Remember that brash oil man from Arkansas who went down to Texas and bought himself the Dallas Cowboys? Remember how he unceremoniously fired legendary coach Tom Landry and GM Tex Schramm? Then this oil man had the gall to bring in Jimmy Johnson, a college coach with no NFL experience. To top things off he allowed Johnson to trade Herschel Walker, the team’s only marketable player at the time. That oil man was bold and he made some gutsy moves without apology. He even named himself the team’s GM. His name was Jerry Jones, and he was a man with an edge.
That edge drove Jones, his desire to win trumped everything else, even his own beliefs.
It only took Jones four seasons to turn the Cowboys around. They won the Super Bowl in ’92, and ’93 looked just as promising, but then star running back Emmitt Smith held out for a new contract, and the ‘Boys started 0-2. Jones initially believed it would be fiscally unsound to sign Smith to a large deal. He talked about the team’s “financial security,” and it appeared as if the entire season would be lost. Many believed that Jones, who was a self-made billionaire, would surely stick to his principles but then that edge kicked in, and he decided that winning was more important than financial security.
Jones signed Smith to the most lucrative deal a running back had ever received. The Cowboys immediately turned their season around and went on to win the Super Bowl.
It was as if the Jones with the edge, overruled the sensible Jones. In those day the bold Jones always seemed to come out on top. But sadly he’s now gone, replaced by that sensible guy, the one who worries about security and stability.
The current crop of Cowboys aren’t going to win the Super Bowl. The fans know it and the media is skeptical, but Jones continues to speak with false bravado. He still talks about winning the Super Bowl. That’s strange considering that many fans wonder if Romo will win three playoff games during his entire career, nevermind three in a row en-route to a Super Bowl victory. With Romo at the helm it seems as though the Cowboys will always find a way to falter, and the new Jones is afraid to do anything about it.
Today’s Jones, the sensible one, will never trade away a star in hopes of better rewards. He’s no longer bold. Now he just plays it safe.
Remember when Jones “helped” Jimmy Johnson walk away from the Cowboys after winning two consecutive Super Bowls? Jones was vilified, but he didn’t care, he had an ego the size of Texas, and he was going to win it his way, which he did. After losing to the rival 49ers in the ’94 playoffs, Jones opened up his wallet and signed the game-changing Deion Sanders away from the 49ers.
The following January, Jones and the Cowboys were celebrating their fifth Super Bowl victory. That was the last time Jones would celebrate a championship, and it was also the last time he was bold.
Jones hasn’t signed a meaningful player without baggage or drama in years. He hasn’t done anything spectacular on draft day, and he let any chance of a return to glory walk out the door with Bill Parcells.
That old Jones, the one with the edge, would have realized that the only way the Cowboys could win is to keep Parcells at the helm. The old Jones knew he could win without Jimmy Johnson, but he also would’ve known that there is no way that this team can win without Parcells and he would have done whatever it took make sure Parcells didn’t leave. He would’ve understood that this isn’t the old days before the salary cap when he could just spend his way to a title. But this new, soft Jones simply let Parcells leave and the core that was starting to come together has been falling apart every since.
Some might say that bad drafts, lackluster coaching, costly penalties, and mediocre play on the field can be blamed for Jones losing his edge, but the truth is that Jones has caused his own current state of malaise. This is the team and the culture that he’s built.
When Jones bought the Cowboys they were 11 years removed from winning a Super Bowl. That wasn’t good enough for Jones who fired almost everybody in the front office.
Today the Cowboys are 15 years from their last Super Bowl victory and the current GM-coach combination hasn’t exactly set the league on fire. One has to wonder how the old Jones would handle the current combo. Certainly the coach would be replaced by someone with swagger, and the GM, well he’d be replaced by someone with that winning edge.
Someone like the old Jerry Jones.