Once the expected exit of assistant coaches to Miami did happen, and with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett being offered two head-coaching jobs in the NFL, plenty of intrigue has followed.
"It is absolutely ridiculous, some of the speculation I've heard and read," said Jones. "I want to say right now, without qualification, that any staff decision that has been made, it all came with Wade [Phillips] having the final call.
"And when we kept Jason here as offensive coordinator, no one was happier about it than Wade."
One sidenote this week is the Jones family had traveling companions on the trip out here for the Super Bowl. Jerry's guests for Super Bowl week, including Sunday's game, are Phillips and his wife.
Don't spread this around, but I may be one of the few actually agreeing with Jones on one important aspect.
Regardless, Wade Phillips, the head coach, will benefit from what has happened the past couple of weeks.
Why? Because good coaches are being hired to replace those who departed.
No matter how or why it happened, the bottom line is the head coach benefits from a strong staff. If Wade had the final say on these hires, as Jerry claims, then congratulations to Phillips.
Retaining Garrett, at a high financial cost, was an absolute necessity for quarterback Tony Romo. With a year of experience as OC, Jason should be better, and let's hope that includes tightening up on Romo, both on the field and off.
When Hudson Houck was hired as offensive line coach, he was a proven commodity. The same goes for Dave Campo returning as secondary coach.
The hire of Todd Grantham, former defensive coordinator at Cleveland, as the defensive line coach was called a "good move" by two NFL coaches I talked to this week.
Next up, maybe, is proven NFL defensive coach Dom Capers, who Jones said was "recruited" by Phillips. A decision from Capers is expected by today.
OK, I was one of those playing the "political game" on these hires. Was that a "Jerry guy" or a "Wade guy?" And you've read it here that Jerry appears large and in charge of football again at Valley Ranch, always a scary thing.
But back to the bottom line: It doesn't make sense that Jerry is attempting to neuter Wade Phillips.
If Phillips has postseason success next season, he will be the head coach in the future. If not, he was going to be fired anyway.
But these have been strong staff moves that, in theory, help Wade.
"What people don't seem to want to understand is Wade is a very secure person, both in football and with his defensive philosophy," said Jones. "What Wade has done is go out and hire a staff that can win."
The kicker from Jerry was this: "My answer to anyone who doubts what we've done is this would obviously NOT be the way you set up a staff if I want Wade eventually out the door."
