Could Jerry’s Cowboys Hire Belichick as (Gulp!) New Defensive Coordinator?
How can one be "all in" while hinting that one of the major producers of such a concept may well be on his way out?
Next year's Dallas Cowboys will have to answer this question each and every time they take the field, forced into a corner by franchise face Jerry Jones. The concept surfaced as Jones was forced to answer for a 28th consecutive Super Bowl without his team's participation and now they're lingering in a hodgepodge of contradictions.
Speaking during prep for the upcoming Senior Bowl in Mobile, Jones perhaps deviated from the norm when outright addressing the Cowboys' plan for what could, and perhaps should, be a fateful offseason for his franchise. Jones rarely acknowledges his spectator critics, often viewing his team's prospects through glasses with starred lenses. The loyalty could be admired if not for the disastrously lengthy drought of not only Super Bowl appearances but the mere NFC title game as well.
Either Jones lost a bet that he couldn't fit "all in" in a quote or a certain number of times or a Wild Card shellacking at the hands of the Green Bay Packers apparently convinced him that some public promise of change was necessary.
"I would anticipate, with looking ahead at our key contracts that we'd like to address, we will be all in," Jones said in a video from the Cowboys. "It will be going all in on different people than you've done in the past. We will be going all in. We've seen some things out of some of the players that we want to be all in on. Yes, I would say that you will see us this coming year not build for the future. It's the best way I've ever said. That ought to answer a lot of questions."
To Jones' credit, it's refreshing to not have him sugarcoat winter's shortcomings with immediate votes of confidence with little or no discussion. This being the new-century Cowboys, however, no headline or talking point is going to waste and Jones was more than happy to provide a fresh one packed with preservatives.
Jones initially resisted attempts to discuss his pursuit ... or lack thereof ... of Bill Belichick, whose reputation of a perpetually stoic nature is matched only by his desire for creative control. The common argument against hiring Belichick ... beyond the obvious scrutiny Jones has no interest in avoiding ... has been whether he'd blend in with the hands-on efforts of the Cowboys' owner/general manager.
For his part, Jones nixed those rumors ... putting out one fire and igniting many more by refusing to close the door on Belichick rumors.
“I know him personally and I like him,” Jones said. “There’s no doubt in my mind we could work together. None. None.”
Current Pokes sheriff Mike McCarthy, obviously, has yet to comment.
But now comes a new angle. Dan Quinn just took the head coach job in Washington. Sources tell CowboysSI.com that assistant Joe Whitt Jr. is the in-building favorite to replace him.
But what if Whitt moves to Washington? OK, maybe staffers Al Harris or Aden Durde move up. (Or join DQ.)
OK … what if Dallas hires from the outside? Ron Rivera? Mike Vrabel? Brandon Staley?
Bill (Gulp!) Belichick?
This is a call for Jerry to put his money where his mouth is. You’re pals with Bill and he’s the best and you might hire him next year?
Cool. Why not just hire him now?
McCarthy runs the offense. Belichick runs the defense. What could go wrong?
Well … Losses are hard for McCarthy as is, as he gets the blame for Cowboy calamities whether it's fair or not. Now that the realistic possibility of Belichick succeeding him is at least lingering on the table, the discourse will become downright poisonous. The last thing the Cowboys need as they continue to inch back toward postseason redemption is further headlines, further roadblocks, further distractions.
Belichick is somehow all three. He's the ultimate powder keg, carrying an ability to catapult the Cowboys into the promised land or to drag them deeper into the darkest stretches of the football underworld. That's all fun and games, literal fantasy football, until you indirectly threaten the incumbent with the idea of having such a specter as his successor. What happens, for example, if/when the Cowboys sit at 2-3 nearing Halloween with the Belichick option supposedly sitting in his pocket?
Consider also, the dramatic departure from the norm: immediately after the loss to the Packers, Jones played attorney for major names like McCarthy and Dak Prescott, almost fully confirming his de facto clients would be back for another go at it. Prescott still seems relatively safe under center but McCarthy now has the scariest showdown in NFL history looming over him, especially in a year that could decide whether he's wearing a top headset or trapped in a booth for the rest of his career ... should it be allowed to continues.
That's a bit of a mixed message for someone who has been asked to not only stack the Cowboys' chips but push them forward.
Obviously, it'd be a stretch to say that the 2024 Cowboys season is over before it even began. For all the world knows, the Cowboys have a legitimate, honest-to-God plan to make things right, one that should give McCarthy no excuses not to advance, to cut dead weight, and to turn the Belichick gossip into urban legend.
Or, if Jerry is serious - and we have accused him of PR pandering with this Belichick baloney- turn the Belichick gossip into the most impactful, gigantic roll of the dice and roll of the powder keg in Cowboys history.
