When a reporter asked Jason Garrett on Thursday if he has control over coaching staff decisions, Jerry Jones asked Garrett if he could step in to answer the question.
Jones said Garrett "will have the final say on any person that leaves the coaching staff or comes to the coaching staff", and "there won't be a player on this team that Jason does not want on the team."
Jones wasn't trying to steal Garrett's spotlight there. He wanted to make crystal clear the trust he has in Garrett, 44, as the on-field head coach as well as an evaluator for staff and roster decisions.
That trust has been built over years and years, ever since Garrett came to the Cowboys in 1992 and perhaps even before then. The Joneses relationship with the Garretts goes way back; his father, Jim, was a Cowboys scout from 1987-2004.
"Let's not be naïve here: you know that I'm criticized for basically making decisions in areas that fans and other people would like coaches to make. I'm criticized for that," Jones, 68, said after the press conference. "I particularly wanted to be sure you understood that because of the differences in our age, if you will, and that the facts are that he brings that energy. He brings a unique qualification.
"I wanted you to see the respect that I have for him. I wouldn't have said it the day we announced him if it were not the fact. That's how we're going to operate."
*-Rob
*@robphillips3 (Twitter)
