Jason Witten Responds to Jerry Jones' Criticism of Cowboys Coaching Staff

Dallas Cowboys veteran tight end Jason Witten has been around Jerry Jones long enough to understand where the owner is coming from, and the 16-year veteran provided perspective on Jones' recent public criticism of the team's coaching staff. 

ESPN's Todd Archer shared Witten's comments:

"Passion, emotion, the energy he brings, that is Line 1 for Mr. Jones, I feel like from my perspective. He wants to win. He expects to win. He feels like he's put a great team together, which he has, and we haven't played to our expectations of where we should be. That's completely fair. I think it's just the raw emotion of it all. He's been around a lot of great football and knows what he wants it to look like."

Following the Cowboys' 13-9 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, Jones pointedly called out special teams coordinator Keith O'Quinn:

However, head coach Jason Garrett did get away completely unscathed: 

The Cowboys have had costly issues on special teams throughout November. Against the Patriots, Dallas missed a 46-yard field goal and had a punt blocked before the end of the first quarter. 

Jones offered additional comments Monday on the state of the franchise during an appearance on Dallas' 105.3 The Fan (h/t NFL.com):

"When you're general manager, which I am, those coaches are out there at my ultimate decision. It's very much within my realm of purview, if you will, to not only be standing there as an owner but be standing there as the general manager who put the staff there to begin with. People seem to think it's particularly harsh to have criticism and they think when you look at the other side of the field and call a job well done, that might mean that's extraordinary criticism of the job you've done on the other side of the field."

Speculation about Garrett's job security has popped up at different points this season, especially during the team's three-game losing streak from Weeks 4 to 6. However, Jones blatantly told the radio station "no, and period" as to whether his ninth-year head coach was on the chopping block (h/t Yahoo Sports' Shalise Manza Young).

The Cowboys dropped to 6-5 after losing to the Patriots. They still sit atop the NFC East, a weak division in which the other three teams are sub-.500, but would not stack up well against the rest of the NFC should they reach the playoffs. The two wild-card spots belong to 9-2 Seattle and 8-3 Minnesota, for context. 

Dallas has gone 2-3 in the postseason under Garrett, most recently winning its wild-card matchup with Seattle before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round last season. 

The Cowboys next play the 8-3 Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving.