Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones to Speak Today at NFL Meetings
PALM BEACH, Fla. - Let the wild speculation begin….and then let some form of normalcy unfold.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy won’t be attending the NFL Annual Meetings in Palm Beach, Florida - an uncommon move to be sure.
But we’re told that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will meet the media here in Palm Beach at about 10 a.m ET.
First to McCarthy … And what is the reason for his absence?
The Dallas News writes, "McCarthy continues his focus on the Cowboys’ pre-Draft scouting process, which includes extensive travel and pro days this week.''
That is logical enough - though again, starting on Sunday and for the better part of the rest of the week, most of the league's owners, GMs and head coaches are virtually always in attendance as the NFL works through, among other things, rules changes.
It does so happen that McCarthy, who in his 13 seasons as the coach of the Green Bay Packers was not deeply involved in that team's NFL Draft decisions and offseason personnel decisions, is very involved in that process in Dallas, working alongside the Jones ownership family and personnel boss Will McClay.
While we while note that in matters of absences it’s wise to always consider the possibility of a “personal issue” being involved … How about an illogical explanation?
UPDATE: Via the Dallas News’ Michael Gehklen on Sunday night: “Stephen Jones (said), "We just felt like it was in our best interest as an organization for him to work on what he needed to work on.”
Via Jori Epstein at USA Today on Sunday night: “McCarthy will not attend, instead (he’s) scheduled to visit (North Carolina) Pro Day (on Monday) and Alabama on Wednesday, per source. I’m told we’ll talk to McCarthy virtually this week between or after those visits.”
But still … what about some sort of nasty conspiracy theory!
That takes us to Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk, who writes:
"The cynical view would be that McCarthy doesn’t want to be further peppered without (with) questions about his job security, and specifically whether he’s just keeping a seat warm for Sean Payton.''
That is on its face nonsense, of course. McCarthy has already addressed the rumors of the retired Payton someday taking his job, and he is highly aware that every time the Cowboys lose a game in 2022, there will not only be a public buzz about Payton, but also about the elevation of McCarthy's own defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
McCarthy has in no way and at no time dodged those questions, saying on more than one occasion that it's a "narrative'' he won't play along with.
We "talked about Sean Payton’s narrative also," McCarthy said of discussions with owner Jerry Jones. "And in the end, the message from Jones to his head coach?: "You and I are in this back-to-back. It’s a partnership. Focus on what we need to do moving forward."
Speaking of Jones, PFT has also set itself up as the arbiter in how the owner should handle his media business.
Writes Florio: "If anyone will be answering those questions, it should be Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones. Jones also may get a question or two about the faded-but-not-forgotten voyeurism scandal.''
CowboysSI.com is at the NFL Meetings this week. And we will indeed pose these questions, and many more - with a recognition that Jones and the Cowboys are free to answer them their way, any cynicism we harbor notwithstanding.
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