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Jerry Jones spent a solid chunk of the offseason playing a cat and mouse game with Ezekiel Elliott before ultimately giving in to his contract demands after acknowledging the running back was an essential asset in his quest to return America’s Team to glory.
The Cowboys got off to a solid start by winning their first three games before promptly losing the next three and never really managed to get into a groove after that—much to the chagrin of the longtime owner.
We got our first hint that trouble was brewing in Dallas after the team dropped to 6-5 in a loss to the Patriots and Jones wasn’t shy about placing the blame on the coaching staff that made some very questionable decisions during the contest.
Jason Garrett suddenly found his seat warmer than he would have liked and it only got hotter from there as Jones continued to throw shade his way and rumors began to fly concerning candidates who could potentially replace him.
There were initially whispers that the only way Garrett could save his job was winning a Super Bowl before other reports said getting to the NFC Championship would be enough, but in the end, the Cowboys were unable to make either and all eyes turned to Dallas to watch the drama unfold.
It was virtually impossible to keep track of the gossip that originated from The Star in Frisco during the past week, where it appeared Garrett had come to terms with his fate before it was revealed he was still lobbying for his job in the same building where the organization was interviewing potential replacements.
On Sunday, Garrett’s fate was officially sealed after the team announced it had decided to part ways with him and brought one saga to a close while kicking off a new one as they search for a successor.
It definitely seems like Garrett got jerked around based on the number of conflicting reports that surfaced following the end of the regular season and it appears like Troy Aikman agrees with this assessment, as he spoke with The Athletic‘s Joe Machota after the news broke to take aim at Jones for how he handled the situation.
Troy Aikman on with @MikeDoocyFox4 explained why he’s disappointed with how the Cowboys parted ways with his good friend and former teammate, Jason Garrett: pic.twitter.com/KQY3f4Obfv
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 6, 2020
Aikman has fired a number of shots at Jones in recent months, as he blamed the owner’s unwillingness to delegate on the Cowboys’ tendency to underachieve. He doubled down in December by saying the team is in desperate need of an actual GM but appeared to have no faith Jones would ever admit to playing a major role in their struggles.
Hubris is a bitch.