DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL CLUB: Looking back at Jerry Jones’ 25 year ownership of America’s Team | Special Feature
IRVING, Texas – Man, 25 wild and crazy years, zigging and zagging, laughing and crying, running and running faster, trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Never, ever – ever – a dull moment, from the one win of 1989 that kept the Dallas Cowboys from an unprecedentedly poor 16-game NFL season to the eight wins – again – of 2013, one short of acceptable for the third straight year.
Who knew 25 years ago this past Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1989, sitting in the Dallas Cowboys team meeting room out here at what we then were referring to as Cowboys Ranch late that Saturday night, that so many lives would irrevocably change when the then-Arkansas stranger Jerral Wayne Jones was being introduced as just the third owner of the world-renowned Dallas Cowboys.
His life, along with those of his wife Gene’s and their three kids: Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry Jr.
The lives of so many who had worked for the Cowboys – made the Dallas Cowboys – from Day One or for the majority of those first 29 years of the NFL’s first expansion franchise’s existence.
The lives of those who would follow the Joneses to Dallas.
And our lives, too, those of us in the media crammed into a room big enough to house a team of football players but bursting at the seams with nearly everyone already on deadline when the long-awaited announcement began sometime after 8 p.m.
Mine especially.
Me, I have mental snapshots of that evening, seeing on one hand the pure joy and excitement laced with some anxiety of the Jones Family and all of Jerry’s partners when he was introduced as the next owner of the Dallas Cowboys. But on the other hand, there was basically the team’s godfather, Tex Schramm, standing off to the side, with the glum look of a man attending his own funeral, realizing then the fact he no longer had a seat on center stage was symbolic of what was to come.
Hey, if Tom Landry was no longer needed, and he wasn’t since Jimmy Johnson was coming along with Jones in a package deal and had already been told by Jones what previous owner Bum Bright should have since he more or less resented Landry, surely the appropriately named Tex was not long for his world of 29 years either.
There was Jones, with almost preacher-like enthusiasm, rapidly talking of immediately winning with the 3-13 team he was inheriting, emphasizing his positivity with a fist pounding the air.
There were the arched eyebrows of the skeptical media, wondering what in the world … realizing the 29 years of Cowboys stability was being rattled as if the ground beneath an Apollo capsule launching into space.
A new day was dawning at dusk.
The last snapshot: After the final 30 was put on however many stories we could pound out by midnight, several writers gathered in Tex’s office, soon to be Jerry’s and still is. Sitting-on-the-floor room only. Again, a day of celebration on one hand, and rightfully so when you pledge $140 million you didn’t really have for an NFL franchise and accompanying stadium that were losing money hand over fist, and on this other hand a somber gathering, reminiscing about the good old days that were mostly great but now suddenly just good and old, growing more feint by the minute in the rearview mirror.
It was as if with these stories Tex was giving away his final possessions over drinks – stiff ones I might add – with the very people he had heartily laughed with yet angrily sparred with oh the many years.
“This is a very sad night for me,” Tex said needlessly.
And I distinctly remember this too: My Dallas Times Herald teammate, Frank Luksa, who had covered the Cowboys and Tom and Tex from nearly their 1960 inception, a man who thought he had seen it all, sitting on the floor next to me. He began to rise, held up his near-empty drink in a toast, saying unbeknownst to the rest of us, “Well, time to go home to celebrate what remains of my birthday.”
Will never forget his birthdate, singed into my mind.
And this, too, I’ll never forget, ever. A few days later, March 1, my life, as I perceived at the time, was turned upside down. A guy who was the sports department’s general assignment writer, handling an assortment of jobs, from helping out on the Cowboys to the Rangers to the Mavericks, college football, basketball and baseball, writing lengthy features and having just come off the previous year of covering the Olympics in Calgary and then Seoul, was told the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones were your beat, buddy.
You have been chosen to inherit the tradition set by such esteemed writers as Sherrod, Perkins, Luksa and Dent. No way, I said, not me. I’m not cut out for this. They told me I was perfectly fit, having helped out since the middle of the 1984 season and having covered nearly every game over what turned out to be the final four and a half seasons of Landry’s coaching career.
So there I went kicking and screaming, into what seemingly was a daily towering inferno. Every day – every day – there was something, starting with Jimmy Johnson’s introductory press conference on Monday, the Port Arthur native apologizing with hat in hand if he somehow had danced on Landry’s coaching grave, saying to those who had perceived so, “I’m sorry,” and me finishing my story that night with one line:
And so the Cowboys new era begins apologetically.
Then there came all the coaching changes. Jimmy’s new assistants being hired. Tom’s old assistants being fired.
Then there was Jerry, armed with the first pick in the NFL Draft saying, “Troy Aikman should play for half the price” just to get to be a part of the Dallas Cowboys organization. Oh my.
Next day having to do a long profile on Jimmy.
Next day Cowboys lower ticket prices for end-zone seats.
Then the start of Plan B free agency.
Then the owners meetings, along with the start of implementing instant replay and the league’s initial crackdown on steroids.
Then there was no vote on approving the Dallas Cowboys sale to Jones, leaving the deal hanging.
Then 29-year NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle’s retirement, he having just compared Landry’s dismissal with “the death of Lombardi.”
Then Jimmy’s first minicamp, along with the real possibility of Randy White and Danny White not being back with the team, which eventually came to fruition a few months later. Then the contract struggle with quarterback Steve Pelluer.
Let’s see, then Too Tall staying, Doug Cosbie leaving, Jimmy playing coy on Aikman being their No. 1 pick, Mike Sherrard leaving, Nate showing up at 358 pounds for offseason workouts, Barry Sanders challenging the NFL’s draft rules, petitioning as an unheard of underclassman for the draft. Landry throwing out the first pitch at a Rangers game. A Landry parade downtown Dallas. The schedule released, at New Orleans becoming the new era’s opener.
Tex Schramm resigning to head up the NFL’s Worldwide American Football League. Cowboys vice president Joe Bailey resigning to join him. Then eventually business manager Billy Hicks, too, to head across the pond. Then the NFL at a meeting in New York finally approving the sale to Jones. Then negotiations began with Aikman’s agent Leigh Steinberg. Then Aikman signing a six-year, $11 million deal, the richest contract for an NFL rookie to date as the Cowboys No. 1 pick. Then the draft.
Oh, we’re just getting started, and these moves were expected, Jerry wanting to get his own people in place, people he could trust not relying solely on those with allegiances to Tex and Tom. Sort of like if you’ve ever been to an Italian wedding or seen an old-day Italian restaurant run. Only the immediate family handles the money, you know, and immediate means wife, husband, kids, mother, father or grandparents. Seriously.
Then longtime Cowboys employees being let go: Day-Oner Gil Brandt, treasurer of 18 years Don Wilson, public relations man of 18 years Doug Todd, 22-year ticket manager Ann Lloyd. All hard to watch.
Gosh, and it wasn’t even May yet.
And remember, back in those days there were three daily newspapers in the Metroplex: ours, The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The competition was fierce. And remember, too, no internet. Ha, internet. No social media. No cell phones. Dimes and quarters were important commodities for payphones. You had one shot to get every story every night. And if you were a competitor you wanted the impossibility of every story every night, so that meant working to 11 nearly every night. Anxiety filled your sleep.
