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Controversial Jerry Jones comments on coach pay get debunked
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Controversial comments from Cowboys' Jerry Jones about coach pay and winning debunked

By Zac Wassink  |  Last updated Nov 3, 2026 2:21 PM ET
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Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones caused quite a stir among members of the NFL community when he said during a Tuesday appearance on Dallas sports radio station 105.3 The Fan that there is "zero correlation between how much you pay a coach or how many coaches you have (on staff), as to winning," per "a random sample of years and all 32 teams involved." 

Later in the day, Cowboys reporter Jon Machota of The Athletic poured at least a little cold water over Jones' claim. 

Successful coaches can prove to be expensive for NFL franchises

"Of the last 10 Super Bowl winners," Machota explained, "six had coaches — Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McVay — among the highest paid in the league. The other four were Doug Pederson (2017 Philadelphia Eagles), Bruce Arians (2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Nick Sirianni (2024 Philadelphia Eagles) and Mike Macdonald (2025 Seattle Seahawks). Sirianni is currently among the top 10 highest-paid."

Back in January 2025, Jones and former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy reportedly "agreed it was time to move on" following a disagreement regarding the length of a proposed agreement. Eventually, Jones promoted Brian Schottenheimer from the role of offensive coordinator, which Schottenheimer held during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, to head coach. 

According to Mike Leslie of Dallas television station WFAA, Schottenheimer is believed to be at least among the lowest-paid coaches in the NFL this season. Salaries for head coaches aren't made public, but it's no secret that the Cowboys have thus far gone 10-14-1 under Schottenheimer. 

Jerry Jones knows what his record is as of late

Jones has repeatedly backed Schottenheimer, most recently after the Cowboys squandered leads of 17-3 and 24-10 en route to suffering a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals that dropped Dallas to 3-5 this past Sunday.

"You can be pretty creative in hiring your coaches," Jones added during Tuesday's segment, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "You can be creative sometimes when you don’t even know you’re hiring the coaches. And so I’ve had some good experience of hiring people who have never been in the NFL. I’ve had some experience of hiring young coaches, older coaches, and so, of course, you constantly remind me, as you should, of what my record is. And I understand that. But I also know that the next time you throw the pick, if you were the old California gold miner, you may hit the Comstock Lode."

The Cowboys haven't played in an NFC Championship Game under Jones' watch since they won the Super Bowl in January 1996. While some have tried for years to link former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with the Cowboys, Jones' comments would lead one to believe he probably wouldn't match Tomlin's asking price.

Zac Wassink
X Muck Rack

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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