Despite qualifications, Jerry Jones won't name Will McClay GM

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Despite qualifications, Jerry Jones won't name Will McClay Cowboys GM

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 4/25/23

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks the world of Will McClay, but he can’t imagine him as the team’s general manager. During a recent pre-draft news conference, Jones made a point of praising his longtime front-office employee while trying to downplay his availability.

“I don’t want anybody to know about Will,” Jones said. “I’m teasing, but I’m not teasing. He’s very unique and he has great people skills. But I can’t make him the general manager. We have one,” Jones said. The owner, of course, also serves as Cowboys GM -- a fact that makes many Dallas fans cringe.

Dallas #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a point of praising Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay today, but then added, “But I can't make him the General Manager. We have one.” pic.twitter.com/6MVyjkPJZ7
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) April 25, 2023

After spending seven years coaching the Dallas Desperados for Jones in the Arena League, McClay joined the Cowboys in 2009, spending two seasons as the team's pro scouting coordinator. He has since served as the team’s director of football research, assistant director of player personnel, senior director of pro/colleges scouting and most recently as the vice president of player personnel.

Trevon Diggs, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are just some of the players McClay helped bring in over the years. So why hasn’t another team offered him a general manager position?

In a league often criticized for its minority hiring practices, McClay seems like an obvious choice to run a franchise. But McClay is happy in the Cowboys organization, and while he’s not opposed to taking a position with another team, he won’t chase after every opportunity.

McClay turned down an interview with the Houston Texans recently. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last summer, he discussed the pressures of being a minority executive in the NFL while reminding everyone that he’s ultimately responsible for himself.

“I’m a grown man. I know I’m Black,” McClay said. “The pressure is from the outside saying, ‘Oh, you have to do’…I don’t have to do anything. The thing that I have to do for any African-American person who is trying to get into personnel, what I’ve got to do is be the best at my job."

Jones has said McClay is as qualified to be a general manager as anyone he has ever been around. If Jones ever steps away, maybe he will be.

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