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Cowboys have no issues with Greg Hardy, of any kind
The Cowboys publicly have made it clear that they want to keep Greg Hardy beyond 2015. Privately, they’re making it clear, too.
Per a league source, the Cowboys have in response to the recent media and fan criticisms of Hardy reached out to his representatives to declare that they have no issues with Hardy, on or off the field. The Cowboys also made it clear that they want to extend Hardy’s contract.
It may not be the best way for Hardy to build leverage. Then again, how much leverage does he really have? The line for his services wasn’t extending out the door and down the block.
Regardless, the Cowboys love the guy. They have no problem with his behavior during the Giants game, his comments prior to the Patriots game, the reported absence from practice on Thursday, or presumably anything else he has done or will do — including his very recent re-tweet of an article that stands for the proposition that we should simply accept the fact that Hardy is a villain.
“You need people like me, so you can point your finger and say that’s the bad guy,” declares the caption to the photo of Tony Montana, in the tweet that Hardy shared with his followers.
The Cowboys have accepted the fact that their star pass rusher has warts that are irrelevant to his ability to apply contusions to quarterbacks. Because the Cowboys agreed to a term that prevents them from using the franchise or transition tag, Hardy will hit the market unless the Cowboys sign him to a new deal. And the better he does his job over the balance of the season, the more willing someone else will be to pursuing him.
Which is making the Cowboys willing to sign him to a new deal, sooner than later.
The spineless Cowboys won't discipline Greg Hardy for violent outburst
After spending the last 24 hours making every excuse possible for Greg Hardy’s violent sideline outburst in which he nearly fought special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, the Dallas Cowboys have made their decision on how they’ll discipline their out-of-control defender who’s suspended for 19 of his past 21 games.
They’re going to do absolutely nothing.
“We addressed how he can [handle his emotions] better,” coach Jason Garrett said, insisting that Hardy’s apparent rage issues are something that the outside world focuses on too much. (Like the court that found him guilty for assault last year, I suppose.)
But we all know Garrett is dangling from marionette strings and that any decision not to discipline Hardy almost certainly came from the top. Therefore it’s no surprise Hardy didn’t even get a slap on the wrist for slapping at the wrist of a coach. Jerry Jones couldn’t wait to defend his big acquisition after the game on Sunday:
“He’s just getting guys ready to play in my view. I don’t have any issue with him being involved in motivating or pushing in any part of the football team, because he plays and walks the walk. […]
Since everything comes from the top in Dallas, the rest of the team toed the party line too, including the man who had the most to be upset about.
“Well, no, he wanted to get in there and kind of get after some of the guys a little bit, maybe get them fired up,” Bisaccia, the aggrieved special teams coach, said. “It was just not the right time. It’s really not an issue. I just had to communicate what we were going to do next on the return, so I just really wanted him to move on so we could get going.”
Just some bad timing. That’s all.
The comments of safety Danny McCray summed up most of the Cowboys’ public feelings pretty well (at least those who went on record).
“He’s such a passionate player, he’s just all over the place. I know when he came he pushed me a little bit, and I just didn’t realize who it was. I was like, ‘Who is this?’ Once you realize it’s Greg, it’s, ‘We need to make a play.’ We understand it was our fault to give up that lead. He was just showing us the passion.”
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Nope. Hardy’s passion, the kind that’s so important it excuses shoving a superior, something that should get any athlete suspended for at least one week, did absolutely nothing. The Cowboys were down 27-20 when Hardy charged Bisaccia and would end up losing 27-20. Passion, even the nonsensical, excuse-making kind, isn’t everything.
Despite evidence to the contrary, Jerry Jones explained the importance of that passion on Sunday (per Lorenzo Reyes of USA TODAY Sports):
“[Hardy is] of course, one of the real leaders on this team and he earns it and he earns it with respect from all of his teammates. That’s the kind of thing that inspires a football team.”
(AP)
But no one should be surprised Jones balked at punishing Hardy. Anybody who followed the 1990s Cowboys and their White House infamy knows how this team is run. There’s no accountability, no spine and no sense of justice. Maybe the Cowboys truly are America’s Team.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hopes to extend Greg Hardy deal
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have given no thought to disciplining defensive end Greg Hardy for his sideline outbursts in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants, but they are hopeful of keeping him with the team beyond 2015.
