When asked about his coaching staff's performance in a playoff defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones avoided any statements. Except one.
Jones dismissed the notion of whether the Cowboys needed to make coaching decisions quickly. Jones didn't flinch when asked whether he felt pressure to interview with so many outstanding head coaches and so many other teams behind them. “Those aren’t high-pressure situations—coaches,” Jones added.
Interviewing is fine. No matter that coaches have interviewed, not interviewed. There are around 30 coaches on 32 teams, totaling 1,000 coaches. Just the league members, not the 10,000 outsiders. There are several coaches.
He's right. Only one Bill Belichick exists. Jones will face competition if the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy and hire the former New England Patriots star. One field player declared Monday night after the Atlanta Falcons announced they had interviewed Belichick.
The Falcons' discussion between Belichick and Atlanta owner Arthur Blank is reportedly exploratory, but it matches the high-profile coach Blank is eyeing for his next hiring.
Atlanta is a legitimate contender for Belichick's next job due to its youthful roster. Particularly since Blank is said to be receptive to giving his next hire people power.
In the 24 hours after losing to the Packers, Jones and McCarthy had exit conversations with players and staff before their summer exits. That's common and usually precedes McCarthy's safety.
Jones has been slow to make these judgments, which might mean a day or week of uncertainty. Jones said a week after the 2019 season that Dallas will not hire Jason Garrett, whose contract expired days after.