What is it like working for Jerry Jones? Former Dallas Cowboys coaches give insights

When Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells came out of retirement to lead the Dallas Cowboys in 2004, it was the lure of the NFL’s most iconic and glamorous franchise that proved to be the most intoxicating draw.

Never mind that Parcells had won two Super Bowl titles with New York Giants, coached the New York Jets and took the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl, the bright lights of Big Apple and the fanatics of Beantown were not America’s Team on the biggest stage in American sports.

“It’s like if you go to Las Vegas,” Parcells once told Fortune magazine. “There are acts in the lounge, and then there are acts in the big room, where Elvis and the big names played. The Dallas Cowboys are the big room, and I view this as an opportunity to play it.”

Of course, the big room in Dallas, just as in Las Vegas, comes with its own little shop of horrors.

Intense scrutiny, high expectations and the never ending media spotlight — all aided and abetted and often fueled by owner Jerry Jones.

As he enters his third season as Cowboys coach, Mike McCarthy is firmly in the eye of the storm.

When a 12-5 season in 2021 ended with a shocking loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild card playoffs, he found himself subjected to non-stop chatter about his job status and rumors of being replaced by former Saints head coach Sean Payton.

McCarthy didn’t like how the narratives were impacting his family, especially when all his conversations with Jones were filled with nothing but support.

Jones, who unwittingly (or not) helped fan the flames of the rumor mill in an attempt to stave off outside interest in defensive coordinator Dan Quinn by touting him as possible Cowboys coach, attempted to quell the situation at the start of training camp by pledging his support for McCarthy and his belief that he is the right man for the job.

“I want to be real clear: He wouldn’t be sitting here today if I didn’t think he was the man to lead this team to a Super Bowl,” Jones declared before adding.

“He would not be, and I have choices.”

It’s the open acknowledgment by a man — who has gone through eight coaches since buying the team in 1989 after the Cowboys had just one coach for the first 29 years of the franchise — has choices that has McCarthy, the ninth coach in franchise history, firmly on the hot seat in 2022.

Jones simply can’t help himself.

The Jerry Jones factor

It’s all part of the experience that comes with working the big room under Jones’ watch. The Star-Telegram recently reached out to the last five Cowboys coaches who have all lived through the pressure of trying to reach the same level of Super Bowl success as Jones’ first two coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.

But it also includes a family atmosphere, constant communication and willingness to support your philosophy with winning being the ultimate goal.

And despite the distractions and narratives, all of the former coaches expressed fondness for the Cowboys owner and continue to have good memories about their experiences.

“I enjoyed working for Jerry,” Parcells said. “I learned a lot about the business side of the game. I found him to be very supportive. He was a benevolent person who did a lot for a lot of people. His word was good. I really liked him.”

Parcells coached the Cowboys from 2004-2006 and is only one of the previous seven coaches hired by Jones before McCarthy who didn’t get fired and left on his own accord.

But Parcells was not alone in his admiration for Jones.

Jason Garrett, McCarthy’s predecessor, spent seven with the Cowboys as a backup quarterback, three and a half years as assistant and nine and half years as a head coach, knows Jones as well as anyone.

He was fired after the 2019 season and dealt with narratives about his job status up until the very end. Jones was lining up job candidates, including McCarthy before officially firing Garrett.

“Like every organization you have some challenges as you go, but I’ve said this to people, and sometimes they take it out of context: I’ve never worked a day in my life in football. What I mean by that is I love it. I love being a player. I love being a coach. Jerry has been a big part of that,” Garrett said. “So we got there early, we stayed late, but I really, really treasured my experiences there, and I learned so much from him. He’s a brilliant guy. If you get a chance to get to know him and ask the right questions you can really grow as a person, as a coach, certainly in business, as well, I’m sure.”

“But he’s made my life way, way better, and I cherish that experience.”

Wade Phillips, who replaced Parcells in 2007 and was replaced by Garrett after being fired midway through the 2010 season, couldn’t say enough about how well Jones treated him and his family. Phillips says Jones takes you into his family

“I’ll never forget him flying my family to Goliad and paying for the meal when my dad passed away,” Phillips said. “I’ve never forgotten that. You can say a lot of things about him, but that’s going to live with me forever that he would do something like that. Those personal things are always going to be special to me.”

Dave Campo was assistant on the three Super Bowl title teams of the 1990s but is mostly known for his 5-11, 5-11 and 5-11 tenure as head coach from 2001-2003.