Then, well, mornings were hell. You were scared to death to grab those other papers for fear of getting beat in black and white. Remember, too, no updating if you didn’t have it all until the next day. Trying to keep up with Jerry and Jimmy was exhausting. They weren’t letting any grass grow under their feet. Blowin’ and goin’ was the slogan. Theirs was an immediate program, not some three-year plan.
By the first of June, felt as if my head was being centrifuged. We had a meeting of sorts, me and the sports editor, who told me I was doing a fine job. Maybe, I said, but I want out. I want my old job back. This is going to kill me. He said no way. I said I can’t. He said we’re eliminating your old position anyway.
I said, well, of course I’ll cover the Dallas Cowboys. Who wouldn’t want to, right? But again, not before agreeing kicking and screaming, having wanted desperately to run for cover.
So here it is 25 years later, and still covering the Cowboys in some form or fashion every single day since, and well, let’s see. By my count, the last game I missed was the season finale in 1988, 23-7 loss to Philadelphia. And swear, I’ve never done this before, so hang with me, that’s 25 seasons times 16 regular-season games a season, equaling, no way, an even 400 straight, along with the majority, but not every preseason game during that span of time.
Seen 1-15 and 13-3. Seen three Super Bowl victories and three consecutive seasons of 5-11. Seen a plane ride home from Philadelphia in 1991 after the Cowboys clinched their first playoff berth in six seasons – first winning season, too, in those six – that barely needed jet fuel to get off the ground, and now three consecutive seasons of 8-8.
Seen a losing franchise, both financially and athletically, become the richest in the United States and first to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Seen Hall of Fame coronations and the Jerry-Jimmy spat. Seen Switzer make me laugh until I thought I’d cry and Bill leave me in stitches even when he wasn’t trying to be funny. Seen Jimmy cry How ‘bout dem Cowboys! and smack those lips hard as he could losing those opening two games in 1993.
Seen triplets born to Bill Bates and Triplets land in the Ring of Honor. Seen Dave Campo come and go, and then come back again. Seen a free-agent quarterback rise into becoming the head coach and another rookie free-agent quarterback rise out of nowhere to become the franchise’s all-time leading passer. Seen Texas Stadium come crumbling down and AT&T Stadium rise from that gigantic hole in the ground.
Watched every carry of the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. Saw Michael Irvin the day he arrived hugging the life-sized cardboard cutout of Tom Landry and similarly hugging Jerry Jones the day he retired. Seen tragedies and attended funerals.
Seen it all for 25 years, every step of the way only because someone forced me to take that first step running after a guy I had never met until 25 years ago this past Tuesday. Exhausting, yes. Exhilarating, you bet.
Who knew?
And maybe the best part: 25 years is but a milestone. Got a feeling there’s still much more to come.
Courtesy: Mickey Spagnola | Columnist
RELATED: 25th Anniversary of Jerry Jones’ ownership of the Dallas Cowboys
25 Years – Jerry Jones reflects on buying Dallas Cowboys; Replacing Tom Landry
This day, 25 years ago, Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys. Listen to the Jerry Jones himself talk about the trials of the purchase, and the journey through the last twenty-five years.
Tuesday, Feb. 25 marked the 25th anniversary of Jerry Jones franchise purchase of the Dallas Cowboys from Bum Bright in 1989.
Jones spent more than an hour Sunday on the Cowboys bus outside Lucus Oil Stadium in Indianapolis reminiscing about the historic transaction and the days leading up to it _ the nervousness and excitement that caused him to develop a heart condition called Arrhythmia and the huge risk he took, considering the Cowboys were not only a mess on the field at the time but where swimming in debt, losing $1 million per month.
“It was quite a trying time for me. I get emotional talking about it and I’ve asked a professional about why I get emotional talking about it in public or private and they said, well, that was a traumatic time for you. It was a pretty significant reach risk-wise and I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, so it was a nervous time for me. I developed arrhythmia, and I had never had an unhealthy day in my life. Arrhythmia is called by a lot of people and a lot of med students get it. It was from not resting and never sleeping and then getting up just after you lay your head down. So that kind of describes for me that period of time.”
On the warning his father told him about what would happen if he failed:
“I didn’t know, but I quickly found out the visibility that was involved there. My father called me about 10 days, two weeks into this thing and he said, ‘Jerry, I had no idea this thing would have the visibility it’s got and he said, I don’t care you are a young guy, and he said, ‘I don’t care whether you do it by mirrors, smoke or what, if you are not successful, you’ve got to make it look successful or you will be known by a loser and you won’t be able to do anything else for the rest of your life in terms of getting people to go along with you.’ “
On his biggest regret:
“If I had a chance to do it over again I would’ve waited a year and just got my feet on the ground a little bit more and probably just gone with the staff that we had and then later made the ultimate changes that I made. If I had to do that over again, I probably would do it because probably it was the urgency with how fast we had to move. That got a lot of the criticism that the changes that were made with the staff.”
So you regret hiring Jimmy Johnson and firing Tom Landry so callously:
“I don’t regret what I said was looking back because that contributed to the seemingly insensitive way that coach Landry was changed out and that contributed to it, the fact that it was done at the same time that we made the announcement there 25 years ago, that we made the announcement that I was buying the team, that I was going to be the general manager and all of that was done almost the same night. As a matter of fact, that was done the same night. So if I look back at the criticism, that’s one where you might have taken more time.”
Was Jimmy Johnson always going to be the guy to replace Landry:
“I thought of Barry (Switzer). I did think of Barry. But Jimmy is, of course, more active. He probably had more proximity. I kept up with Jimmy. My oil and gas partners were in Oklahoma City and I spent a lot of time around them. They were very prominent in OSU, Oklahoma State’s athletic department. So that all fit real good. When I called Jimmy to tell him that I was looking at it, that I was interested — what would you think about joining me? His quote was: ‘I always wanted to be with you, work with you. If you called me to sell insurance, I’d sell insurance.’ So actually Jimmy came on and we officially – not officially – but we announced he was going to be the head coach and it was a significant period of time after that before we every got around to doing an agreement about money, before we even talked about money. He committed and left Miami and came to the Cowboys before we even talked about money.”
Jones on the nervousness of the financial risk because of the state of the Cowboys and NFL:
“I was excited. I was very nervous. I knew I had huge financial obligations. I knew they were ahead of me and I didn’t have all the answers as to how we were going to address them. I knew there were a lot of pitfalls in just the buying of the Cowboys, not necessarily clean. I bought 13 percent of the Cowboys from the FDIC. They had been foreclosed on. And so it was not in a nice complete operational routine. The franchise was not. All that made me extremely nervous. But had I not had the just sheer positiveness of just getting to be involved in the NFL, knowing that when I got up in the morning I would be in the NFL, knowing that I would be part of the Cowboys then those would have been issues in normal business that might have buckled my knees. But because it was so exciting to me to be part of the Cowboys I give that a lot of credit for working through those things. That was 25 years ago.”
