Cowboys: Stephen Jones Is The Hero Dallas Deserves

Move over Gotham City, Dallas has a new hero in town.

You can’t paint papa Jerry Jones and son Stephen Jones of the Dallas Cowboys with the same paintbrush. The two are more different than they are the same. The roles they play in Dallas are different.

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Papa Jerry is the owner and general manager who signs the checks.

Son Stephen is the one deciding who should get those checks.

50-year-old Stephen Jones — Executive Vice President and Director of Personnel — is the man behind the curtain, the invisible (rational) voice of a team trying desperately to outgrow past success.

Jones just needed the first 48 hours of the 2015 free agency period to prove that a new regime has arrived. Getting to this point wasn’t easy, but to in order to turn the page, somebody had to wear the cape and gown to jump-start a new era.

Stephen Jones is that hero — the Dark Knight of Dallas.

A Better Tomorrow

The best teams don’t obtain success without a purge.

Out of the door the past two years are former Cowboys DeMarcus Ware (DL), Jason Hatcher (DL), Dwayne Harris (WR/ST), Bruce Carter (LB), Henry Melton (DT), Jeremy Parnell (OT), and last year’s leading king rusher, DeMarco Murray.

Because of this great purge, the cloth that binds the Cowboys together is healthier.

No more handicapping the team to bloated contracts. No more sexy cash splurges. No more debt.

The recent departures further Jones and Will McClay‘s (assistant director of player personnel) commitment to change and their process to recalibrate the blueprint.

Bringing Sexy Back

By letting multiple players walk, the Cowboys are underlining a subtle quiet confidence in their program. Stephen Jones has delivered a new draft awareness to the Cowboys (Read: no Johnny Manizel). He has found recent success in bringing in new players on his playground, on his terms, without the sticker price tag.

Keep in mind: teams are paying attention to head coach Jason Garrett‘s curriculum. Their willingness to pay top coin for Dallas talent is valid proof that the syllabus is working.

While it might be discouraging to see former Cowboys handed lucrative contracts, and standing behind new team logos, their departures amplifies that Stephen Jones and company are preparing the right kinds of magic behind the curtains.

The Empire Strikes Back

The fight will continue. There will be another episode. This is only the beginning of the new government in Dallas.

Stephen Jones will improve the roster and make up for the players he lost so far this free agency.

The Cowboys are growing because they are tapping the subtraction key on the keyboard, not the addition one. It might take time to cycle in new success, but there is bits and pieces of it. The Cowboys 12-4 finish in 2014 is one variation of that proof.

Proof that the circuitry in Dallas is rewired for the better.

So, yes, it’s a new day — a different one — in Dallas. A day many have waited for. A day when a Dallas fan could say:

Because of Stephen Jones, the Cowboys have the hero they deserve.

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