Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defends Art Briles: 'I'd let my grandson' play for him

It’s been a relatively quiet few months for Art Briles since he was fired by Baylor back in May. Other than a public statement following his termination, and the random appearances to see former players at a few NFL camps this summer, Briles has mostly stayed out of the headlines.

Of course he came back in a big way Tuesday at Cowboys camp, where he made some surprising comments, including the fact that he hopes to get another head coaching job this winter. While it seems unlikely, there is at least one person who has thrown their support behind Briles: Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys owner spoke with the media at camp in Oxnard, California Tuesday, where Briles was also in attendance to see former Baylor wide receiver Terrence Williams. There, Jones commented on Briles, describing him as a good football man, and a guy who he’d love to see his own family play for.

Let’s start with the comments on football, via the Dallas Morning News:

"It was real good sitting there watching him and listening to him talk about evaluating the quarterbacks and looking at some of the receivers, his perspective on them,'' Jones said. "I really enjoyed his evaluation of what we're doing.''

From there Jones continued, saying Briles would be an asset to any football team, be it college or pro. He added that he didn’t think the Baylor scandal would keep Briles from eventually returning to the game of football.

"Well I don't, no, I don't [it will keep Briles from getting a job],'' Jones said. "I think he has such a distinguished coaching career that... I will vouch for him as a person. He's top quality as a person. I'd want my grandson if he had the chance, to play for him.''

Frankly, I’m not quite sure what to make of these comments from Jones.

For starters, it’s Jerry Jones, and (good or bad) he is one of the few guys left in sports, who will say exactly what’s on his mind, regardless of how it may come off. Clearly (at least in some capacity) he likes Briles at least as a football mind, and there’s a good chance that they have a personal relationship as well. In addition to the fact that both men are deeply immersed in the Texas football community, Briles’ daughter Jancy actually works for the Cowboys in the PR department.

At the same time, you would also think that if the Cowboys PR staff (which again, includes Briles’ own daughter) knew that the former Baylor coach would be in attendance, they would have prepped everyone on some, ahem, ‘smarter’ answers to questions about him. Sure, Jones may appreciate Briles football prowess --- we all do --- but he oversaw and at times overlooked, one of the worst scandals in recent college football history.

We’re guessing that if he had to do it over, Jones would like a mulligan.