Is the passion and excitement still there:
“Yes, of course. It is. Its actually there more than it was because I’m able to think more offense. I’m not as concerned as I was financially about the state of the franchise, about the NFL, about the game. The future is significantly brighter than it was in 1989 for the NFL, for pro football and for that matter pro sports today. I never thought Gene (his wife) would be waiting tables over this deal. But I did think it had the potential to really knock my stuff in the dirt. I knew that it did. Lamar Hunt got up at one of our NFL owners meetings maybe 12 to 13 years ago. He got up and told the entire ownership that the greatest risk I have ever seen taken in sports was the one the Jerry took when he bought the Cowboys, financial risk. He was well aware of the situation with Cowboys. He was well aware of the lay of the land”
Jones blames his reputation as an owner who only cares about making money on his aggressiveness of being an agent of change in the NFL because of the poor financial state of the Dallas Cowboys organization and the league at time.
“That’ll motivate you to be an agent of change. That’ll motivate you to want to change some things, and that was a part of the driving thing that early on in the NFL that I wanted to change for the benefit of everyone, but for the benefit of the clubs, for the benefit of the fans, I felt that we could do some things that would create more strength, more energy, and that was one of the reasons that I initially was as aggressive, and the other things was timing. I didn’t have time to sit there and wait on some of these changes 15 years or 10 years, you know the days and the time was burning, and so it had to be really, you had to move on it. So that’s one of the reasons that the perception of aggressiveness, or the perception of, for that matter, one of the things that I regret is that the perception about financial, the facts are I had financial security and gave it up to buy the Cowboys, and I didn’t buy the Cowboys to go make money. But once you get in the chair, once you get in the position, then you want to be as good and do as good as you can do. So that’s kind of how things have evolved over the years.”
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SPOTLIGHT – Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones
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PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Charles Haley a finalist for the fifth time
IRVING, Texas – Former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Charles Haley is once again one of the finalists for the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Haley, a finalist for the fifth time, joins four first-year eligible nominees among the 15 modern-era finalists to be considered for election to the Hall of Fame when the selection committee meets in New York City on Feb. 1.
If Haley made it this year, he’d be the 15th Cowboys player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, joining Troy Aikman, Larry Allen, Tony Dorsett, Bob Hayes, Michael Irvin, Tom Landry, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Deion Sanders, Tex Schramm, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White, and Rayfield Wright.
Haley played 12 seasons and in 169 games and is the only player in NFL history to play on five Super Bowl winning teams between his time in Dallas and San Francisco.
He began his career as a linebacker in San Francisco, where he recorded four double-digit sack seasons. He’d later get traded to the Cowboys, where he’d record two more double-digit sack seasons in 1994 and 1995 as a defensive end. Haley finished his career with 100.5 total sacks, getting named to five Pro Bowls and garnering two All-Pro selections.
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, who was a semifinalist this year and won two Super Bowl titles during his time in Dallas, didn’t make the list of finalists.
The 15 modern-era finalists will be the only ones considered for Hall of Fame election when the 46-member selection committee meets. A finalist must receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent to be elected.
To be eligible for election, players and coaches must have last played or coached more than five seasons ago. Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison and Walter Jones are the four first-year eligible nominees. Haley and Kevin Greene have both been eligible for 10 years.
All the finalists were determined by a vote of the selection committee from a list of 126 nominees, which was reduced to a list of 25 semifinalists. In addition, Ray Guy and Claude Humphrey were selected as senior candidates by the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee, leaving 15 modern-era and two senior nominees among the full list of finalists.
Here’s a list of all the finalists:
Morten Andersen, Kicker
Jerome Bettis, Running Back
Derrick Brooks, Linebacker
Tim Brown, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner/Punt Returner
Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner
Tony Dungy, Coach
Kevin Greene, Linebacker/Defensive End
*Ray Guy, Punter
Charles Haley, Defensive End/Linebacker
Marvin Harrison, Wide Receiver
*Claude Humphrey, Defensive End
Walter Jones, Tackle
John Lynch, Free Safety
Andre Reed, Wide Receiver
Will Shields, Guard
Michael Strahan, Defensive End
Aeneas Williams, Cornerback/Safety
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: NFL fans can select their top 15 candidates to make it as 2014 HOF finalists
The list of 126 nominees has been trimmed to 25 modern-era semifinalists and it includes a former Dallas Cowboys head coach that won two Super Bowls and the key defensive player who helped him get there.
Jimmy Johnson is one of the first-year eligible nominees to make the list of 25 semifinalists. The only other with Cowboys ties is Charles Haley, who has been a finalist each of the last four years.
Johnson, who replaced Tom Landry as Dallas Cowboys head coach in 1989, spent five years in Dallas and guided the team to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1992 and 1993.
Johnson left coaching after that season, only to return in 1996 for a four-year run in Miami.
Charles Haley is the only player with five Super Bowl rings, winning two with the 49ers, where he played from 1986-91 and three in Dallas.
Haley joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and is often considered the last key ingredient to those Super Bowl winning teams that included the “Triplets” on offense with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.
Other first-year nominees include Marvin Harrison and Steve Wisniewski, who was actually a Cowboys’ second-round pick in 1989 but was traded to Oakland for more picks, including one used to draft Daryl Johnston just 10 selections later.
Here’s the complete list of modern-era semifinalists is as follows:
Morten Andersen, K – 1982-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-2000, 2006-07 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Giants, 2002-03 Kansas City Chiefs, 2004 Minnesota Vikings
Steve Atwater, S – 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets
Jerome Bettis, RB – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
Derrick Brooks, LB – 1995-2008 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tim Brown, WR/KR – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Dallas area)
Don Coryell, Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
Roger Craig, RB – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings
Terrell Davis, RB – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos
Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner – 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers
Tony Dungy, Coach – 1996-2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2002-08 Indianapolis Colts
Kevin Greene, LB/DE – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
Charles Haley, DE/LB – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
Marvin Harrison, WR – 1996-2008 Indianapolis Colts
Joe Jacoby, T – 1981-1993 Washington Redskins
Jimmy Johnson, Coach – 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins
Walter Jones, – T – 1997-2008 Seattle Seahawks
John Lynch, FS – 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos
Karl Mecklenburg, LB – 1983-1994 Denver Broncos
Andre Reed, WR – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
Will Shields, G – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
Michael Strahan, DE – 1993-2007 New York Giants
Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
Aeneas Williams, CB/S – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams
Steve Wisniewski, G – 1989-2001 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
George Young, Contributor – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced by mail ballot to 15 modern-era finalists. That list increases to 17 finalist nominees with the inclusion of the two recommended candidates of the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee. The Seniors Committee nominees, who were announced in August, are:
- Ray Guy – Punter (1973-86 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders)
- Claude Humphrey – Defensive end (1968-78 Falcons, 1979-81 Eagles)
THE MYSTIQUE OF AMERICA’S TEAM: NFL’s 1993-1994 NFC Championship–San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys
HISTORIC MOMENTS: NFL’s 1994 NFC Championship Game
On January 23, 1994 the Dallas Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49er’s 38-21, and Jimmy Johnson’s famous “How bout them Cowboys!” quote from the previous year’s NFC Championship Game in Candlestick Park.
… 
Editors comment: As a reader pointed out, the original title of this post suggested that this NFC Championship lead to the “Making of America’s Team.” In fact, the term “America’s Team” became popular after Bob Ryan (of NFL Films) used it while preparing the Cowboys 1978 season highlight film. Also, Jimmy Johnson’s “How ’bout them Cowboys” quote came after the 1992-1993 NFC Championship Game in San Francisco.
