Cowboys’ Jerry Jones: Mike McCarthy Never 'Twisting in the Wind'
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Friday that last week's lack of an endorsement of Mike McCarthy wasn't born of fury, but rather finagling.
In an interview on 105.3 The Fan, Jones - who a week ago claimed he "had a lot to think about" in regards to the team's coaching staff - maintained that his head coach's job was never in jeopardy and that his public stance was merely strategy aimed at keeping defensive coordinator Dan Quinn from leaving for a head coaching job with another NFL team.
"The thing I want to clear is up is that the idea of Mike twisting in wind wasn’t the case at all," Jones said. "There was never an issue with me with Mike being the head coach. You never heard that from me. I didn't want to get involved publicly because they would have just made it more it more interesting for another club."
Jones reasoned that the coy ploy - along with a pricey contract extension - worked because Quinn turned down a head-coaching offer to remain with the Cowboys.
"An announcement by me wasn't necessary," Jones said. "It was a competitive situation with our coaches. Other teams are trying to get our sap. The goal was to keep Dan and maintain the continuity of our coaching staff. Me being coy somehow got confused with me being wishy-washy. Just because I'm frustrated doesn’t mean necessarily that someone is going to lose their job."
McCarthy, who led Dallas to a 12-5 record and the NFC East championship, has three years remaining on his contract. He also - a week after seemingly being in limbo - now has the owner's full backing.
"Mike did everything he could to keep and extend Dan," Jones said. "He's the head coach. We work in unison."
Jones said McCarthy helped persuade Quinn to turn down a head-coaching job and remain in Dallas as the defensive coordinator.
"Yes," he said. "I believe that very much. Him staying is a real compliment to Mike and our organization."
