What If Jerry Jones Hadn’t Purchased The Cowboys?

There has been plenty of animosity towards owner and general manager Jerry Jones lately. There’s always a degree of hatred towards him, but more recently than I can remember. And why shouldn’t there be? The heavy-spending Jones has spent the Cowboys into a corner, and now when the team needs to spend on upgrades, they have no flexibility to do so. It’s a sad day when Dallas can’t be a player in free agency because an old coot went checkbook crazy a few years back.

So let’s fire him…hypothetically. Let’s wipe him from Cowboys history, just for fun, and see what would have been.

Would Dallas have won three Super Bowls in four years without Jones?

Dec. 4, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Jimmy Johnson speaks at the NFF annual awards press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria before being inducted into the 2012 college football hall of fame. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

With Jerry Jones you take the good with the bad. He has been making some head-shaking moves in recent years, but didn’t he make a couple of big-time, make-or-break moves right after took the helm? Hershel Walker got dealt to Minnesota for a slew of draft picks, and beloved coach Tom Landry was sent packing. These two moves were huge for the Cowboys, but most people saw what he did at the time as pure insanity. But with the picks the Cowboys got they were able to get players like Emmitt Smith, Alvin Harper, and Darren Woodson. Would Dallas have been able to compete with NFC juggernauts at the time if they hadn’t got these players?

Not only players, but the coach was a huge change. Landry out and Jimmy Johnson was in. Johnson brought a new voice in the Cowboys’ locker room, and he demanded perfection out of his players. The no-nonsense approach of Johnson put Dallas in line and ready to compete every Sunday. But what most people overlook is Jonson’s ability to evaluate talent and get Jerry to not be a moron and pick or sign the shiny precious every time. Could Dallas have put it all together in the 90’s without Johnson?

Would Dallas have struggled so badly after the triplets moved on from Dallas without Jones?

Let’s say Dallas did have Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Smith without Jerry running the show. When Aikman and Irvin retired, and Smith moved on Dallas went in to some pretty lean times. Quarterback was the biggest problem for the team during the years between Aikman’s retirement and Tony Romo’s time. Jerry brought in anyone that may have played quarterback at any time in their life. Times were tough and Dallas got lucky when they got Romo as an undrafted free agent. Otherwise I think without that stroke of luck, Jerry would still be searching for anyone who would be stupid enough to stand behind center.

Would Dallas be in their current financial difficulties without Jones?

This is an easy one. There’s no way Dallas would be having these financial problems if Jerry never was. Just look at the new stadium he built. No one ever imagined someone would go overboard to the degree Jerry went when he had Cowboys Stadium built. If he can’t spend all his money on players, then why not drop it on a new stadium. So if Jerry doesn’t bat an eyelash at throwing down billions on a new stadium, there must be a part of him that just can’t help spending money. If Jerry never was then maybe someone else would have been a little more frugal and not dug such a deep hole.

Of course this is all for naught because we are stuck with Jerry, for better or worse.