OXNARD, Calif. — The Dallas Cowboys are opening their training camp with their first practice Wednesday in Oxnard, California.
Team owner Jerry Jones gave his annual address Tuesday to talk about the Cowboys' prospects for the 2022 season.
"We appreciate what Oxnard is as far as their ‘can do’ spirit and what this camp means to them and our Cowboy fans here in Oxnard," Jones said. "We always appreciate not only the weather but the people out here."
Jones expressed confidence in head coach Mike McCarthy's ability to bring the franchise back to championship glory, the issue he said he has the most sensitivity about.
"I want to be real clear, he would not be sitting here today if I did not think he was the man to lead this team to a Super Bowl. He would not be. And I have choices," he said. "The guy to my right is who I'm convicted about, have been. We certainly have had things we've addressed the way we addressed them in the offseason. I think we have successfully put together a staff that from this vantage point gives us the absolutely the best chance with our makeup and our team to get to the ultimate success."
See more of his remarks below:
Jones also spoke about the departure of several high profile players, saying it was the Cowboys' decision to let them go.
"Those players were in the top ten of our players who made the most money. When you get in that spot, I can tell you, your standards go up, your bar is higher, your conduct is higher. Your attention to the team is higher, not just your own performance but everything. When you have that kind of responsibility, which you do when you have that much of the financial pie."
"Those decisions were made more about availability than ability. They were made as to how you arrived at not being available at times," Jones said. "We're in a sport in football where certainly your skill level and your ability to be a player is why you're even being considered as a player, but more important than anything, these decisions that we made, I made, relative to top players not being here had everything to do with their availability, and my concern about their availability."
"You could have the exact same player, and if you were paying him one thing, about 10 or 15% of what you're looking at paying him, then you can do that all day long and you can have half-assed availability, when you're paying him about 10-15%," he said. "The day you're called upon to raise that up about ten times, then all of a sudden you start questioning whether or not availability should be more in the mix. Because those are resources, those dollars he's gonna get, that could help us win the games with other players."
"I'm not trying to talk in pig Latin, I'm trying to be straight. I don't want to demean any player, I love those players personally, but you have to have number one thing is how we win a football game if you're going to be in the top ten of paid players in my mind. For the team. Check 'I' at the door, it's 'We' when you walk through the door."
See those remarks below:
The Cowboys had a 12-5 record in 2021 and won the NFC East title. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers.
San Antonio NFL team?
KENS 5 recently spent some time with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg gauging his thoughts on San Antonio ever landing an NFL franchise.
It has long been speculated that Jones would never allow that to happen because he knows that San Antonio loves America's Team, and a competitor on the I-35 corridor would be bad for business. The mayor downplayed the idea.
"You know, I think that is way overblown," Nirenberg said. "Nobody owns the 35 corridor. The people of Texas own the corridor, and if Aggies and Longhorns can coexist there, the Dallas Cowboys share that with other fans as well, and they currently do."
Through the Cowboys, Jones declined to comment on this story. Nirenberg somewhat understood that.
"I'm not gonna speak for Jerry, but I've had an interview about speculation about what is gonna happen with the NFL probably once every couple of months," he said.
Nirenberg noted that San Antonio is on an upward trend that compares favorably to any city in the country.
"I'm excited about the future, but does that mean that future will be determined tomorrow? I don't know," he said. "I look at San Antonio and I say to any business that is looking for long term returns on your investment, and a bright future, there is not a better place to be that San Antonio, and that includes professional sports franchises."
And for those who are old enough to remember every semi-professional team that has history in the Alamo City, you know they have had success. Fan interest and fan support has been there, and would be there for the next franchise to announce their arrival. Nirenberg agrees that San Antonio loves their football, and that the fan support would show that.
"We have the best fans. We are rabid sports fans, football included," he said. "We celebrate with the best of them, but we also celebrate together, and our corporate community is very supportive of our home teams. The most difficult part of economic development in San Antonio is getting folks to book the first flight. Once they are down here and experience our city they are hooked! We just need them to come down and take a look."