Jerry Jones cancels annual combine meeting with reporters

Nobody craves the media spotlight more than Jerry Jones, so it’s kind of a big deal when he cancels a meeting with reporters.

And it comes after a season where Jones found himself under more public scrutiny than usual.

He slow-played Mike McCarthy’s inevitable ouster, only to replace him with the very offensive coordinator he publicly scapegoated during his introductory press conference. Then there was the bizarre curtain debacle, which saw Jones get raked over the coals by sports media — all while the embattled Cowboys owner and general manager seemed more focused on public appearances, stadium tours and revenue streams than the actual product on the field.

So, when given the chance to stand on his soapbox and wax poetic about a team with Super Bowl aspirations no more realistic than those of the Cleveland Browns or Jacksonville Jaguars, you’d think Jones wouldn’t pass it up.

He annually speaks with reporters on the team bus at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, a tradition that can be seen below.

Who is he to pass up a tour?

Well, that won’t be happening this year. According to The Athletic’s Jon Machota, Jones’ meeting with reporters, originally scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28 — the day after he arrived in Indianapolis — was canceled due to prior commitments in the form of several already scheduled team meetings.

This year’s combine has already been more eventful than in years past. Jones isn’t talking to reporters, even if it wasn’t necessarily an intentional snubbing. Meanwhile, reporters are verbally accosting one another in the lobby of a Starbucks inside the JW Marriott.

Maybe Jones really is too busy with team meetings to hold court with reporters.

Or maybe, for once, he’d rather let the headlines write themselves. Either way, the Cowboys will still find a way to be the subject of early morning fodder on ESPN’s airwaves come Monday, even when their most vocal figure decides to stay quiet.