He was admittedly bothered by Jones openly courting Parcells as his replacement late in the 2003 season.

But he had no illusions about his run being over. His biggest problem with Parcells, defending the courtship, saying “it’s a free country, Jerry can talk to whoever he wants.”

“That stuck in my craw,” Campo said. “That part still sticks in my craw. But that is a different matter.”

The same goes how it relates to his relationship with Jones, then and now.

Campo said Jones treated the coaches great and even allowed him to return as a guest television analyst during preseason games with the Cowboys.

“I was in the press box in the ballgame when Tony Romo got hurt (in 2016),” Campo said. “And Jerry came on at halftime. And before he finished, he turned around and grabbed me and brought me out in front of the camera and said, ‘This guy here is one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around. I just didn’t get him a quarterback.”

Dispelling rumors

As far as narratives are concerned, all disputed the notion that Jones operated on his own, often outside the wishes of the staff.

Building the Cowboys roster has always been a collaborative effort with the coach, the scouting department and the front office dating back Jimmy Johnson, Jones first hire in 1989 who was fired after back to back Super Bowl titles in 1992-1993 over egos and credit.

Jones has acknowledged he should have done more to keep the relationship together.

But even Parcells didn’t get complete control

It was Jones and the scouts who picked future Hall of Fame linebacker DeMarcus Ware in the first round in 2005 against Parcells’ wishes.

Parcells said Jones will give you what you want, you just have to convince him.

That was Phillips’ experience as well.

“People think of an owner who is kind of dabbling into things he didn’t need to be dabbling into. And that’s really not the case,” Phillips said. “If he was just a general manager, there wouldn’t be as much talk about it. But he’s a good guy to work for because he listens. If you want to do something, the good thing is that you’re talking to the general manager, but you’re also talking to the owner. So if you want to get something done, you say, ‘I think we ought to do this’. And he says, ‘yes.’ then it’s done.”

Phillips said he has worked with a lot of owners during his career and calls the Cowboys hierarchy a simpler process as it cuts out the middleman.

“The good ones are the ones that will pay money to get a player that might make a difference,” Phillips added. “And he’s always done that. So you can’t complain about that. I think the toughest thing for him is his goal is to win the Super Bowl every year. And if you don’t win, it’s a bad year. The problem is living up to expectations every year. He is a fun guy to be around but he is serious about wanting to win.”

He is also serious about promoting the team and organization which is also part of the environment that comes with working with Jones.

And that includes talking about starting lineups and injuries on the radio or in the media when the coach prefers to keep it in house, which McCarthy has openly lamented.

Jones offers no apologies.

“We want to be on the minds of sports fans,” Jones said. “I want to be something on the Cowboys in every journal I can put it in. If anybody is thinking we have more said about us, more visibility…that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I want to keep them talking about the Cowboys. If we got them talking about us, we’re doing our job.”

Doing his job of promoting the Cowboys sometimes goes against what’s in the best interest of the football team and the staff.

Ask Johnson, who coached the Cowboys to the Super Bowl wins in 1992 and 1993. The two have feuded at times during their years together in Dallas and since Johnson’s departure from the organization in 1994.

“Jerry and I both have a lot of pride and ego,” Johnson said to told Star-Telegram before his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August of 2021. “And a times here is going to be a clash but I think the relationship is very good right now. I have tremendous respect for Jerry Jones. He is one of the most passionate and smartest men I have even been around. Best business man ever I have met. He worked around the clock to make the Cowboys the very best. I have a lot of respect for him.”

The other Cowboy coaches know this, too.

“I think that comes with the territory. Again, I think it comes from the fact that Jerry is a salesman,” Campo said. “That is why he can be out front and make the statements that he makes. I always felt that Jerry had one interest in mind that was winning and being successful. But yeah, that comes with the territory.”

Said Garrett: “We used to say it comes with the dinner, particularly down there in Dallas.”

That dinner also includes questions and rumors about your job, the spotlight of the national media and high expectations, especially considering it’s going on 27 years since the Cowboys last reached the Super Bowl in 1995.

McCarthy can’t worry about the narratives. He just needs to coach his team.

“Focus on the task at hand, focus on your team and how you can create an environment where they can be their best,” Garrett said. “It comes with the job. There’s a lot of attention on that organization. I always felt like it was important as the head coach to be someone who was a steadying figure for everybody in the organization rather than get caught up in all the noise that was going on outside of it.”