"When we initially signed, talked to him, asked him to join the team, it was not only with the idea of the short term but a long-term purview," owner and general manager Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "He's, relatively speaking, a young player, and he certainly has the kinds of skills and impact that we want to look to the future with with the Cowboys."
The Cowboys signed Hardy to a one-year deal last March that did not include any guaranteed money, but could earn him up to $13.1 million over a full season. Because he was suspended for four games, he will not be able to fully cash in, but he earns $578,125 for every week he is on the 53-man roster and has a chance to cash in on sack incentives. He has three sacks in his two games.
Under the terms of the agreement with Hardy, the Cowboys cannot place the franchise or transition tag on him in the offseason.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday that an extension with Hardy is "very much a possibility."
As for Hardy's sideline incident with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Jones said his thoughts today are no different than after Sunday's game, when the owner said Hardy was a leader and that he encouraged that kind of passion.
Because of chances taken by Jones on past players with serious off-field issues, the owner and general manager has been called an enabler. Those charges have been ramped up since Sunday.
"I would say they said that when I signed [Hardy], so you begin right there," Jones said Tuesday. "I really do understand completely their perspective, and they know I don't need to say it again, [but] that in no way is anybody anything but against any type of domestic violence.
"We won't get into that. That's not the point. We're talking about the sidelines, but you're going to go and take me on over to that aspect of it. The most comments I got on enabling was when we signed him. 'They're enabling. It looks like you're basically condoning domestic violence,' which is not the case."
Hardy missed the first four games while suspended under the NFL's personal conduct policy. He was convicted last year of assault on a female and communicating threats in a case involving a former girlfriend. But the charges were dismissed in February after prosecutors said the accuser in the case couldn't be found.
After signing with Dallas, Hardy was suspended for 10 games by the NFL for conduct detrimental to the league, a penalty that was later reduced to four games.
"When we initially signed, talked to him, asked him to join the team, it was not only with the idea of the short term but a long-term purview," owner and general manager Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "He's, relatively speaking, a young player, and he certainly has the kinds of skills and impact that we want to look to the future with with the Cowboys."
The Cowboys signed Hardy to a one-year deal last March that did not include any guaranteed money, but could earn him up to $13.1 million over a full season. Because he was suspended for four games, he will not be able to fully cash in, but he earns $578,125 for every week he is on the 53-man roster and has a chance to cash in on sack incentives. He has three sacks in his two games.
Under the terms of the agreement with Hardy, the Cowboys cannot place the franchise or transition tag on him in the offseason.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday that an extension with Hardy is "very much a possibility."
As for Hardy's sideline incident with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Jones said his thoughts today are no different than after Sunday's game, when the owner said Hardy was a leader and that he encouraged that kind of passion.
Because of chances taken by Jones on past players with serious off-field issues, the owner and general manager has been called an enabler. Those charges have been ramped up since Sunday.
"I would say they said that when I signed [Hardy], so you begin right there," Jones said Tuesday. "I really do understand completely their perspective, and they know I don't need to say it again, [but] that in no way is anybody anything but against any type of domestic violence.
"We won't get into that. That's not the point. We're talking about the sidelines, but you're going to go and take me on over to that aspect of it. The most comments I got on enabling was when we signed him. 'They're enabling. It looks like you're basically condoning domestic violence,' which is not the case."
Hardy missed the first four games while suspended under the NFL's personal conduct policy. He was convicted last year of assault on a female and communicating threats in a case involving a former girlfriend. But the charges were dismissed in February after prosecutors said the accuser in the case couldn't be found.
After signing with Dallas, Hardy was suspended for 10 games by the NFL for conduct detrimental to the league, a penalty that was later reduced to four games.
Jerry Jones: Cowboys want to sign Greg Hardy to long-term deal
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would like to sign Greg Hardy to long-term deal, he said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, despite Hardy’s history of misconduct.
Hardy is in his first season in Dallas after signing a one-year contract with the Cowboys in March. He has played in just two games this season after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy during his time with the Carolina Panthers.
