00:00Well, let's talk about it now with Cowboys owner and general manager, Jerry Jones.
00:03And before we get into any football-related business, good morning, Jerry, and happy birthday.
00:09Well, thank you very much.
00:11And I, well, happy birthday is right.
00:16And so I've got a big day planned.
00:20Very good.
00:20How do you typically spend the birthdays these years?
00:24Is it quiet or do you like to make a big to-do of it?
00:27It varies.
00:28It varies.
00:29As it turns out, I had an event that was special to me over in Little Rock, Arkansas, yesterday.
00:36And my entire family joined me over there.
00:41And it was with our ex, with President Bill Clinton.
00:45And it was, the theme was football and the state of football.
00:50And football as it relates to the great support the state of Arkansas has for the Razorbacks.
00:56And so it was a nice day for that.
01:00I told him I wish I had, I was, frankly, a little emotional that we didn't win that ball game
01:08Sunday
01:08because I wanted to go back to where I spent a lot of time and was raised with a win.
01:14But it was a great afternoon and a great morning and afternoon.
01:19And I enjoyed it very much.
01:21And it was great to be a part of it with President Clinton.
01:24Well, fantastic.
01:25And, you know, it was a tough loss.
01:28And you talked about it Thursday after the Tampa game.
01:31You talked about how surprised you were by how Tampa's run game had handled.
01:36The defensive line that, frankly, you've invested quite a bit in.
01:38And why are you confident in that group's ability to bounce back?
01:43Well, I know what we've put into it.
01:47Some of the tactic, if you will, strategy implementation that we've done.
01:59And I have a lot of confidence that we're going in that direction in the right way.
02:05I'm obviously disappointed in our results so far.
02:10But I think that we're a long way down the road.
02:16I had mentioned after the game that we were back to square one.
02:20I really probably think that we're better off than that.
02:27But we are back to square one relative to what it looks like at this point relative to last year.
02:33But I think that, to answer your question, we've made some big headway.
02:39We've just this week added Mike Patton to our coaching staff.
02:47And that was something that we would have done had we had the opportunity earlier.
02:52And he'll be a good addition in working there with Coach Parker to get this defense going on the right
02:59track for the games.
03:00Jerry, I'm glad you mentioned the Mike Patton news, which Shottie had announced yesterday.
03:05Obviously, a veteran defensive coordinator, somebody that's worked with Christian Parker before.
03:09How much of this addition of Mike Patton is about Christian Parker potentially being overwhelmed as a young coach?
03:18Well, I don't look at it that way.
03:21You know, we had Uber Flues, our defensive coordinator last year, serves in this same role for San Francisco right
03:32now.
03:32And he is their advisor.
03:35And, of course, we moved on from Uber Flues.
03:39But it just shows you it's one that is commonly used.
03:44It's one that you get to take advantage yet not be directly involved with positions and has more to do
03:55with the scheme than it does with coaching direct technique.
04:00Do you think Parker has been a little overwhelmed, though, in his first couple of weeks?
04:06No, I don't think that's the right word.
04:09I think he's covered a lot of ground.
04:12And I had mentioned when the season started, I've never been involved in this much change on the defensive side
04:22of the ball or the offensive side of the ball either.
04:24But I've never been involved in this much change except for our first year, my first year in pro football.
04:31And we won one football game with Jimmy Johnson as our head coach.
04:36But we've changed that scheme.
04:38We've changed that for all practical purposes, all the coaching.
04:41We've changed out a great number of players.
04:46And those are not all rookie players.
04:49They're veteran players.
04:50So you put all that together.
04:52And you've got some work to do in putting that all in place relative to the challenges you have when
05:00you really get in the ball games.
05:02And are sitting here competing at the level we are right now in the main part of the season.
05:08Jerry, when did this process start to bring in?
05:11By the way, this is something that we would have done had Mike been available.
05:16And it fits so well because the knowledge of the scheme and the time that he's had with Schottenheimer, I'm
05:26talking about Mike Patton, and the time that he's had with Schottenheimer, the time he's had with Parker.
05:31And frankly, he's coached directly three of our players.
05:36Jerry, when you add somebody to staff, which is already a bit of a larger staff at this point, are
05:41you at all worried that there are too many cooks in the kitchen with the staff?
05:44Well, I think you sound like Don Shula.
05:48Don Shula, the great Don Shula, several years ago, he said, you're sitting here with all these coaches.
05:54When do you have time to coach if you're the head coach?
05:57You're all you're doing is coaching the coaches.
05:59And that was Don.
06:01And so this is a debate that goes on quite a bit as to the size, the numbers of coaching
06:12staff.
06:12If you're looking at it from the standpoint, let's say the head coach, or even in that fact, in the
06:19case of the coordinators, they've got multiple coaches that they, in essence, have to coach.
06:25But this is, it certainly has worked and works for, when the champ is over, most of the clubs have
06:34comparable numbers of coaches on their staffs.
