Stephen A. Smith rips Jerry Jones’ decision-making after parting ways with Mike McCarthy

The Dallas Cowboys officially parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday after five seasons leading the franchise. The timing of how everything unfolded was interesting as the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones now have a late start on their coaching search.

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith ripped Jerry Jones for the timing during an appearance on SportsCenter on Monday. Smith believes that Jones’ arrogance hurt the Cowboys.

“It makes no sense what’s going on – the delays, the wait,” Stephen A. Smith said. “This man believes it’s such a privilege to work for the Dallas Cowboys, that he believes he can move at his own pace.”

Smith added that he had a sit-down interview with Jerry Jones recently in which Jones admitted that he makes decisions at his own pace, regardless of what others think.

“When I sat down with him face-to-face and interviewed him earlier this year on my podcast, what he said was, ‘Hey, didn’t I get it done? At the end of the day didn’t it happen?’” Stephen A. Smith recalled.

“And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but look at how long you waited and look at what opportunities you missed out on.’ He said, ‘Those weren’t opportunities we were interested in exploring, anyway.’”

You can watch the full interview from Stephen A. Smith below.

"This man believes it's such a privilege to work for the Dallas Cowboys that he believes he can move at his own pace."@StephenASmith on Jerry Jones' decision-making. pic.twitter.com/JsaxcB9xgK

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 13, 2025

He goes on to say that the Dallas Cowboys aren’t nearly as good as a franchise as Jerry Jones believes they are and that Jones needs to realize that and adapt.

“He has this mindset that it’s such a privilege to be associated with the Dallas Cowboys, America’s team, worth $11 billion, never mind that they haven’t been to a conference championship game, let alone a Super Bowl, in the last 29 years and counting,” Stephen A. Smith said.

“He’s Jerry Jones. It’s the Dallas Cowboys. And it doesn’t matter what they want or what they need. His mentality is that at the end of the day, we’re they Dallas Cowboys, we’re going to get it done. Despite evidence – a profound level of evidence – to the contrary.”

The Cowboys finished the 2024 season with a 7-10 record. The last time the Cowboys had a losing record was in 2020 when they finished 6-10. That was McCarthy’s first year in Dallas, and he then led the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-5 seasons.