If Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is serious about winning a Super Bowl, he'll land Brian Flores to run his defense

Three things should be known when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator opening: Jerry Jones is worth an estimated $20 billion, there is no salary cap for coaches in the NFL, and Brian Flores is a free agent.

Jones says he wants to win a Super Bowl. He has actually said in the past that he would write a check so big it would be “embarrassing” just to win another Super Bowl. Now is his chance to prove it.

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The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday, a move that was expected after Dallas’ complete failure on defense. The Cowboys finished as the fourth-worst defense in DVOA history, which dates back to 1978. Eberflus wasn’t the only problem. The personnel was bad too. But there’s a reason Eberflus was fired.

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You’d assume Jones would view this as an opportunity to make the biggest move he can possibly make, with no downside to the competitive ability of his team, only to his sizable bank account. The Vikings don’t seem concerned that Flores, one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators, will leave for another coordinator job.

That’s why Jones should make an offer Flores can’t refuse. If he’s truly serious about winning, that is.

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Coaching salaries don’t compare to what players make

Paying top dollar for coaches is an untapped advantage that’s available for any owner, especially one as rich as Jones.

The highest-paid coordinator in the NFL last season was reportedly Chip Kelly at $6 million by the Las Vegas Raiders. That didn’t work out, but it shows how low the salaries are for top coordinators vs. players. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott makes 10 times what the top coordinator in football makes. That seems a bit off. Somehow, owners have kept coaching salaries relatively low. The top head coach in the NFL is Andy Reid at a reported $20 million, which is one-third of what Prescott’s deal pays him.

Also, unlike players, there is no salary cap for coaches. Paying Prescott or any player a huge salary impacts how much a team can spend on the rest of the roster. Paying a coach a salary well above market salary affects nothing, other than an owner’s wallet and the feelings of other owners.

Flores will likely have some head-coaching interviews, and it would make sense if he chooses that route over being a defensive coordinator for any amount of money. Or, he might simply love Minnesota and would take a significant discount to stay there. But there’s no reason Jones shouldn’t tempt him.

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Flores’ Vikings defenses have finished 11th, second and third in DVOA in his three years there, despite a combined four Pro Bowl appearances by his players in three seasons. He’s a very good defensive coordinator. Perhaps the best in the NFL. He’s also a free agent.

All Jones has to do is write an “embarrassing” check, which actually wouldn’t be that embarrassing.

Will Jerry Jones pay up for a defensive coordinator?

If the highest paid coordinator in the NFL last season made $6 million, would Flores be enticed if Jones doubled that to land him? After all, $12 million isn’t a crazy salary when compared to some players, and again, there’s no salary cap. There would be some angst over the existing coaches over that type of deal, but nothing is stopping Jones from writing them “embarrassing” checks too. Again, he’s worth in the neighborhood of $20 billion. And coaches are incredibly important to fielding a championship team. That shouldn’t be debatable.

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There likely is some number that Flores couldn’t say no to. Jones just has to find it.

The problem is that Jones has never wanted to pay top dollar for coaches, which is counterintuitive to his claims of wanting to win a Super Bowl at any cost. He, or any other owner, could get a completely legal edge that has been willfully ignored forever. He could pay the best position coaches like coordinators, the best coordinators like head coaches and head coaches like quarterbacks, and it wouldn’t hurt the Cowboys’ on-field product at all because there is no salary cap for coaches.

This is a test. Owners have a tendency to band together, often when it comes to keeping salaries down. They do so while fans are charged a lot for season tickets, merchandise and subscriptions to multiple streaming outlets to watch their team play. They do so while promising that winning a Super Bowl is their top priority. Is it?

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It seems unlikely that Jones resets the market to land Flores or any defensive coordinator. It has not been his approach in the past. Or, maybe, at age 83, he’s ready to act on his promises of desperately wanting to win a Super Bowl, rather than just saying it over and over.