06:38And people do win the championship with it.
06:41So that's where we are.
06:43You can't say it doesn't work.
06:44But it does involve the coordination of quite a few people to coach it.
06:49Jerry Jones, joining us here, 105 through the fan.
06:52Vaughn Miller is getting about 20% of the snaps.
06:56He's mentioned he'd like to get some more playing time.
06:58Would you like to see more snaps out of Vaughn?
07:02Well, I think that's, again, the things that you start looking at when you're not having the success you want
07:11to have.
07:12And that is, you've got the right people out there with the right amount of play time.
07:18And he's a prime one to look at because he's got such an outstanding record in his career.
07:25And we do need pressure.
07:27So, yeah, you can look at that and incorporate that in what you're changing.
07:34Obviously, within certain things, scheme, or within the personnel we've got,
07:41or certainly personnel that we've got that aren't available, that will be available,
07:46this is how you correct where we are right now with our defense and with our team.
07:53Jerry, you know, Trayvon Diggs never seemed to regain his Pro Bowl form for you guys once his injuries started
07:59piling up.
07:59Do you have any concern that might be playing out again with Deron Bland?
08:03No, I think that you, in my mind, they're different players.
08:12Their skill sets are different.
08:14Their makeup is different.
08:15And I don't have that same concern.
08:18Jerry Jones joining us here on 105 Through the Fan.
08:20Jerry, you were just talking about the Don Shula quote of if you've got all these coaches
08:24and you're coaching the coaches, what do you have time for?
08:26Between the play calling, overseeing Christian Parker as a rookie coach,
08:30and the general head coaching responsibilities, do you have any concern that Brian Schottenheimer may be spread too thin?
08:37Well, it's always the point.
08:40Do you have a walk-around head coach, one that does not have a specific side of the ball that
08:46he is principally doing,
08:49or do you have a head coach that is really the final say on, let's say, a defense or offense,
08:59to put it like that?
09:00Some have done it from the special teams.
09:02Very few, but some have done it.
09:05And concern is not the word, but certainly aware of, I am aware of that there is opinions that it
09:15can be too much.
09:17Which, that's not the case here.
09:19Is it possible for Brian Schottenheimer to be a player's coach and still be a disciplinarian?
09:26Oh, yes.
09:27Very much.
09:29In what ways does that challenge, though?
09:32Like, when you're such a personally connected coach like Brian Schottenheimer is,
09:36are there any challenges in then trying to, you know, crack down when things aren't going the way you want
09:40them to?
09:41Not at all.
09:43It's how you've evolved your relationship with the players or with your subordinates in any way you want to describe
09:56it.
09:57But, my goodness, the very best I've ever been,
10:01the coaching that I've had or the relationships I've had was one that dearly had affection,
10:11could joke and be involved with.
10:13On the other hand, bring a tear to your eye and really a correction.
10:19And you love those guys.
10:22And I had a coach, when I played, that, oh, he just would beat me to the core.
10:29And then he'd turn around and ask me about Steven.
10:32I had Steven when I was playing as a young baby.
10:35And I told him, I said, you don't care about Steven.
10:38I said, you couldn't talk to me that way if you cared about that.
10:42And he said, Jerry, I love you.
10:44He said, I know you're miserable if you're not playing well.
10:47What I can give you is a chance to play well.
10:51And that's what I have for you.
10:54I love you and I love him.
10:56So, how is he doing?
10:57But those kind of coaches are common and they have that kind of impact on players.
11:05Jerry, you all had like three games in 11 days.
11:08You had the Rio trip, then a road game in Houston, and a Thursday night game.
11:11It makes sense if the team is tired.
11:14Do you think that played a role on Thursday?
11:18And would you agree to do the Rio or a Rio type game again?
11:23The answer is no on the first one.
11:26Not at all.
11:27I don't think it had any impact at all on how we played last Sunday.
11:32And yes, I would do it again.
11:34Jerry Jones with us here on 105 Through the Fan.
11:37Jerry, you know, when you're looking at the evaluation, you talk about all the things you guys have been evaluating.
11:41And Shadi mentioned that yesterday, that there's been a big evaluation process over the weekend.
11:46What goes into your particular process of determining whether your team needs changes or if they just need time?
11:54Oh, I think you search for what we can do differently that would give us better results.
12:02That's the main emphasis that would spend some, let's say, specific attention to areas.
12:14You'd look at such things.
12:16We're going to coach the defense from not on the field but up above.
12:23Parker's going up above.
12:25And so, you should be looking for ways to adjust and make changes to improve.
12:32That's the point of improving from the results we've had the last few weeks.
12:39So, Jerry, that wasn't just an example.
12:42You're saying Christian Parker will be moving to the booth moving forward?
12:45Correct.
12:46Correct.
12:47Okay.
12:47All right.
