Stephen A. Smith: ‘Jerry Jones is Lying’ About Cowboys Firing Mike McCarthy
FRISCO - "Ladies and gentlemen throughout America,” Stephen A. Smith shouted, choosing words and tone meant to suggest that he was about to address something of national significance. “Jerry Jones is lying to you.
"He's lying!''
The subject: The job security of coach Mike McCarthy, with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones insisting on 105.3 The Fan that a playoff loss at Tampa Bay this weekend won’t cost McCarthy his gig.
"No. ... No. That’s it,” Jones said when asked if there was an outcome Monday that could result in a McCarthy firing. “I don’t need to go into all the pluses or minuses, but I’ve got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game.”
The fake-authoritative response from the journalist-turned-comic-character Smith?
“Jerry Jones is lying to you!” Smith barked, using his familiar Jackie Chiles-like oratory style, complete with yelling and whispering and poetic sing-song. “If McCarthy loses this game, Mike McCarthy is going to get fired. I don't give a damn what anybody says!”
That last statement is a doozy, and a sort-of hint from Stephen A. that his hot take is not to be taken seriously.
“I don’t give a damn what anybody says!”? That’s ESPN’s approach to its fact-finding mission? To ignore Jerry’s own information about Jerry being offered by Jerry himself?
It’s all highly entertaining.
It’s also all sorts of wrong.
Speaking factually (no sing-song allowed):
*Jones has no plans to move on from his head coach with the 24 wins in two seasons, and under any condition would prefer not to.
*Jones is wise to be McCarthy’s biggest booster this week, as the Cowboys need to all be rowing in the same direction.
*Smith, fun and clever as he is, has no insight here - contrary to what hundreds of thousands of gullibly bamboozled ESPN customers will now be tempted to believe. And yet he can still have guessed right, because there are theoretical outcomes to this game that could cause Jones to alter his commitment.
Should the Cowboys lose the game in embarrassing fashion (26-6, 50-6, 100-6), combined with the highly unlikely concept of the coach "losing the locker room,'' along with coaching-cycle prom king Sean Payton texting Jerry offering to come to Dallas with no desire for personnel control?
Those three dominoes, just as one series of silly occurrences, would not have Jerry standing with the media in the bowels of Raymond James Stadium at midnight on Monday touting his present coaching staff.
*Jones has given nary a thought to firing Cowboys people in the event of a loss to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” … because that’s not the way his mind works.
Jerry Jones is “planning” on his Cowboys winning the game. Optimism colors every single thing this man thinks and does. That is a fact .. and people who truly know him know that. … Unlike the TV comedian who is calling the Cowboys owner a “liar,” thereby exposing the TV comedian as the one pretending to own some significant “truth.”
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