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The Dallas Cowboys year hasn't gone as planned and many have placed the blame on head coach Jason Garrett, but Jerry Jones is refusing to acknowledge any issues with the team.
- The Dallas Cowboys made moves like a team gunning for a playoff spot ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but after their embarrassing loss to the Titans on Monday night, they look far from postseason contention.
- After the game, owner Jerry Jones had to assure reporters that he was not considering an in-season firing of head coach Jason Garrett.
- Even with the vote of confidence from Jones, if the Cowboys don't turn things around fast, there could be big changes coming to the franchise's front office.
The Dallas Cowboys are far from where they hoped they'd be halfway through the NFL season.
Just a week ago, the Cowboys were regrouping at the trade deadline, sending a first-round draft pick away to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for wide receiver Amari Cooper.
The move seemed to indicate that Dallas was still gunning for a playoff spot, but after Monday night's embarrassing home loss to the Titans, the Cowboys are now 3-5 and in third place in the NFC East. Any hopes of playing into the postseason now feel like a longshot, at best.
In the wake of their Monday night loss, people have begun calling for the firing of head coach Jason Garrett, so much so that owner Jerry Jones had to start answering questions about the future of the franchise.
When asked if he was considering an in-season coaching change, Jones replied simply, "No."
He continued:
"I think we realize we have eight games to go, we've got a long way to go in this season," Jones said. "We want to play better than we played tonight, so I certainly think each individual and coach and front-office person is going to have to do better, including me."
Still, Jones' confidence in Garrett can only go so far, and it hasn't stopped other Cowboys greats from chiming in with their two cents.
Cowboys legend Troy Aikman called for huge changes to the organization, saying that pinning the blame solely on Garrett might be missing the true cause of the franchise's struggles in the recent past.
"Go through the list and this team, over a long period of time, has been what it's been," Aikman said Tuesday on 1310 The Ticket. "It hasn't always mattered who the head coach has been. So to me, if you're asking me, I'd say there has to be a complete overhaul of the entire organization."
Aikman went on to imply not-so-subtlely that Jones might be at the core of the team's issues.
"I've heard Jerry say, 'OK, look, we're going to do it differently. I'm going to do it differently.' ... But it's the same. Nothing changes," Aikman said. "And that to me is the bigger issue. ... Yes, coaching is important, personnel, all those things are important, but how are you going about evaluating how you're going about running the organization?"
The Cowboys aren't entirely out of the running yet - with four divisional games left to play, they could still potentially turn things around and steal the NFC East with a lot of help from the Eagles and Redskins ahead of them.
That said, if the Cowboys can't flip their fortunes around, expect some significant changes coming in the offseason.