DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys’ coaching staff is the envy of the NFL.
The coaches work for an organization that does not scrimp on their salaries and will not penalize them if a lockout begins as soon as Friday evening. The Cowboys’ coaches will not take the financial hit many of their peers will during a lockout.
Owners and players would not experience a significant pinch during a lockout until September, when the regular season is scheduled to begin. Players are paid on a per-game basis. Owners rake in the overwhelming majority of their revenue during the regular season.
Coaches would lose from the first day of a lockout.
Coaches work year-round and are paid every two weeks. Depending upon the employer, coaches’ paychecks would be cut by up to 50 percent during a lockout.
Teams began putting lockout language into coaches’ contracts in 2008, when owners opted out of the current labor deal. The terms range from onerous to understanding.
Oakland will slice coaches’ salaries by 33 percent when a lockout starts and move to a 50 percent reduction if the stalemate lasts 90 days. San Francisco coaches would lose 20 percent of their salary at the start of a lockout, with another 20 percent reduction in August. The 49ers’ coaches could get the money back if the team plays all 10 home games.
Like all franchises, the Cowboys have lockout language in the contracts of their coaches. Larry Kennan, executive director of the NFL Coaches Association, didn’t have the specifics of the language, but he said the Cowboys will be kind to their coaches if there’s a lockout.
The credit for making a lockout as painless as possible on the coaches goes to owner-general manager Jerry Jones, Kennan said.
“He does treat his people well,” Kennan said. “The Coaches Association isn’t fighting with Jerry Jones. We’re fighting owners who don’t treat coaches nearly as well as he does.”
This is not sheer altruism by Jones, who could not be reached for comment.
Assistant coaches are deep into preparations for the next season. They help judge draft-eligible players. They continue to evaluate each individual performance from last season. A coach cannot be expected to give his undivided attention to those important tasks if he’s worried about how to meet the mortgage payment and his kids’ school tuitions.
“It doesn’t make any sense that we should suffer,” Kennan said of his group’s members. “Coaches are working like crazy now to get ready for the season. We will have a season at some point, and some coaches will get fired as a direct result of the lockout. Their teams weren’t as well-prepared as other teams.”
Coaching for Jones can be a trying experience because of his penchant for interjecting himself at every turn. He makes the aggravation more palatable by paying at and above the going rate for coaches.
When head coach Jason Garrett ran the offense, he was the highest-paid assistant in the league. Hudson Houck has been the highest-paid offensive line coach in the league during the last two years.
Garrett has been credited for having a magnetic personality that drew coaches to him. Jones’ open-checkbook policy helped Garrett put together his first staff.
Consider defensive line coach Brian Baker. He had gone from the Carolina Panthers back to college at North Carolina. His predecessor with the Tar Heels, John Blake, had a $240,000 salary for last season.
The Cowboys blew away that figure.
“It was a huge difference,” Baker told The Charlotte Observer. “I mean huge.”
New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was a big-ticket addition. The Cowboys also outbid Super Bowl champion Green Bay for receivers coach Jimmy Robinson and powerful New England for strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik. Jerry Jones may not be the best owner and general manager, but he is the most generous when it comes to coaches.
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