Dallas Cowboys could do more with Jerry Jones doing less
Jerry Jones is the owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. But are these multiple roles detrimental to the team?
In addition to a solid core of skill players, I believe that winning a championship in the NFL starts with the Dallas Cowboys front office. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Cowboys building a franchise identity. Let’s focus on another thing that the Cowboys’ front office could learn from other teams – reducing the identity of Jerry Jones.
I often wonder what my life would be like as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Like our Cowboys’ current owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones, I might be tempted to do it all. Occasionally, I like the spotlight and at a minimum, owning the Cowboys has to be good for getting into the best golf courses, nightclubs and restaurants.
Cowboy Nation would be better served if our team had more of an identity than our owner. I browsed this list of NFL team staffs and it verified something I assumed to be true. Jerry Jones is the only Owner / President / General Manager in the NFL. It reminds me of the Hey Mon skit on the show, In Living Color, where members of the Wayans family were required to have more than one job.
Jones is doing so many things that he’s not capable of doing one thing great. As they say – Jack of all trades, master of none – and it’s detrimental to the team. Many owners only make their identity known when lifting Lombardi trophies. I wouldn’t mind if that’s the only time that Jones was on television.
They say that one key to running a successful business is surrounding yourself with good people. Unfortunately, Jones’ management style has scared many good people in the NFL away from the Cowboys franchise. The few times that a coaching position became available, the leading question was – Can this coach co-exist with Jerry Jones? That’s not a positive thing.
Jones doesn’t need to do pre-game interviews, post game press conferences and attend training camp and practices. As the owner of the Cowboys, everyone knows who you are. Not only is it hard to name the owners of some teams, but you can’t identify their general managers. John Elway of the Denver Broncos and Ozzie Newsome of the Baltimore Ravens were established NFL players before becoming general managers but the rest of the names don’t carry celebrity status.
Simply put – Jones’ for profit mentality earned him a Hall of Fame gold jacket, but his management style, front office hierarchy and poor decisions haven’t brought any Lombardi trophies to the Cowboys organization.
We have the only stadium where the players are blinded by sunlight and the only team that benched veteran quarterback Tony Romo for a rookie. Yes, I saved the Romo reference for the end, but that was our year.
Next: 16 Post-Super Bowl thoughts about America’s Team
If championships are going to come to Dallas, then it’s time for change at the top. Step one begins with Jones hiring good people and fading into the shadows.
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