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WTF–CALLING ON AMERICA’S TRUE BLUES: Your Dallas Cowboys team is currently ranked #2
Currently, your Dallas Cowboys are ranked #2 on the NFL FAN REWARDS program! Check out the embarrassing rankings below …
The New England Patriots ranked #1 (in points earned, fan participation)??? Seriously??? That should bother any self-respecting Dallas Cowboys fan!!!
Sure, the Dallas Cowboys are ranked #1 in registered fans. There are 308,903 Dallas Cowboys fans registered for NFL FAN REWARDS. That’s something to be proud of … but, there is a problem …
The Dallas Cowboy FANS aren’t racking up enough points! Look at that! Registered fans that signed up and forgot who they’re representing in the world of NFL fandom … America’s Team … God’s Team! Aren’t you embarrassed? We’re down in the basement with the likes of the Cleveland Browns for God’s sake! Lions! Chiefs! Bears! and lowly Cincinnati Bengals!
I know for a fact that some True Blue fans are racking up the points (like your fearless editor on this blog – robertdknight) … participating regularly (like myself, even loosing valuable sleep on occasion)… racing home before the midnight daily deadline … pumping up those point totals like real men! Then, we have the slackers! Shame on YOU!
Not to rub it in … but you could OWN one of these valuable prizes with your NFL FAN REWARDS coins! Boast about the significant discounts (5-20%) on the NFL photo store or the NFL shop. That pencil eraser could be YOURS! Think about it … you could save 10% on that new Miami Dolphins Ray Finkle jersey for your father in law! Who doesn’t need NFL logo’ed socks for the wintertime? And the picture over the fireplace … ditch it! Snatch up custom framed photograph of Bernie Kosar (sportin that star on his helmet) from the NFL photo store! You need this stuff! Your spouse will totally understand and appreciate your dedicated effort. The mowing and edging can wait! Rain washes cars!
Don’t worry. As you’ve come to expect, I have the solution! Drop everything, put the kids in bed, seal yourself off from the rest of the world … and dedicate your life to this worthy cause! I promise that your testosterone levels will increase 50% and your penis will grow 30% by the time you reach Hall of Fame status (which I will reach this month)! You trust me, right?
Click HERE to register for the NFL FAN REWARDS program. Make me proud!!! Walk with that Jimmy Johnson swagger!
BRANDON CARR: Distractions? What distractions?
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr is either the most focused player on the team or someone who enjoys having a little fun with media members prone to overreact to wins and losses. Or both.
Whatever the case, Carr paused during today’s teleconference before answering a question about whether the Cowboys (4-5) had put last week’s off-field distractions behind them with Sunday’s 38-23 victory over Philadelphia.
“What were the distractions?,” Carr responded.
A reporter mentioned ongoing speculation about the job status of coach Jason Garrett, as well as former coach Jimmy Johnson’s assertion that the Cowboys cultivate a “country club” climate in the team locker room, with minimal fear of repercussions for losses or poor play.
“My bad,” said Carr, who had a 47-yard touchdown on an interception return against the Eagles. “I guess I guess I wasn’t distracted. Sorry.”
RANDY GALLOWAY: Jerry Jones fools only himself when rewriting Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl history
If I had known this week there was going to be a sudden calendar roll back to 1994, the personal preference would have been at the gas pumps. A dollar and a dime was our cost, per gallon.
I don’t speak for the vast world of CowNation, but it’s safe to say that particular fandom would kill for a 1994 sudden calendar roll back while gladly paying the three-fifty pump prices of today.
The Dallas Cowboys, of course, were two-time Super Bowl champs and the title stampede looked as if it would never end.
Instead, out of nowhere, what we got this week was a cheap imitation of the way it was, football-wise, in 1994.
Jimmy and Jerry, back at it again, squabbling over who should have the most credit for the remarkable building of not only a Super Bowl champion, but a dynasty team.
Which also flips us back to the spring of 1994, when in an ego collision, Jimmy Johnson left town over exactly the same disagreement.
Then there was only Jerry.
Much has changed in the past 18 years in the Cowboys’ world, changed dramatically for the worse. But there’s still Jerry.
I’m not climbing in the middle of this latest spat, because there’s no reason for even a debate. No reason to take sides.
Jerry and his ego both know the truth.
Jimmy was in charge of all things football from the day Jerry and Jimmy took over the franchise in 1989. Anyone in the local media who was around in those days knows this is the truth, and we know it because Jerry repeatedly told us it was the truth.
And anything involving football, from a low-end roster move to the trade of Herschel Walker, no one was asking Jerry for a football opinion. A financial opinion, yes, we asked. And certainly in the case of the Walker trade, there were financial considerations galore.
But on anything involving any area of football, the questions went to Jimmy. Because Jerry told us Jimmy was in total charge of that area.
With the first Super Bowl in 1992, that certainly changed. It was only then that Jerry started seeking more of the roster-building glory. And that’s when the ego collision began building.
Even as we watched it take form, however, another Super Bowl was won the next season, and although we all could see a parting of the ways on the horizon, no one thought it would happen in the midst of a championship binge.
To this day, I’m shocked at the timing of the breakup, and both sides are to blame. But the breakup foundation was laid when Jerry went against his original game plan. He’s the one who placed Jimmy in charge of all things football, and then wanted to take it back, or at least share it, 50/50. Jimmy’s ego would have none of that.
In the many years since then, and again last week, Jerry has attempted to manufacture a story that presents himself as not just a partner in building that Super Bowl dynasty, but as the No. 1 shot-caller.
It’s absurd. Jerry is delusional on this topic. But that’s just Jerry, who took the lie to national TV before the Cowboys played in Atlanta last Sunday night.
What he said was nothing new. Jerry has done this for years. Jimmy, who now has a good relationship with Jerry, let it ride in the past without response. For whatever reason, Jimmy fired back strongly at Jerry this week.
Suddenly, it was exactly the way we left these two in 1994.
It was good this week for a laugh, but Jerry also walks in verbal quicksand every time he brings it up. The three Super Bowls of the ’90s might now be his lone ownership/GM crutch, but he’s not on solid ground in the most important area of all.
Jimmy has been gone for 18 years. The last Super Bowl was 16 years ago.
Since then, as The Man, totally alone at the top and in charge of all things Cow, Jerry can point to exactly two playoff wins.
(Jimmy also had his brief post-Jerry failure as head coach of the Dolphins. But in four seasons there, he did win two playoff games.)
Meanwhile, we are at the halfway point of what appears to be another rotten season under Jerry’s watch. The Cowboys over 16 years have become one of the most dysfunctional franchises in football. Coaches come and go, but Jerry remains the constant, always and forever more, The Man.
Whether Jerry thinks he needed Jimmy or not, he’s had 18 years on his own, and he’s driven into the Valley Ranch ground what was once a model organization on a Super Bowl roll.
Telling us and telling the world about him being the football generalissimo of a long ago dynasty is Jerry’s ego lie. But it’s what’s happening right here right now that traps him where it matters the most. The truth.
And it’s now 16 years in this trap. Trapped in the truth of a football hell.
There was a sudden calendar roll back this week to the way it was around here in 1994. Jerry and Jimmy feuding, egos flaring, plenty of wasted verbal gas.
We’d all have been better off if the roll back had been to the dollar and a dime at the pumps.
