that desperately wants to believe.
Dallas lost as a No. 1 seed in the divisional round to a New York Giants team it dominated during the 2007 regular season. Fans have had a long time to move
past the sting of that failure, especially since the stars from that group have all retired.
Dallas was again a No. 1 seed during the ’16 season when it lost to Green Bay in the divisional round. Disappointing? Sure. But Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott were rookies on that team. The future was bright.
Their presence over the last six seasons has done nothing to reverse the franchise’s disturbing postseason trend. Prescott had a quarterback rating of 69.3 in the loss to the Niners. Not only was it the worst playoff rating of his career, he has had only three lower ratings at AT&T Stadium.
The last came in December of ’17 in a regular-season loss to Seattle.
Elliott rushed for 31 yards in the loss to San Francisco. That’s 72 yards below what he averaged in his first three postseason appearances.
Scar tissue has been built up through the decades. Cowboys fans knew better than to trust this team until they saw it succeed in the postseason.
But what happened? Fans were mesmerized by the impact of Micah Parsons and the interceptions of Trevon Diggs. Those two had the sort of psychological impact Prescott and Elliott did six years ago.
Fans were seduced into believing this season would be different. The San Francisco game was a gut punch the fan base won’t easily forget.
Wake me when you get past the divisional round will be the attitude going forward. It will minimize any individual accomplishments the players may have during the regular season. It will undercut whatever record the team happens to fashion in September, October, November and December.
This is what should concern Mike McCarthy going forward.
This is what does concern Jones.
This is why Jones has refused to utter the words “McCarthy will be back” in public. He wants the fans to know he feels their pain, that he’s as frustrated and upset as they are.
If Jones gives McCarthy a glowing endorsement now and declares he’ll be back, even more fans would tune the owner out. That would make it more difficult for Jones to get their attention in the coming months when he does settle on a message to try to convince them that the 2022 Cowboys will be different.
Whenever you’re confused by what Jones is or isn’t saying, ask yourself what hat he’s wearing. Is he answering as the general manager or as the ultimate salesman and protector of the brand?
Jones is boxed in at the moment. He knows skepticism is high. He knows the fan base needs a grand gesture to erase doubts so they can again hope.
That gesture won’t come from a personnel standpoint given the team’s salary cap constraints. Dallas will lose more quality players in free agency than it acquires, putting even more emphasis on developing young players from within and a draft where it’s scheduled to select in the bottom third of each round.
The only grand gestures left are a coaching change or a declaration from Jones that he will relinquish the general manager’s role to concentrate on other aspects of the business.
It’s safe to say what’s behind door No. 2 won’t happen. If there was a coaching change, can Jones honestly persuade the fan base that person will do what McCarthy’s hasn’t in two, short seasons? No.
The end to this season was crushing, especially when you consider the team’s overall health and the fact it had 21 players in the final year of their contracts to add even more incentive. Jerry and Stephen Jones feel they did everything right and have little to show for it.
That doesn’t mean the answer is to tear it up and start over.
The Cowboys will remain popular going into next season no matter what unfolds over these next eight months. They are the NFL’s version of the Kardashians, a brand insulated from needing competitive success or accomplishment to remain relevant from a programming standpoint.
But hope? That will be the toughest sell Jones has had yet.
“We’re going to be better,” McCarthy promised. “We’re going to be better just through the process.”
We’ll see.