The Cowboys will be visiting an old friend on Sunday.
Dallas heads to Denver where it will face off against the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton, who by now has a well-known history with the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones.
Since Payton entered the NFL coaching sphere, there have been multiple instances where he was rumored to be a candidate for Cowboys’ coach openings, including as the head coach.
In his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Friday, Jones was asked about Payton’s history with the Cowboys and how many times the Cowboys’ owner tried to nab him as the head coach in Dallas.
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“Several times. It just never fit,” Jones said. “He was never there when we needed to be thinking about making a change, and the timing just never fit.”
Payton came up through the Bill Parcells coaching tree, working under the Big Tuna in Dallas as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in 2003. He’s also said to be the one who spotted something in young undrafted quarterback Tony Romo.
He stayed with Dallas until he became too hot of a commodity around the NFL, and he was hired on as the Saints head coach in 2005, leading New Orleans to its first and only Super Bowl win in 2010.
“He’s certainly one of the better coaches that I’ve ever been around in my career,” Jones continued. “And we’ve always had a tremendous respect for his ability to coach a team, in every respect. I thought before he was ever a head coach that it would probably happen here. Turns out he took that New Orleans job, and the rest is history. But there’s no coach that we think any more of, respect any more than we do Sean Payton.”
Payton’s put together a stout Broncos team for the Cowboys to clash with on Sunday, Denver currently sitting at 5-2, led by a talented young quarterback in Bo Nix who appears to be benefiting from Payton’s tutelage.
To listen to Jerry Jones’ full interview, click here.
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