An Apology Letter To Jerry Jones
By Phil Cross
Dear Jerral Wayne Jones Sr,
I absolutely despised you when you rode into town almost 26 years ago and kicked the legendary head coach, and my hero, Tom Landry to the curb.
Sure, I enjoyed those three Super Bowl crowns back in the 90’s, but the only credit I gave you was for bringing in your old college teammate Jimmy Johnson. (I know Barry Switzer won you that last ring, but admit it, those were “Jimmy’s Boys”.)
I blamed you for chasing Jimmy out of town. I watched as you whiffed on your next bunch of head coaching hires. The three consecutive 5-11 Dave Campo campaigns really tested my loyalty to the star.
I didn’t even like your hiring of former Super Bowl champ Bill Parcells in 2003. The aging Tuna was a NY Giant at heart and we all knew that your ego would eventually clash with his.
Then there was Wade Phillips. What the heck were you thinking with that one? Yes, the 13 wins in 2007 and and 11 victories in 2009 felt pretty good. However, the early playoff exits and overall feeling of under-achievement annoyed the crap out of me. I cringed every time Wade took the mic at a post game presser.
Finally, you named Jason Garrett as the 8th head coach of America’s Team. I admit it, I did not like Garrett as an offensive coordinator (he seemed way too predictable to me). I understood that since you cut Wade loose midway through the 2010 season you didn’t have much choice other than to assign Garrett as the new top dog and to slap him with the “interim” tag. I was hoping you were secretly working on a deal to pry Sean Peyton away from the New Orleans Saints.
As the end of the 2010 season unfolded, the Ivy-League red-head started to grow on me. After just a few press conferences you could tell the guy had that “it” factor.
It soon became clear why you shelled out 3 million bucks to keep Garrett in Dallas in 2008 as an offensive coordinator. You knew what you had. Looking back, I’m sure you kick yourself for not making the Garrett move much sooner.
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It didn’t take long to see why you kept Garrett around. Yes, there were some growing pains, way too many close losses and critical coaching snafus.
It was, as Garrett likes to say, a “process”. Changing the culture of a franchise doesn’t happen over night and you, thankfully, realized that.
You endured three 8-8 seasons and took plenty of heat for keeping Garrett around for 2014 . You almost fell off the wagon and caved under the “Pick Johnny Football” pressure at last Spring’s NFL draft, but you listened to reason, something you are getting much better at in your old age, and stayed the course.
The magic that was this past season would never had happened if it were not for you. While it pains me to admit it, I was wrong about you. I thought another Super Bowl ring under your reign would never happen.
Your patience with Garrett and your willingness to act on the advice of those that surround you are why your Dallas Cowboys are, once again, a top NFL franchise with a realistic goal of a Super Bowl run in the near future.
Please sit back and enjoy your Professional Football Writers of America’s Executive of The Year award. You earned it!
Oh yea, thanks for signing Garrett for the next five years (and for keeping his staff in tact) and thanks in advance for locking up Dez Bryant long term. I know keeping DeMarco Murray around will be tough, but if anyone can convince him to sign at a bargain price, it’s you.
Sincerely,
Phil