Randy Galloway can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on
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FEAR FACTOR: Jimmy Johnson believes Dallas Cowboys need more motivation
Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson is raising questions about the atmosphere at Valley Ranch. Johnson called Valley Ranch a "country club" during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show.
"All the players in this league think they’re self-motivated and that’s a bunch of bull because there are only a handful that are self-motivated," Johnson said. "So you’ve got to motivate these players through some respect but the No. 1 motivator is fear. Fear of letting down your teammates, being embarrassed or fear of losing the job. Where is the fear in Dallas? There’s no fear in Dallas. It’s a country club where everybody is buddies."
Coach Jason Garrett has changed the climate at Valley Ranch sharply from how it was under Wade Phillips. Of course, Phillips changed the atmosphere from how it was under Bill Parcells.
Garrett was asked about Johnson’s comments.
"I don’t really have any comment on that," Garrett said. "We do things the way we do things here and from a football standpoint we believe we practice the right way, we meet the right way and create the right atmosphere of urgency for our players it’s what I learned as a player and coach in this league. And that’s what we’re trying to create with our football team."
And a players’ view, courtesy of Jason Witten:
“I didn’t hear about it, but obviously he’s a great coach here in this franchise and won a lot of Super Bowls,” Witten said. “I haven’t seen him around a lot. The guys are working hard. Ultimately (talk like Johnson’s) is going to happen, but I don’t think as a player you can worry about that. You’ve got to fix it. We know the expectations. Trust me, we feel it every day and so I don’t think you allow that (talk) to get in but obviously got a lot of respect for him.”
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was asked about Johnson’s comments Thursday.
"When you’re out here, when you’re involved in it, and you’re here every day, i think you understand the importance of each football game," Romo said. "All I can speak about is me, the grind and the way it works on you when you don’t win a football game, it’s just enormous. The way you constantly evaluate and think about how to improve and get better and take the next step. it consumes your thoughts. That’s really what happens after a loss, so I don’t know what anybody else feels or thinks, but that’s absolutely what you try to do to improve and get better."
Johnson has formed a good relationship with Garrett in terms of being a mentor. In the same interview with Patrick, Johnson questioned whether Garrett would remain the man in charge at Valley Ranch.
"Jason Garrett is probably coaching for his job for the rest of the year," Johnson said. "This game with Philadelphia on Fox may decide the future of coaches and players with those two teams."
Maybe Johnson was channeling Bob Arum, the boxing promoter who hypes fights. And with the Eagles and Cowboys at 3-5, the loser most likely will see their playoff hopes disappear. So creating media drama is expected.
The quarterback, Tony Romo, who’s got one year left on his deal, might also be on the way out according to Johnson.
"I would extend Tony Romo unless I had somebody better, and they don’t have anybody better," Johnson said.
EDITORS COMMENT: At The Boys Are Back blog we are always interested in your view. I agree with Jimmy Johnson on his point of most players needing motivation. Jason Garrett has had many influences in his career as a Dallas Cowboy player, offensive coordinator, and head coach. He uses a hybrid style that blends those influences (Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson). Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells were more outwardly aggressive and verbally expressive on camera. Tom Landry more reserve publically, but privately critical and a strict disciplinarian. Jason Garrett’s style falls somewhere in the middle. He’s young and still figuring out his style and approach. As fans, we do not know what happens behind closed doors at Valley Ranch or in the locker room. We do know that the players seem to be behind him and appear to be buying into his system. When the day comes when they don’t … that’s the day to begin worrying. Jason Garrett is evolving … and like the Dallas Cowboys, he’s a work in progress.
RELATED: Dallas Cowboys VP Stephen Jones stops by practice, defends Garrett
Stephen Jones visited practice and ran into reporters, one of whom stopped him to get his thoughts on the topics of the day. Before long, everyone with a notepad and camera had surrounded the Cowboys’ executive vice president.
Is Jason Garrett coaching for his future?
“I won’t even comment on that. Period. That’s ridiculous,” Jones said.
Any comment on Jimmy Johnson saying there is a country-club atmosphere at Valley Ranch?
“Don’t have one.”
A comment or a country club?
“Don’t have one.”
He smiled.
“Any serious questions?”
Sure.
What kind of job do you think Garrett is doing?
“First of all, I think Jason is incredibly smart. No one understands the game more,” Jones said. “He grew up at a breakfast table knowing about the NFL. His father was a coach. His father was a scout. He understands the league. He is a great leader. He leads our team in a great way.
“I think he understands the game. He has been a very success offensive coordinator. He started having success immediately. It wasn’t like there was a huge learning curve for him as a play caller. We have had a lot of great offenses here under Jason. We are moving the ball good this year for the most part. The players respect him. He demands accountability.”
Jones agreed that turnovers are a problem this year. The Cowboys have 19, tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for second-most in the NFL.
“We have to do better there. I think we are improving,” Jones said. “We protected the ball against the Falcons. They are a good football team. We are doing some things to cause turnovers. We are tipping balls. They just didn’t come our way. We were hitting the quarterback hard. The ball was on the ground. We just didn’t recover it.
Asked if the Cowboys were underachieving at 3-5, Jones said, “Absolutely. We had higher expectations than this. We are disappointed with our record. We have to play better. We have to finish.”
SHORTER IN THE TOOTH: Dallas Cowboys Have Experienced Major Youth Overhaul
A week or so after becoming head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, Jimmy Johnson sat down to watch some film with his defensive coaches, Dave Wannstedt and Dave Campo among them. What they saw was stunning, with Campo later recalling, “We were pretty sure we had more speed the season before at (the University of Miami.”
The objective became quite simple. The roster needed to be overhauled; younger, quicker players would be targeted. For Johnson, stripping football down to its most simplistic level, speed and quickness equal success. Of course, this philosophy led Dallas to a trio of Super Bowl wins, the first with the youngest team in the league, and Team of the Decade status in the 1990s.
Fast-forward 20 years from the aforementioned film session, almost to the month, and Troy Aikman and Jason Garrett are in the Florida Keys, visiting with their former head coach on what was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip. Instead, Garrett arrived with a notebook overflowing with questions on what it takes to be a successful head coach in the NFL. At the time, Garrett was the Dallas offensive coordinator, but he knew – heck, everyone knew – his time was coming, especially after having turned down head coaching offers from the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens.
Johnson later said of Garrett and the trip, “He wore me out.”
Now into his second full season as head coach, it’s obvious some of the sage advice Johnson offered involved adding more speed and quickness to the roster. A byproduct of those personnel changes has been a youth movement of sorts, one which has transformed this current Cowboys squad.
Consider: In Week 14 of 2010, the Cowboys’ 22 starters averaged 29.2 years of age, which was tied for the oldest in the NFL with the Ravens and Brett Favre’s Vikings.
Entering the 2012 campaign, not even two years removed, the average age of the Dallas starters was 26.9, coincidentally on both offense and defense, while the roster overall checked in at exactly 26.0, which was the 14th youngest in the NFL and second to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. Even last year, Dallas finished as the 10th-oldest team in the league.
That is staggering. In 21 weeks of regular-season games, Dallas went from the oldest team to one of the younger squads in the league, while also going from a 6-10 finish to a promising 2012 campaign kicked off with a road defeat of the defending Super Bowl champions.
Garrett addressed this very subject at the conclusion of last season’s 8-8 finish.
