A day after the tied game with the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys’ GM Jerry Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan. On the show, he discussed how the team is analyzing the mistakes from the tied game and noted that a significant challenge lies ahead this Sunday night against the New York Giants. He also addressed how proud the team is of the way Dak Prescott played in the tied game. But the discussion on the show wasn’t confined to his current team and the NFL. 

Just a few minutes before the end of the show, Jerry Jones was asked about his alma mater’s situation. The Arkansas Razorbacks have moved on from their head coach, Sam Pittman, and with the position opening up, Jerry shared his perspective on whether he has an option for that position. He went on to show his love for the current interim coach, Bobby Petrino. However, the host then introduced the aspect of tampering to this angle. 

Upon being asked whether Jones would get in trouble for tampering with a current college coach, Jerry had a straightforward reply. “We just do not encourage in the NFL in any way getting involved in the coaching aspect of college publicly.” He then addressed the tampering aspect, “And it’s not tampering. It’s just something don’t do. You can do it in other sports, but not from the standpoint of the NFL and college football.”

Jerry Jones clearly discussed the current situation in the Razorback coaching room and his thoughts on both Pitman and Petrino, but he stated that this is not tampering. Although there is no rule in the NFL regarding head coaches getting involved in any aspect of college coaching, it is not considered an ethical practice. 

There have been instances in the past where NFL coaches and management have returned to their alma mater. Ron Rivera returned to his alma mater, the Cal football team, as general manager in March this year. But it happened after Rivera left the NFL. If an active NFL coach gets involved in any aspect of college football coaching, this could become a conflict of interest. And this is what has been brewing with the Commanders’ GM, Adam Peters’ latest move. 

Adam Peters is ready to help his struggling alma mater

Although the Washington Commanders are doing good with a 2-2 scoreboard under GM Adam Peters, his alma mater is clearly struggling. After a terrible 0-3 start to the season, UCLA didn’t take much time to fire head coach DeShaun Foster. And now with the position open, Adam Peters has stepped into the hunt for a reliable HC for UCLA. 

Adam Peters will join UCLA’s football coach search committee, along with Erin Adkins, Martin Jarmond, Bob Myers, Eric Kendricks, and Casey Wasserman. Although no rule prohibits Peters from joining the search committee, there is a clear chance of a conflict of interest. What if Commanders’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury pops up on the list for UCLA’s coach? Or the committee decided to hire Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

Although Jerry has confirmed that there is nothing like tampering with his stand, this doesn’t eliminate the possibility of an issue related to Peter’s move. Hope this doesn’t turn out to be a Tom Brady-like conflict of interest.