Troy Aikman Raises Eyebrows Over Jerry Jones’ Coaching Comments: “That’s Concerning to Me”
ARLINGTON, TX - When Troy Aikman talks Cowboys, it’s never just noise. The Hall of Fame quarterback has earned the right to speak candidly about the franchise he helped turn into a dynasty. And when he raises concerns, especially about how things are being run in Dallas, people listen.
This time, Aikman is calling out the way Jerry Jones - Cowboys owner, president, and de facto GM - is handling the future of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. With three regular-season games left, Jones made it clear that Eberflus’ job security is very much in question.
“The adjustments we should be making defensively should be with these next three games in mind,” Jones said. “That will affect any adjustments regarding coaching with the time frame we’re dealing with. That (the possibility of firing Eberflus) is a valid question.”
That comment didn’t sit well with Aikman, who believes those kinds of decisions - and especially those kinds of public comments - should be coming from the head coach, not the owner.
“As for Matt Eberflus, the only one I’ve heard comment is Jerry Jones,” Aikman said during an appearance on The Ticket. “I’d like to hear what Brian Schottenheimer has to say about it. I’d prefer that it be Brian Schottenheimer discussing how we’ll evaluate the coaching staff over the next three weeks, not just the defensive coordinator, and then decide on what to do, instead of what the general manager wants to do.”
Aikman’s point is clear: in most NFL organizations, the head coach runs the football side. The GM may have input, but it’s the coach who evaluates and makes decisions about his staff. In Dallas, that line has always been blurred - and sometimes erased entirely - by Jerry Jones.
This isn’t new. Aikman’s been around long enough to remember the early days of Jones’ ownership, when the Cowboys were rebuilding from the ground up - the “jocks and socks” era, as it’s often called.
Even then, Jones was hands-on. That hasn’t changed.
To be fair, head coach Brian Schottenheimer has since addressed the situation. In a move that could be seen as an attempt to shake things up or simply gain a different perspective, Eberflus was moved from the sideline to the booth.
“At the end of the day, we all understand we need to play better on defense,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s not a secret. Nobody has shied away from that.”
That’s a diplomatic way of acknowledging the obvious: the Cowboys’ defense hasn’t been good enough, and changes - whether in scheme, execution, or personnel - are on the table.
Stephen Jones, Cowboys COO and Jerry’s right-hand man, also chimed in, offering a more measured view of how decisions are made inside the building.
“I would say 99 percent of the time we go with what coach Schottenheimer and his staff want to go with,” Stephen said on The Fan. “Anytime you have ownership in anything, you obviously want to know what’s going on. But at the same time, you’re also supportive of the people you put in place to make those decisions.”
That “99 percent” line is doing a lot of work. Because when it comes to hiring - and potentially firing - coordinators, it’s clear Jerry still has the final say. Eberflus was a Jones hire, and while that may not have gone against Schottenheimer’s wishes, it’s hard to ignore who’s really pulling the strings.
Aikman, for his part, isn’t trying to stir up controversy. He’s not anti-Jerry, and he’s certainly not anti-Cowboys.
He’s always been careful to stay objective in his role as a national broadcaster. But he also knows the inner workings of an NFL team as well as anyone - and he sees a process in Dallas that doesn’t quite line up with how most successful franchises operate.
“Whether it’s Dallas or any other team, you just don’t hear general managers talking about the coaching staff beyond the head coach,” Aikman said. “It’s the head coach that makes decisions as far as who’s going to be on his staff. ...
There will be a fall guy for sure. I mean, that’s the way it works, and that’s the way it’s always worked in Dallas.”
That last line hits hard - because it’s true. In Dallas, when things go sideways, someone usually takes the fall. And more often than not, it’s not the person at the top.
So here we are again: the Cowboys are in the thick of a playoff push, but the focus is drifting toward front-office dynamics and sideline politics. It’s a familiar script in Dallas - one that Aikman knows all too well.
Whether Eberflus survives the season or not, the larger issue remains: who’s really running the Cowboys’ football operations? If the answer continues to be Jerry Jones, then Aikman’s concerns won’t be the last we hear - and they certainly won’t be unfounded.