Dallas Cowboys: What a commendable eulogy of Jerry Jones for Jason Garrett really means for the job security of the Cowboys coach in 2018

OXNARD, Calif. – Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saved the biggest news for last. Or the worst news, depending on the point of view.

When asked if head coach Jason Garrett should play in the playoffs, Jones says:

"No, that's the best answer I can give. And the most just. "

And that shut down the 45-minute press conference that opened the training camp on Wednesday afternoon.

Most of us in the media (and, I have to Imagine, the majority of Cowboys fans) A team that made 9-7 while the suspension of Ezekiel Elliott was suspended above the club all season before he misses six games should improve this brand, no?

In addition to that, there is the Garrett His strength is to have lost only a record in seven seasons, but he also experienced three seasons of 8 to 8 during which the teams had the opportunity to play in the playoffs, but they failed in the end – a seven-year playoff win that distinguishes it (in a bad way) from all its peers other than Cincinnati Marvin Lewis, who remains without a win in the playoffs.

Jones insisted that he believes that Garrett improves as coach year after year. After replacing Wade Phillips in mid-season 2010, Garrett enters his eighth season. None of the other coaches in Jones' 30 years as owner / CEO has lasted more than five years.

"If I can be so daring, I would say that he is a better coach than last year, or the year before that, or the year before. , "Jones says.

This is a strange refrain that Jones has expressed before, that long learning curve that Garrett of Princeton demanded despite the fact that it was in his fourth season as a call from the United States. ;team. offensive coordinator when he got the best job. Keep in mind, Doug Pederson of Philadelphia did not even call plays for Andy Reid in Kansas City before landing the Eagles' job. He won a Super Bowl in his second season with a second-tier quarterback.

Sean McVay of the Rams won the NFC West in his first season as head coach. Garrett was at his second Ivy League school when McVay was born.

Still, the Jones story continues. Jason took time and got better and better …

Garrett said that he believed that he had improved in every aspect of his work , choosing not to mention any particular area. And he acknowledged that he and the staff will be challenged to continue the offensive after Jason Witten's retirement and the release of Dez Bryant.

"These are two very, very special players, but that's really the nature of the game." Allen Allen and rookie Michael Gallup at wide receiver and Blake Jarwin and rookie Dalton Schultz at the tight trials will do a lot for Determine how long Jones can stay by his side.

It may be what Jones believes strongly, or it's maybe the kind of things you say when the air California fills you with optimism while the head coach is sitting directly to your left. 19659003] "I would say our coach and our coaching staff are the first reason I'm excited by what we have in front of us this year, "said Jones.

Oh, my, keep in mind that Jones has expressed his love for ambiguity in the past and often speaks in circles. opening the Cowboys' training camp in 2018 with so much praise for Garrett and his p Once again, there are only two options left: the team can return to the playoffs and the staff will receive congratulations for helping a young team get back on track. disappointment and staff who failed to bring some measure of the playoff glory to AT & T Stadium will be held accountable.

In the end, I think that's where Jones is heading with all that. He really loves Garrett and believes that he is the man for the job, but he also knows that it is a results-based company and Garrett has got nothing about it. After seven full years, he has participated in series as many times as Chan Gailey in two years.

Jones opened the press conference saying that he had the impression that the club "had our cake and ate it too. 19659003] The next six months will determine whether the Cowboys are resuming their position and demonstrate their superiority in the NFC East, or it's time for Jones to eat his words with all that cake.

Twitter: @ TimCowlishaw