What Stephen Jones is Saying About Cowboys Pursuit of Saints Coach Sean Payton

There is Some "Plausible Deniability'' Here And There Are Some "Sensible'' Reasons, Too, For What Stephen Jones is Saying About The Cowboys Pursuit of Saints Coach Sean Payton

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys at this moment have every reason to feel good about what head coach Jason Garrett just accomplished - and with hopes that he and his 2019 Dallas Cowboys can accomplish even more, have every reason to deny ever feeling bad about Garrett.

Therefore, COO Stephen Jones' denial of an offseason connection with New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is understandable.

“That’s just untrue,'' Jones said of an NFL Network report - which we can confirm - that Dallas spent a moment last season investigating the availability of Payton. "Obviously we don’t comment on rumors like that. Obviously our focus right now is beating the Eagles.''

Jones, speaking to "K and C Masterpiece'' on Monday on 105.3 The Fan, can reasonably deny having "interviewed'' Payton, who of course eventually re-upped in New Orleans with a massive five-year extension.

But "denying interest'' would be a fib - albeit a justifiable one, as the Cowboys just crushed the Rams 44-21 (game story here) to move to 7-7 and in a tie with the Eagles atop the NFC East. 

Jones cleverly mentioned that he and Jerry Jones "have been criticized to a fault for what we do think of (Garrett). He just did a great job getting this team back on track yesterday and we’re focused on beating the Eagles.”

A fair-minded observer - especially one who reads CowboysSI.com's coverage of Garrett's Cowboys - would agree that leading up to Sunday and on Sunday, the embattled "RedBall'' pushed an assortment of right buttons. (Read here.) And now? The Cowboys are headed to Philly this weekend for what figures to be the de facto "NFC East Title Game.''

There is a time and a place for the Cowboys to go public about their interest in replacing Garrett, depending how this, his final contractual season, ends. And Stephen Jones is right in not letting this be that time and place - in public, anyway.