“We had a lot of players, veteran players, who were really good players for us, Pro Bowl-type players for us, and we made some hard decisions to get away from those guys and move on,” Garrett said. “Those aren’t easy decisions to make. We went with some younger guys and we felt like that was the right decision for our football team now and going forward.
“We knew there were going to be some growing pains, but we felt like we had to get on that course and not only do that with a particular position, but also get the structure of our team right from a financial standpoint as well. So we started down that course and we feel like that was the right move for our team in 2011 and moving forward.”
Even in the ever-changing culture of the NFL, the transformation of the roster has been stunning in such a short time frame. Currently, 23 players on the Cowboys’ active roster are 24 years of age or younger, while just five are older than 30. Tony Romo, who turned 32 in April, is the second-oldest player on the team after defensive end Kenyon Coleman, 33.
Let’s look at the changes at each position from the Week 14 home loss against Philly in 2010 to this season:
Quarterbacks: The only real change here is behind Romo, where the team is almost a decade younger in having landed arguably the league’s premier backup in 29-year-old Kyle Orton this summer in favor of the retired Jon Kitna.
Running Backs: Marion Barber out, DeMarco Murray in. Am guessing no one has a problem with that exchange. And while Barber isn’t as old as most of the departed players, his physical running style certainly accelerated his football shelf life.
Wide Receivers/Tight ends: Not much has changed here with Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, although Roy Williams and Sam Hurd have been replaced by some younger, unproven options, including Dwayne Harris, Andre Holmes and Cole Beasley.
Jason Witten and John Phillips remain, with rookie James Hanna now the third tight end after Martellus Bennett signed with the Giants.
Offensive Line: Perhaps at no time in franchise history has the front seen such a dramatic overhaul inside of two years. The starters in Week 14 of 2010 were Doug Free, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo. Combined age: 153, with four of the five at least 31. The starters for Week 1 of 2012 were Free, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Phil Costa, Nate Livings and Tyron Smith, who doesn’t turn 22 until November. Combined age: 130, with none of the five older than 30. That’s a ginormous difference. Take away Free, and that’s 25 years younger among four positions, six-plus years per man.
Defensive Line: Little fluctuation here, although Sean Lissemore and Josh Brent are seeing extensive playing time and were just rookies in 2010. Igor Olshansky has also moved on, while rookie Tyrone Crawford, a third-round selection, has shown promise.
Linebackers: DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer are still on the outside, but there’s been a complete upheaval inside with Sean Lee and Bruce Carter replacing Keith Brooking and Bradie James. In terms of speed and quickness, perhaps no position has been improved more, with the possible exception of cornerback. Brooking and James were both respected veterans, stronger against the run than in pass coverage, while Lee and Carter are two of the team’s better athletes. There hasn’t been a more Jimmy Johnson-like pick over the last two years than Carter, the classic example of “give me the athletic talent, we’ll shape him into a football player.”
Of the eight linebackers on the roster, Ware is the oldest at 30, and six are 26 or younger.
Secondary: Never mind 2010, just look at last year’s team. Terence Newman was 33, Abram Elam and Frank Walker 30. Replace that trio with Brandon Carr, 26, Morris Claiborne, 22, and Barry Church, 24. And yes, Church was on the team, but has now replaced Elam in the starting lineup. Of the six corners currently on the roster, Mike Jenkins is the oldest at 27, while 29-year-old Gerald Sensabaugh is the oldest safety. Not a single 30-year-old among the secondary.
Special Teams: Even at punter, the Cowboys didn’t re-sign longtime veteran Mat McBriar in favor of 23-year-old Chris Jones.
So it really has been across the board, a youth movement much like the one orchestrated by Johnson during his first two seasons at the helm. Only time will tell if the same results follow for Garrett.
VIEWPOINT: Jimmy Johnson warns against overconfidence before Seattle game
Fox’s Jimmy Johnson was at Valley Ranch on Thursday to chat with Tony Romo, Rob Ryan and Sean Lee for a feature on the Cowboys defense scheduled to air on Sunday’s pre-game show.
So you know, Johnson was one of the few national voices to pick the Dallas Cowboys over the New York Giants in the season opener.
“I thought they would be thoroughly prepared for the game,” Johnson said on his way out of Cowboys headquarters, throwing a bouquet at Jason Garrett. “I like what I see with this team over last year’s. I like the additions on defense, especially the new cornerbacks. Sean Lee is 100 percent and I like the healthy DeMarco Murray.”
Still, Johnson warned against overconfidence before Sunday’s game at Seattle.
“They have to prove this week that the first game wasn’t out of character,” he said. “That happens more than you think in the NFL. Seattle has a strong defense and a real home-field advantage with its loud fans. We’ll know a lot more about the Cowboys after this game.”
MIKE WOICIK: Strength coach’s awards help team camaraderie
Every championship run begins with offseason leaders. Before Troy Aikman and Tom Brady captured their Super Bowl victories, one man was pushing the two quarterbacks as well as their respective Cowboys and Patriots teams.
Winning was never an issue for strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik. Six total Super Bowl rings between Dallas and New England give credence to any football knowledge offered by Woicik.
His offseason program led to three titles with the Cowboys from 1990-96, including the team’s last championship in 1995, when current head coach Jason Garrett was still backup quarterback Jason Garrett.
Garrett knew how Woicik went about his business before the strength and conditioning coach rejoined the Cowboys last year, in a shortened season with no Organized Team Activities (OTAs) or minicamps. This year is the first since 1996 that Woicik could install his offseason awards program with the Cowboys.
“It adds a little motivation to the whole thing,” Woicik says. “Really, what we want is for guys to come in. When they play football games, they keep score. We want them to keep score in their training.”
It’s during that time in the offseason when players’ self-discipline is the primary motivating factor that Woicik rewards those who go beyond the call of duty. With three Super Bowl rings from two different teams, he knows his approach works.
And with nearly 100 percent offseason attendance this year, the Cowboys players know it does, too.
“It builds a lot of camaraderie, being able to work out together in the offseason,” says Sean Lee, one of the nine offseason award winners for 2012. “That’s something we had this year. We had a lot of guys there. The camaraderie was there. The hard work was there. And I think you’re seeing that on the field.”
LASTING LEGACY: Former Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano passes away 1943-2012
Joe Avezzano, a former Dallas Cowboys assistant coach when the franchise won its three most recent Super Bowl titles, died Thursday in Italy.
Avezzano was 68.
Avezzano, the head coach of the Milano Seamen of the Italian Football League, was reportedly running on a treadmill when he suffered a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Diann, and his son, Tony.
"It just breaks my heart," said former Cowboys player Bill Bates, who was regarded for his contributions on special teams. "Joe changed people’s lives in a positive way. If you were around him enough, you would be affected by his ability to make people smile."
A popular figure in the Cowboys organization, Avezzano supervised the special teams units from 1990-2002, working under head coaches Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Dave Campo.
"Joe was an outstanding person and he did a great job coaching for me," Johnson said. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family."
Here’s hoping the Big Tuna takes the Saints job
IRVING, Texas – A few of you waving #BobbyCarpenter hashtags have disagreed with me on Twitter already, but I would be glad to see former Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells back on an NFL sideline.
