Jerry Jones Is Not a Happy Man

You already know that Sunday's loss to the Cardinals was dreadful, but there's no better way to understand the full extent of just how dreadful a loss it was than to hear what Jerry Jones had to say after the game.

Double J met with reporters and tried to explain just what Jason Garrett was doing when he stole a page from Norv Turner's playbook and refused to give Dan Bailey anything easier than a 49-yard field goal to hit in the final seconds. Normally Jones plays the optimistic role in the face of abject failure, but he couldn't do that this time.

"My understanding is, the explanation I got is it was to let time run off the clock," Jones said. "I'm not going to agree or disagree right here. But the point is it was to let time run off the clock."

Jones was then pressed about the wisdom of letting time run off the clock instead of trying to move the ball closer for an easier field goal.

"Just a minute, I’m just telling you what my understanding is ... We had an alternative. We could have run two, possibly three more plays there, but we have a lot of confidence in that kicker. It didn't work. We all would have liked to have had 20 more yards. But that’s really speculating as to what we'd have done with the ball."

You'll notice that Jones didn't even touch on Garrett's decision to ice Bailey because that was just too weird to even bother trying to defend. Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas described Jones as agitated, something that certainly comes through in his words and something you can certainly understand given the circumstances.

This isn't the first time this season that Jones has appeared less than thrilled with the decision making of his head coach. After the loss to the Jets there was obvious dissatisfaction with Garrett's overly aggressive playcalling and it cropped up again after the Patriots loss, although things were too conservative that time around.

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Garrett's first full year as head coach has seen plenty of good things happen, but it isn't a positive to keep finding yourself in situations where the owner expresses unhappiness with your decisions in crucial moments of games. Suggesting that Garrett's job could be in danger because of these frequent spasms from Double J doesn't have much basis, but with four games left that will determine the fate of the Cowboys' season it might turn into something more.

The Cowboys are teetering on the brink of blowing a golden opportunity to win the division and that isn't going to sit right with the owner. If it happens, it will be even more galling because of the way the Cowboys have given away winnable games through the sheer will of the head coach's decisions.

Firing Garrett wouldn't be the right move because building a winner takes consistency, but it isn't too hard to see events unfolding in a way that makes Jones make an impetuous move to satisfy his anger. Emotion shouldn't get in the way of business. That doesn't mean it can't happen.

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