12:48Jerry Jones with us here on 105 Through the Fan.
12:50And, you know, Jerry, the NFC East had a really tough week five, you know, for the Eagles,
12:55Commanders, Giants, everybody.
12:57What will it take, you think, for you guys to get control of a division that really seems ripe for
13:01the taking?
13:02Oh, we've got to start making stops.
13:07We've got to start, I mean, we've got to basically improve this defense.
13:12And there are things in the offense that we can do better than we did last weekend.
13:19And so, it's that simple.
13:21We do have some help on the way.
13:23But we're, for all practical purposes, in the middle of the season.
13:27And you can anticipate some attrition that comes with the games.
13:33And so, you know you're going to probably have some more injuries.
13:37So, you've got to anticipate this.
13:38All teams deal with it.
13:39But, boy, I've just noticed this weekend how close these scores are.
13:45And these things are right down to the wire, it seems, with so many of the games.
13:52That's what we're doing.
13:54We've got to continue to push to get better.
13:58That's what you're seeing out here this week in a way that you would expect.
14:03Jerry, you mentioned some of these games come down to the wire.
14:06Last night's game, Rams-Bills went to overtime.
14:08Bills win 37-34.
14:11Those are two of the better teams.
14:13How far away from those two do you think you guys truly are?
14:18Well, that's what these games are about to be tried.
14:23And I don't know.
14:25I know that I like our chances with our quarterback.
14:31When I look at these top teams that are playing, I think we're excellent there.
14:38I think we're excellent with our protections in the offensive line.
14:43And I think if we can get better at what we're doing and some of our things to be tried
14:50over on the defensive side of the ball,
14:53we have every reason to think that we're not going to play a game on offense that we're not going
15:00to improve from where we were last Sunday on offense.
15:03And I think we have every reason to think that we can be better, everything I see, on defense.
15:09You add adjustments percentage-wise in either one of those areas, combine them,
15:15and you have a team that could be competing with the kinds of games we've seen over this weekend.
15:21Jerry, there was a viral interaction post-game from the Buccaneers game
15:25where Dak was a little frustrated after he heard a driver at the stadium describe the team as embarrassing.
15:31What were your thoughts on that interaction and, in general, the sentiment that was being put out there?
15:37I didn't pay a lot of attention to it.
15:39It doesn't impact me at all.
15:42The driver in question was not an employee.
15:47But the feds can express themselves and should express themselves.
15:52I love it for them, too.
15:54You guys have the...
15:56Whether it was our employee or not, he was a fan, so it sounds like.
15:59So, I'm for our fans, express themselves.
16:03Jerry, you guys have the Packers coming up this Sunday, Sunday Night Football, big trip to Lambeau Field.
16:08What are just some of...
16:09Obviously, during your time here in Dallas, you've had a lot of history with Green Bay back to the 90s,
16:16you know, into the Aaron Rodgers years and the connection together.
16:20How do you reflect on, just in general, this matchup with the Packers
16:23and your sentiment and your feelings towards it?
16:29Well, they're, I think, a better team than their record.
16:36And we've got to play at the level that we can have a lot of people say we're better than
16:42our record.
16:43But one of my greatest memories, and this is not the area you're talking about,
16:47was after the game against Green Bay, maybe 25 years ago, all of my grandchildren were very small,
16:56four or five years old, and I had a car full of them.
17:00We'd been up to watch Green Bay and Green Bay.
17:03It was so cold.
17:05And as we left the stadium, we won.
17:07And as we left the stadium, we were in a long, big car.
17:12And I saw this lady headed toward the car.
17:16And she comes up beside the car running.
17:19She's so upset as a Green Bay fan.
17:22And she was pretty hefty.
17:25And she turns around and pulls it all down and just plants it right up against the window.
17:33And everybody inside was in aura and couldn't believe it.
17:37And then her skin stuck to the window.
17:39It was so cold.
17:42And when she pulled away, there was just a big print sitting there on the side of the car.
17:49My word.
17:50There were about 10 or 11 of us in the car, and we can still see it today.
17:56Jerry Jones with us here on the fan.
17:58Jerry, last one for you.
18:00You know, it sounds like Micah Parsons is going to miss this game against you guys.
18:03He won't be available for Green Bay.
18:05It's a little over a year now removed from the trade.
18:08You know, with the trouble you guys have had getting to the quarterback,
18:11do you think you guys underestimated at all Micah's ability to create pass rush for other players?
18:17No, we did not underestimate his ability.
18:20It was reinforced when Green Bay gave us all the picks that we got.
18:26And we're on plan with how we're using those picks.
18:32We want to have that show up in success with wins on the field.
18:37But nothing about that has surprised me at all.
18:45And we wish Michael the best.
18:47Jerry, we appreciate you.
18:48Happy birthday, and best of luck heading to Lambeau this weekend.
18:52Thanks, guys.
18:53Bye.
