Jerry’s Cowboys ‘All In’? The Blind Men, The Elephant & Mike McCarthy’s ‘Feel’

Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys ‘All In’? The Blind Men, The Elephant & Coach Mike McCarthy’s ‘Feel’

FRISCO - What does “all in” mean? My best explanation comes from the ancient parable “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” in which each man touches a different part of the beast and concludes that an elephant is “like a snake” (from feeling the trunk) or “like a tree” (from feeling a leg).

Which part of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ “all-in elephant” is head coach Mike McCarthy “feeling”?

Jones recently pledged that his Cowboys would be ‘all-in’ on the 2024 season.

“We will push the hell out of it,” said Jones, adding with just a hint of specificity, “Yes, I would say that you will see us this coming year not build it for the future.”

Meaning … what? We would conventionally take that to mean that Dallas will use “the salary-cap credit card” to build a stellsr roster for the present … and worry about paying the piper in the future.

But … Jerry’s verbal presentation style is not “conventional.” And more than a decade ago, Dallas dumped the “credit-card method.”

So … how does the coach interpret this “elephant”?

“I think,” McCarthy said, tucked into the middle of a lengthy reply, “it’s just identifying the fact that it’s important to go back and start the basics and that starts with player acquisition.”

Does Jerry's 'All-In' Reveal Really Mean Cowboys 'Influential' Free Agency Signings?

“That starts with player acquisition”? Is this McCarthy declaring that Dallas is about to supplement the re-signing of its own stars (Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons) and the NFL Draft with big-money “outside free agents”? 

While we suspect (until proven otherwise) that Jones’ vow may be more about PR-building than roster-building, McCarthy’s remarks may provide some hope to those in Cowboys Nation wishing to see “all parts of the elephant” come together in a way that feels like a true Super Bowl contender.