By my estimation, the Big Tuna is one of the most fascinating personalities in the history of not only football, but sports in America. The 2012 season would be better, more interesting, if Parcells were involved. And while the New Orleans Saints haven’t officially reached out to Big Bill as an organization, Parcells’ quote to Newsday that "Everything is hypothetical at this point" makes it pretty obvious that he’s interested in what Sean Payton has been selling.
It sounds like the kind of thing he was saying about the Cowboys job right at the end of the 2002 NFL season, after reports emerged that he had met with Jerry Jones on the owner’s private jet at Teterboro Airport.
If the memory of that news doesn’t make you appreciate Parcells, you’ve obviously forgotten just how bad the Cowboys had it before he got here. After three straight 5-11 seasons, he came in, kicked the players’ butts and led a team quarterbacked by Quincy Carter to the playoffs.
Allow me to repeat myself. He led a team quarterbacked by Quincy-freaking-Carter to the playoffs. It’s got to be one the greatest coaching jobs in league history.
There’s something wrong with any Cowboys fan who doesn’t have great respect and admiration for what Parcells did here. Nevermind the fact he rode Troy Hambrick and Richie Anderson into the postseason, but in the process he built a team that had been in the hunt, if nothing else, since he left.
It makes no sense to hold Carpenter and Julius Jones over Parcells’ head when during his tenure the Cowboys added Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Jay Ratliff, DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman, Bradie James, Marc Colombo, Kyle Kosier and Mat McBriar among many, many other crucial parts of these teams. And no, the Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl with the group Parcells assembled, but he at least turned the thing around. For the first time since Jimmy Johnson left, the arrow for this franchise began to point up as soon as Parcells arrived.
He did the same thing for the Cowboys, the Jets, the Patriots and the Giants. Rescue ops have been his specialty, so it would be really intriguing to see what he could with a team that actually has talent when he arrives.
Though New Orleans has a ton of good players, the team is a mess right now in the wake of this bounty situation. If Parcells were to come in and quickly do what he’s done four times already, you’d have to think it would erase any doubt about his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Not that putting him into the Hall should’ve been much of a question, anyway.
Courtesy: Josh Ellis
Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Dave Campo won’t be back
Dave Campo is the first casualty of the Cowboys struggling secondary.
He won’t be the last.
The Cowboys have informed their long-time assistant that the club will allow his contract to expire and he won’t return next season. Campo, who first joined the club during the 1989 season as part of Jimmy Johnson’s staff and was the team’s head coach from 2000-02, has declined to comment.
Head coach Jason Garrett considered making a change last season when he put together his staff. But Campo survived when Pittsburgh’s Ray Horton, who interviewed with the Cowboys, wound up taking a job in Arizona.
The secondary was an Achilles Heel for the Cowboys defense this past season. The group ranked No. 23 in the league, allowing an average of 244.1 yards a game. Opponents completed 61.7 percent of their passes against the secondary with 24 touchdown passes. Three of those came in the final game of the regular season when the Cowboys missed a chance to make the playoffs by losing to the New York Giants.
Brett Maxie worked with Campo in overseeing the secondary. His contract also expired but he is expected to be retained. The same will not be said of personnel.
Starting safety Abe Elam and backup cornerbacks Alan Ball and Frank Walker are unrestricted free agents. The club’s decision to sign Gerald Sensabaugh, the team’s other starting safety, to an extension shows where Elam ranks on the priority list.
The club will also discuss whether it’s time to part ways with Terence Newman. The cornerback is scheduled to count just over $8 million on the salary cap in 2012, but the club can cut that financial obligation in half if it releases the 33-year-old veteran.
FORMER COACHES CHIME IN: Jason Garrett’s clock management
In the ESPN Sunday studio there was plenty of critism of Jason Garrett’s handling of the final minute of regulation in last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals and his subsequent unwillingness to claim blame.
Bill Parcells: "You have to be accountable. Everybody knows what happened. You have to stand up. You have to reiterate to them, ‘Listen, I made a mistake. This is a game that’s not without human error. But this situation goes back to situational football. You have to prepare for it in the summer. Go over these kinds of things repeatedly during summer and then on Fridays, periodically during the season, you have to take time to review them."
Herman Edwards: "When this situation occurs and the game is lost, as the head coach, you don’t wait until the middle of the week. When the game is over, as soon as it is over, you come to the locker room and you gather your football team together and you tell them this: ‘Look, I hold you guys accountable to play and preparation during the course of the week. I hold myself accountable as to what happened today. I didn’t manage the clock correctly. I screwed it up. It was all me.’ Then you go through the process of what you were thinking and why it happened…You want to hit it right after the game. That let’s your team know, I’m accountable to you guys as well as you guys are accountable to me."
Mike Ditka: "You can’t undo what happened. You’ve got to go to your football team, you’ve got to tell them very simply, ‘My bad. Here’s what I’m going to do from now on guys. I’m going to trust you because you are the players on the field. I’m going to put you in the best position I can for you to play your best football. I’m going to trust you to win the football game because players win football games.’"
Jimmy Johnson rips Jason Garrett’s timeout technique
The old Cowboys coach thinks his former backup QB isn’t on top of the timeout game. Of course, Johnson thinks Garrett shouldn’t be calling the plays AND managing the game. Johnson thinks he did it better, Here’s what JJ had to say on Sunday’s Fox pre-game show:
"Last Sunday I wanted to scream at the end of the Arizona-Dallas game because the hard work put in by all those players was for naught because of a split-second screw up at the end.
"I would have thought the Cowboys rectified their timeout issues, it was just three weeks ago when Romo called a timeout he didn’t have only to be saved when Washington’s Mike Shanahan called one first. When I coached, I managed the clock and every game situation.
"I coached two great quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Dan Marino, but I never allowed them to call a timeout unless it was an emergency and preferably when they were looking at me. The biggest deficiency in a lot of head coaches – I’d say more than half the league – is their faulty use of situational football, clock management and the use of timeouts. Believe me, a screw up like that could cost the Cowboys a playoff berth."
RANDY GALLOWAY: Jimmy Johnson offers some management tips to Jason Garrett
Let’s do a quick flashback to a month ago and a three-way verbal exchange among famous local football names:
Jimmy Johnson, giving opinions weekly on the Fox-TV pre- and postgame Sunday NFL show, said as a fan of Jason Garrett, he would suggest the Cowboys’ young head coach hire an offensive coordinator for next season and concentrate on being a full-time head coach.
Garrett was asked about the opinion, and while pledging his respect for Jimmy, said he would continue as head coach/offensive coordinator in the future.
Jerry Jones was asked for his thoughts on the subject, and immediately shot down the Jimmy idea, saying he didn’t approve of a "walk-around head coach," although not mentioning he’s had three of them — Johnson, Barry Switzer and Bill Parcells, a trio with five Super Bowl titles combined.
Jimmy’s zinger reply to Jerry:
"He doesn’t like it because Jerry thinks he’s the walk-around head coach."
So it ended it with that chuckle-moment, and we all moved on.
HOMECOMING: Dave Wannstedt, former assistant head coach under Jimmy Johnson
Dave Wannstedt - Former Dallas Cowboys coach
Sunday’s game against Buffalo will be a homecoming for a number of Buffalo players and head coach Chan Gailey but also for Bills assistant head coach/inside linebackers Dave Wannstedt.