After the game, Jones called Hardy “a real leader” for the team. Head coach Jason Garrett said no punishment or discipline would be handed down to Hardy.
Hardy is in his first season in Dallas after signing a one-year contract with the Cowboys in March. He has played in just two games this season after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy during his time with the Carolina Panthers.
Hardy was convicted last year of assaulting his ex-girlfriend before the charges were dismissed in February. He appeared in just one game for the Panthers last season before spending the rest of the season on the exempt list.
On Sunday night, the defensive end got into an altercation with
Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. Hardy was upset with Bisaccia
after the Cowboys surrendered a 100-yard kickoff return by New York's Dwayne Harris that gave the Giants the lead and eventual victory.After the game, Jones called Hardy “a real leader” for the team. Head coach Jason Garrett said no punishment or discipline would be handed down to Hardy.
Gosselin: Show some backbone and control your Cowboys, Jason Garrett
Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett celebrates with defensive end
Greg Hardy (76) after Hardy sacked New York Giants quarterback Eli
Manning (10) in the first half during a National Football League game
between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat
the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News)
In an instant, it was upon us.It happened so quick, most of us watching in the press box had to wait for the television replays to determine what actually occurred in that special-teams huddle midway through the fourth quarter of the Cowboys-Giants game Sunday night.
Greg Hardy, two games into his Cowboys career, stormed into the kickoff return unit in front of the team bench, confronting special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, knocking a clipboard from his hands, trading shoves and then becoming confrontational with wide receiver Devin Street before being pushed back to the bench area.
There it was for all of us to see -- a defining moment for Jason Garrett.
Unfortunately, he let that moment pass.
Garrett stood there and watched. He did nothing. I talked to one former NFL head coach the other day and he said maybe Garrett was distracted. Maybe he didn't see it. Maybe he was huddling himself with another set of coaches or players. But that wasn't the case -- by Garrett's own admission. Asked if he saw the incident in his postgame press conference, the Cowboys coach didn't hesitate.
"Yeah," he said. "I was standing right there."
Yet he did nothing.
As the head coach, this is his team. On the sideline, he's like the U.S. Supreme Court. He has final say on all matters. His voice -- and his actions -- deliver justice. He can bench players, overrule play calls and order up the timeouts. He can also restore order when chaos exists.
Chaos existed Sunday night. Yet Garrett did nothing.
I doubt Jimmy Johnson would have stood by watching if a player got into the face of one of his assistants right in front of him. Head coaches hand-pick their assistants. They become extensions of the head coach. When those assistants speak, they are speaking the message of the head coach. Directly challenging an assistant is an indirect challenge to the head coach.
I doubt Bill Parcells would have played spectator to the Hardy-Bisaccia confrontation, either. Mike Ditka? Nope. Bill Cowher? Unlikely.
Take command of your team. Reach in, grab Hardy in the scrum, tell him you've still got a game to win and then order him off the field and back to the bench area. Or, as Mike Singletary did to his Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis a few years back, send him in to the lockerroom. Show some backbone. No one player is bigger than the team, especially when there is still time on the clock for a game to be won.
Instead, Garrett did nothing. He left it up to Dez Bryant to serve as peacemaker.
By the time Garrett met with the media after the game, Jerry Jones had already visited the Cowboys lockerroom and the talking points had been established. Jones brushed Hardy-Bisaccia off as a non-incident, twisting what was an embarrassing public disruption into praise for Hardy.
"That's the kind of thing that inspires a football team," Jones said.
Then Garrett followed that up at his press conference with raves about Hardy's passion. When is picking a fight with an assistant coach during a game considered passion? Hardy hadn't even scrubbed off his game face yet and he'd already received a double dose of enabling.
Just once I'd like to see Garrett act without waiting for the approval or disapproval of his boss.
That's why Sunday night was a defining moment for him as a head coach. Garrett had the chance to spontaneously take a football matter into his own hands, show those who perceive him as a puppet coach that he can indeed be his own man -- that he can do what's right for his team without waiting for the owner to counsel him.
Unfortunately, that moment passed. Now we're on to that next moment, whenever that may be.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis, and follow @RickGosselinDMN on Twitter.
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