After firing Jason Garrett at the end of the 2019 NFL season, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a litany of head coaching options to choose from. He wound up picking Mike McCarthy over, among others, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule, who joined the Carolina Panthers – his team’s opponent this Sunday.
Speaking to 105.3 The Fan ahead of that big game, Jones was asked about why he didn’t pick Rhule to replace Garrett. Jones said that the Cowboys did their research on Rhule as they went on their coaching search.
The Cowboys ultimately settled on McCarthy, who had been out of football for a year after being fired by the Green Bay Packers in 2018. Jones explained that he preferred McCarthy for his experience and his “skins on the wall.”
However, ESPN’s Ed Werder pointed out that the Cowboys’ interest in Rhule didn’t seem that serious. He tweeted this morning that the team never even contacted Rhule about his interest in the job.
The #Cowboys never contacted Rhule about his interest. https://t.co/X5t5d03qJf
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 1, 2021
It remains to be seen if Jerry Jones made the right choice or not.
In their first years with their respective teams, Mike McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 6-10 record without star QB Dak Prescott for most of the season. They were one win away from the NFC East title that year and are off to a division-leading 2-1 start this year.
The Panthers went 5-11 under Matt Rhule last year. But they are off to a 3-0 start this year thanks to an elite defense and a breakout season by quarterback Sam Darnold.
Sunday’s game at AT&T Stadium will give us a strong sense of whether Jerry Jones got the coaching pick right.
The post Jerry Jones Has Honest Admission About Matt Rhule appeared first on The Spun.