Kareem Copeland gives us a better explanation as to why Jerry Jones fired Rex Ryan. According to an interview Jones gave via ESPNDallas.com, Jones says,
“I didn’t like the way we were playing in a lot of cases, I thought we could play better before the injuries, and so I factored that in. It wasn’t like we had a lot of injuries out here when we played Chicago. It wasn’t like we had a lot of injuries when we played Seattle. I didn’t like the way we played there. It’s not hard for me to go to those games and say what can we do to improve when we played Seattle and when we played Chicago, and I liked the way we played in subsequent games, and I know we didn’t have the talent level on the field that we had when we played Seattle and Chicago.”
Mr. Copeland makes a good point in the article noting that Cowboys’ defense wasn’t the entire reason for those two loses. He points out
The Cowboys lost 27-7 to the Seahawks in Week 2, but two first-quarter turnovers by the special-teams unit put Dallas down 10-0. The Cowboys lost to the Bears 34-18in Week 4, but Tony Romo threw five interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns.
Doesn’t look like Rob Ryan was the real reason for those loses but Joe DeCamillis, the cowboys special teams coach is still with the team (although interviewing for other coaching positions) as well as Jason Garret and Tony Romo.
In my opinion the Rob Ryan firing was a little pre-mature but Jerry Jones is known for making shakeups that in recent years haven’t amounted to any real change in the franchise. The next DC the Cowboys hire will certainly be on the hot seat from pre-season game 1 because of the talent Dallas had on the roster plus they just fired a well-respected DC that the league and players respect.
If the Cowboys have another disappointing season, will Jones finally admit that he’s made some bad decisions and that Jason Garret and Tony Romo just may not be the ticket to another Lombardi? The saga continues…