Do you remember the time Bill Belichick asked Jerry Jones for a job and was ignored?
Do you remember the time Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones turned down Bill Belichick for a coaching job?
Well, he didn’t exactly turn him down. He simply ignored Belichick’s request.
Of course, that was in 1996, well before Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and became regarded as the greatest coach in NFL history.
A then-43-year-old Belichick had just been fired by the Cleveland Browns after five seasons and ran into Jones at a ski resort and asked for a job.
Barry Switzer was coaching the Cowboys then, and they were coming off their third Super Bowl title in four years.
“I was renting skis for my grandkids,” Jones said on Dallas radio show 105.3 The Fan. “There was a line, and I was sitting in the back, and someone bumps up against me a few times. And I turn around, and there was this guy that I couldn’t make [out] because he had ski stuff. But it was Bill.”
Jones said Belichick told him, “I can coach. If you ever get an opportunity, don’t forget about me.”
Belichick confirmed the encounter when asked by reporters this week in the lead-up to Sunday’s game between the Cowboys (6-4) and the Patriots (9-1).
“Yeah, I was out in Snowmass [in Colorado]. I was out there with the family, and Jerry, he’s got on a white jacket with a blue star, coming off a couple Super Bowl victories out there,” Belichick said at a Patriots press conference Wednesday.
“Jerry and the Joneses have always been great to me. I always had a great relationship with them,” he added.
Jones is now on to his fifth coach since then. Current coach Jason Garrett is on the hot seat and may not return in 2020.
Jones still rewinds in his mind that chance encounter with an unemployed Belichick.
“I’ve thought about that many times. You never know where you can find a great coach. You can find them in a ski checkout line sometimes,” Jones said.
Here are five things to watch in Sunday’s game against the Patriots:
Chess match between No. 1 offense, No. 1 defense
Sunday’s game sets up as a showdown between the Dallas Cowboys’ offense, which is ranked No. 1 in the league, and the New England Patriots’ top-ranked defense.
And while the Cowboys are putting up video game numbers, it’s the Patriots’ defense that comes in with the most respect, given its Super Bowl pedigree and master schemer in coach Bill Belichick.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will have to fight a chess match against the Patriots’ ever-changing schemes and coverages, per receiver Amari Cooper.
The Patriots have the league’s No. 1 third-down defense and have recorded a whopping 19 interceptions for a reason.
“They seem to be like a game-specific type of defensive type of team,” Cooper said. “Based off what we do on offense, they’ll adjust their defense. They’ll probably run a coverage that they haven’t run all season, if they think it will be able to stop some of the things we do.”
The Patriots will likely try to take Cooper out of the pass offense, but the Cowboys proved against the Detroit Lions that they have other weapons. They will have to prove it again.
“We have a lot of guys that can make plays, so if they try to take me away and just focus on me, I don’t think that’d be the wisest approach,” he said. “You saw what Gallup and Cobb did last week, going for over 100 yards. If they do try to take me away, we have other guys that can make plays.
“Teams will game plan, especially when we start to get closer to the playoffs. In the playoffs, they will try and take the biggest weapons away,” he added. “But if you have everybody making plays, it’s like they can’t do that, and they’re scrambling around, trying to see who to start.”
Can Cowboys break Pats’ 20-game home win streak?
The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots have won six Super Bowls under Bill Belichick, and they are riding a 20-game winning streak at home.
Veteran receiver Randall Cobb says a big key for the Cowboys is not getting broken down mentally by the Patriots.
“I think it’s always important, not just this game, but it’s always an important thing,” Cobb said. “But this is the type of game where it’s basically who can break mentally first. They want to break you mentally. It’s about being able to stay dialed in and stay on top of the little things as far as technique goes when you get late into these ballgames.”
The Cowboys have lost their past five games against the Patriots and haven’t won in Foxborough, Massachusetts, since Nov. 15, 1987. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is 4-0 against the Cowboys.
But the Cowboys know this is a game that can change perceptions, as well as futures.
“I think you do have those games throughout season,” Cobb said. “It could be early in the year; it could be late in the year. This is the type of time where teams separate themselves,and when you’re playing an opponent like New England that’s had success over the years, it definitely, I think, is a confidence booster.”
Sean Lee in for injured Leighton Vander Esch
Veteran linebacker Sean Lee will move back into the starting lineup in place of the injured Leighton Vander Esch, who is likely out at least two games with a neck injury.
Vander Esch was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Patriots and most certainly won’t play against the Buffalo Bills four days later on Thanksgiving Day, as the Cowboys plan to give his neck stingers a chance to calm down.
Lee had 12 tackles against the New York Giants when he filled in for an injured Vander Esch three games ago. So he will be ready.
“I know he’s frustrated with injuries just like I’ve been in the past because of how much he loves football, how much he wants to play,” Lee said. “He’s going to face adversity head on and come out of the back side dominating.”
When Vander Esch comes back remains in doubt, though vice president Stephen Jones said the team doesn’t think it’s a season-ending or career-threatening injury.
“We feel good about it,” Jones said. “But obviously we’re going to do what’s in Leighton’s best interest for his long-term health and long-term career.”
We certainly don’t think it’s career threatening It’s the same neck injury he’s been dealing with. But feel like if we give this thing the proper amount of rest, it may correct on its own. If not, we’ll move forward in another direction.”
Flu-gate 2019?
The Cowboys are doing their best to survive the flu that has crept into the locker room this week.
And yes, there are questions of whether Patriots coach Bill Belichick had anything to do with it.
Linebacker Joe Thomas and safety Donovan Wilson missed practice all week with flu-like symptoms. Linebacker coach Ben Bloom also missed practice all week with an illness.
The bug started going around last week with cornerback Jordan Lewis and safety Xavier Woods dealing with symptoms ahead of the Detroit Lions game. Linebacker Justin March-Lillard also has an upper respiratory infection.
Quarterback Dak Prescott took some preventive medications Friday.
Michael Bennett faces old team
Defensive end Michael Bennett said there is no personal vendetta against the Patriots, who traded him to the Cowboys during Dallas’ bye week.
But Bennett is also an edgy competitor whose three-time Pro Bowl career was fueled by his being an overlooked, undrafted free agent in 2009.
He is a proven 11-year veteran now, but DNA never changes. And no matter what he says, the slights of his short stay in New England linger.
Bennett, who was acquired by the Patriots in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in the spring, played in only six games before being shipped to the Cowboys. His stay was marked by diminished playing time and a shouting match with defensive line coach Brett Bielema that earned him a one-game suspension.
There is no question the move to the Cowboys was a better fit for Bennett, as he has been able to thrive as a backup defensive end and inside pass rusher on passing downs. He has three sacks and seven quarterback hits.
While he respects Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Sunday’s provides opportunity for Bennett to let them know what they let go.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 4:26 PM.
