Jerry Jones Jokes: Inside Cowboys Owner's 'Roasts' of Mike McCarthy & Will McClay

“Draftin' is not our problem; coachin' is,'' says Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and if you don't "get'' the joke, the least you could do is ... "get'' out of the way of the good-natured roast.

FRISCO - If Jerry Jones has known you for any length of time - at least long enough to know that you can take a joke - he will good-naturedly rib you, bust your balls with a wink and that familiar angled grin, and maybe even stage a full-fledged "roast'' as he did this week here inside The Star at the team's pre-NFL Draft press conference.

Jerry played Don Rickles. And personnel boss Will McClay and coach Mike McCarthy played the "victims.'' And of course (and unfortunately), for those not in on the joke, some of the playful pokes were heard wrong.

At one point, Jones leaned into the head coach with whom he's developed a marvelous rapport and summarized the day's draft-time talk by drawling, “Draftin' is not our problem; coachin' is.''

Jerry Jones: “Drafting is not our problem, coaching is.”

(🎥: @DallasCowboys) pic.twitter.com/QGhfnORj2T

— Michael Bier (@MichaelJBier) April 24, 2023

The in-person (and in-the-know) audience roared, just as it did earlier when Jones was heaping praise on McClay. His flattering words caused a media member to ask about promoting the personnel boss to Cowboys GM.

“I can’t make him general manager,” quipped Jones, who has since he purchased the franchise in 1989 held that title, "(because) We have one. It’s tenured. If Will can write those checks, I might consider it.”

The first joke signified the camaraderie feels with his coach, who in his three seasons here has grown to accept that this is the way the Cowboys boss operates. (At McCarthy's previous stop, in Green Bay, had a person in power said such a throw-under-the-bus thing, that person likely meant it.) 

To be honest, we can tell you that McCarthy still experienced some culture shock at the colorful ways of the Joneses, and there are still many conversations and even spirited debates as to how to approach a myriad of issues. But McCarthy's voice is heard, which is another Jerry tradition, dating all the way back to what we have termed his "co-architect'' partnership with Jimmy Johnson.

Meanwhile, we have long termed McClay "The Unifier'' for his truly unique ability to bring together all the wings of a football building. Many organizations see coaches vs. scouts as a natural and even bitter conflict; McClay makes that go away, while also being almost familial with the Joneses ... and also being an executive who can walk into the locker room and collect and distribute 53 hugs.

Jerry referred to that, in a way, when he said of McClay, “I don’t want anybody to know about Will. I’m teasing ... He’s very unique and he has great people skills. And I mean they work for Will — those scouts, and that’s a management job, those scouts on the road. ... Will’s got a big job. He’s got a big job of managing — and I mean managing, because they are on the road most of the time, those guys who are there. Outstanding, best group I’ve ever been associated with in 30 years.”

And yet many national reactions to "The Roast at The Star'' read, in one form or another, something like, "Jones isn't taking the blame for any of the Cowboys’ recent setbacks.'' Or, "Jones is blocking McClay from advancing.'' And those are gross representations of how this organization works.

Specific to McClay, as we've written every offseason when he turns down GM interviews elsewhere: In Dallas, he has the authority of a "co-GM'' plus a handsome salary, with maybe less pressure than other general managers ... plus an unmatchable relationship with the ownership family. If McClay doesn't care about a title (though maybe someday he might), why are some of the rest of us so obsessed about it?

Meanwhile, running an NFL team, let alone running a draft, is a pressure cooker. That may be even more true for this high-profile "America's Team'' that is coming off back-to-back 12-5 seasons while also struggling through a Super Bowl draught that now extends beyond a half-century.

But this is also supposed to be fun. So once in awhile you get your ribs poked and you get your balls busted and you get "roasted.'' And really, if outsiders don't get Jerry Jones' jokes? Then what they should "get'' is ... out of the way.

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