When it comes to the status of the NFL's return to Los Angeles and the competing factions among the St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers in that quest, answers from those making the ultimate decision -- the 32 owners -- have been hard to come by.
But perhaps it should come as no surprise that there's one owner more than willing to speak boldly and openly about his desire to bring professional football back to the City of Angels. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke to reporters on Monday after his team practiced with the Rams in Oxnard, California, just a little north of Los Angeles.
Against the backdrop of Rams owner Stan Kroenke's efforts to build a new stadium in Inglewood, California and move his team into those palatial digs, Jones and Kroenke watched Monday's practice together. Jones reiterated his stance on not only bringing the NFL back to Los Angeles, but doing it with the right person capable of making it work at the highest level.
"I’m a real fan of Stan Kroenke," Jones said. "And I’m really a fan of Los Angeles and having the NFL have a major posture relative to the sports scene in Los Angeles. But Stan is outstanding. He’s been outstanding in the NFL and he’s the kind of people you want to be with."
Jones reportedly spoke on behalf of Kroenke and the Inglewood project at last week's owners meetings near Chicago and has long been a proponent of Kroenke and Los Angeles. The pair also spent more than an hour talking on the field at the Edward Jones Dome before the teams played in Week 3 last year.
In some circles, it's believed that Jones clearly favors the Inglewood project, but Monday he spoke highly of both presentations that were made at last week's meeting.
"Both were excellent," Jones said. "All people involved are teammates. We’re all involved in the NFL together. There’s no guesswork relative to the quality of the people who made the presentations. All of that was very good. At the end of the day, there’s a lot to be considered relative to LA. The focus is on LA.”
That's probably not music to the ears of fans in St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland, especially in St. Louis. When asked what his thoughts were on the work being done on a stadium in St. Louis, Jones didn't have nearly as much to offer.
“I don’t have any thoughts on it," Jones said. "At all.”
A decision on which teams, if any, will move to Los Angeles isn't expected until closer to the end of the year or perhaps early 2016. But there is another round of owners meetings set for October in which the home markets are expected to make their presentations.
If and when a vote comes, Jones insists that the choice will be made based on which project makes the most sense for the long term.
"The main thing is Los Angeles needs the very best, the very best we can put in Los Angeles, so that’s the big issue," Jones said. "We’re talking about Los Angeles, and they’ve been without a team for 20 years. I’m also a fan of St. Louis and the two aren’t necessarily one without the other."
ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer in Oxnard, California, contributed to this report.
