Jerry Jones didn’t mince words following the Dallas Cowboys’ loss to the New England Patriots.
Jones was fairly critical of Jason Garrett and the rest of his coaching staff, who seemed to be outmatched by Bill Belichick and Co. in New England’s 13-9 win over Dallas on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Cowboys owner put great emphasis on the visitors’ special teams shortcomings and offered his opinion that special teams is “100 percent coaching.”
Rodney Harrison understood the message Jones was trying to send with his straightforward remarks, but the former Patriots safety fears the longtime owner might have done himself a disservice in the long run.
“It’s really disappointing because I know he’s trying to critique and criticize the coaching staff, but it really affects the players because now the players go in the locker room and these reporters walk up to them and they have to constantly answer questions about what the owner said,” Harrison said Sunday night on NBC. “It takes away your focus because you got a game in four days and you want to really be focused on the game and continuing to build that bond with your coaching staff. And you’re still in first place in the NFC East.”
It should be an interesting week for the Cowboys, who now have to quickly shift their focus to their Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Buffalo Bills. Should Dallas suffer its third loss in four games, we can’t imagine Jones will be tight-lipped in his evaluation of Garrett and Co. regardless of the effect it might have in the team’s locker room.
