FRISCO - Jerry Jones admitted Tuesday morning on his weekly radio show that he regularly eats raccoon and has an affinity for squirrel brain. And in this wacky, mostly woeful Dallas Cowboys season, it was only the second-most shocking he uttered.
"Delicious," the owner said on 105.3 The Fan about eating such wild game as raccoon. "I've had lots of it. And the kids in my family used to fight over who got the squirrel brain."
As outlandish as that menu may seem to some, Cowboys fans will be even more surprised at Jones' report card for his coaching staff for a season likely headed for a non-winning record and missing the playoffs. After winning 12 games the past three season, Dallas lost star quarterback Dak Prescott to a mid-season injury is 6-8 after last Sunday's victory in Carolina.
The Cowboys have three games remaining starting with Sunday night at AT&T Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The best they can finish is 9-8, meaning they would need an astronomical amount of help to earn the NFC's third Wild Card berth.
"If we're sitting here and we won out and we're knocking on that door and we could get in the playoffs ..." Jones said. "Then we'll be having a different discussion about how this season started and how it wound up finishing."
For the majority of the season the Cowboys have been abysmal at home and handicapped by an inability to both run the football on offense and stop it on defense. They were embarrassingly blown out in Arlington in their first five games and allowed 27+ points during a five-game losing streak that harpooned the season. They have recently won three of four, and came within a head-scratching misplay of a blocked punt against the Cincinnati Bengals of being in real contention for the postseason.
Head coach Mike McCarthy's return has been in jeopardy all season, as his contract expires after Week 17. So too the deal of defensive coordinator. Jones was asked if he considers the coaches as "tied together" in his evaluation of their performance in 2024.
"In a way I do, yes," Jones said. "Especially after the last couple of games. I think we're seeing the best of Mike Zimmer. He's been real impressive with the injuries we've had. And with Mike, I don't know how you can say he can't get you there with as hard as he has us playing with these players and the injuries.
"So yeah, I give them both high grades this year."