Wannstedt was the Cowboys’ assistant head coach under Jimmy Johnson when they won Super Bowl XXVIII before becoming Chicago’s head coach in 1993.
As Miami’s head coach in 2000, Wannstedt hired Gailey as the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator and Gailey reciprocated by giving Wannstedt a job after Wannstedt was let go at Pitt.
“He’s meant a ton,” Gailey said. “He’s a confidant for me. We can talk about things that head coaches talk about. He knows problems that I need to see from time to time that I don’t see. I appreciate his input. He’s an excellent defensive coach. I think he’s helped our defense over on that side of the ball as well. He’s been a super addition for our football team.”
Wannstedt has a 3-2 record against the Cowboys since leaving Valley Ranch.
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Troy Aikman: I disagree with Jimmy Johnson, Jason Garrett can do both jobs
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Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson recently suggested that current coach Jason Garrett should put his focus on being the team’s head coach and think about hiring an offensive coordinator to call the plays.
Since making that statement on FOX’s pregame show last Sunday, Garrett, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former quarterback Troy Aikman have all disagreed with Johnson’s line of thinking.
“I don’t think being a head coach is too big for Jason,” Aikman said Thursday morning during his weekly appearance on 1310 “The Ticket” (KTCK-AM). “I don’t think being an offensive coordinator is too big for him. And I don’t often, but I’d probably disagree with Jimmy, to think that Jason Garrett can’t handle both jobs, I’d have a hard time believing that.”
Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) that he “always thought that Jason Garrett could handle coordinating as well as being the head coach.”
After Wednesday’s practice, Garrett said Johnson’s comments “could be an opinion he might have and other people might have. But right now, we feel good about the structure we have on our staff and that is what we will do going forward.”
Aikman compared coaching an NFL team to being President of the United States. He also added that if Garrett was going to hire an offensive coordinator, he would have done it already.
“Very few presidents, none that I know of, that have come out and said that they were really prepared for the job when they got it,” Aikman said. “I think the same goes for being a head coach in the National Football League. As much as you prepare yourself, then you get the job and there’s parts of it that you didn’t anticipate or there’s things that are required that you’ve got to deal with that you didn’t think were a part of it.
“If you’re going to embrace the head coaching job and then say it’s too difficult for me to do both, I think you’d give up play-calling as soon as you get named head coach. But no one does that. The offensive guys that have gone on to become head coaches have continued to call plays, and then they get more and more acclimated within the role of head coaching and how to split their duties and delegate a little bit and then they’re fine.”
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett happy with staff structure
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett
IRVING, Texas — More than a few times Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has told the story about how Joe Gibbs told Jones about the importance of having a coach with a specialty on one side of the ball.
Jerry Jones isn’t a fan of a “walk-around” head coach. It’s why Jones wanted Wade Phillips to call the defense when Phillips was the coach and why he wants Jason Garrett to call the offense.
On Sunday Jimmy Johnson, who was a “walk-around” head coach, said on Fox’s pre-game show that Garrett would be better off with an offensive coordinator, even if Sean Payton and Mike McCarthy served as head coaches and play callers for the last two Super Bowl teams.
“I do have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Johnson,” Garrett said. “I had the good fortune of playing for him for two years and have learned a tremendous amount of football from him when he was a head coach, just seeing how he operated. And since then, in many conversations that he and I have had. That could be an opinion he might have and other people might have. But right now, we feel good about the structure we have on our staff and that is what we will do going forward.”
Does it ever get to be too much for Garrett?
“I think the biggest thing that we do pretty well is we communicate during the game, and that’s within the offensive staff,” Garrett said. “I also think it’s among all of the guys on the staff. I think our communication is good. Obviously, Rob [Ryan] is calling the defense, but as a head coach you have to be involved in all three phases and I think we communicate well, we communicate quickly and it’s been an effective way to do it.”
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Former Dallas Cowboy head coach Chan Gailey: On his time with Cowboys, Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett
When the Dallas Cowboys face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday they will square off against a former coach for the second time in franchise history.
Buffalo coach Chan Gailey returns to Dallas as head coach for the first time since being fired after recording an 18-14 in two seasons in 1998 and 1999. Jimmy Johnson was the other coach when he was with the Dolphins.
“Wow. It was two enjoyable years,” Gailey said. “I mean we were fighting to keep our head above water and fighting to try to win games and it was great opportunity for me and I appreciated the opportunity.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said on a number of occasions that firing Gailey was one his biggest mistakes. Gailey appreciates the sentiment but said there is no use looking back.
“It’s kind of him to say that,” Gailey said. It is what it is. You can’t make more out of it or less out of it than what he said. I appreciate him saying it and life goes on. Those coulda, woulda, shoulda things, you think about, but if you dwell on them you’re wasting brain cells. There’s no sense in dwelling in that kind of stuff. You go on with life. If you’re spending too much time in the past all you’re doing is hurting yourself.”
Gailey said he has good relationship with Jones now and he doesn’t begrudge him for his decision.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was backup quarterback on those teams in 2008 and 2009. Gailey said he always knew he would make a great coach but figured he would too smart to join the profession.
“There was no question I thought he would be a great coach if he decided to do that. I thought he was smarter than that. He decided to coach anyway. But there was no question if he decided to do it, he would be great.”
Asked how thought Garrett was doing, Gailey passed, saying he was too busy to pay attention.
“I don’t even know,” Gailey said. “I don’t keep up with it. I’d like to say I do, but I don’t keep up with that. I’ve got enough problems. I don’t need to be looking at what somebody else is doing in the league.”
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RANDY GALLOWAY: Criticize if you want, but Jason Garrett is the right man for the Dallas Cowboys
For those already doubting Jason Garrett, and for those who have already dismissed Garrett as another Jerry-hired head coaching doofus, it’s not too late to repent.
Reach right out there and grab yourself a handful of reality. Go ahead, do it today. Do it before it’s too late.
You people … (I love a good you people.) … need to immediately accept one fact of local football life.
There is no Cowher, Fisher, Saban, Gruden, etc. waiting eagerly to ride in here and rescue the Cowboys, or better yet, rescue Jerry.
That’s not to say Jon Gruden wouldn’t take the job, or that Jeff Fisher would turn it down.
But based on track record, the quirky Gruden (I do love him, but he’s way out there) wouldn’t last five minutes with Jerry, and a solid guy like Fisher would be shocked to learn that his previous owner, Bud Adams, would be considered a rock of stability compared to you-know-who.
DALLAS COWBOYS RING OF HONOR: Who will be next?
- Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor – The Boys Are Back
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Today the Cowboys will induct Larry Allen, Charles Haley and Drew Pearson into the Ring of Honor. It’s the first time the Cowboys have conducted such an event since the Triplets in 2005.
With that we look at ten players who might be next for the Jerry Jones committee of one to consider.
Harvey Martin.No name resonates more with former Cowboys players than this man. He led the Cowboys in sacks seven times, is the unofficial franchise leader with 114 and holds the single-season mark of 23 sacks in the 1977 season. Before there was Charles Haley and DeMarcus Ware, Martin along with Randy White and Bob Lilly set the standard for pass rushers in franchise history.
Bill Bates.A special teams ace and despite making just one Pro Bowl, 1984, he was a beloved figure in Cowboys lore. When you think of outstanding special teams players in Cowboys history, Bates’ name comes up first. Nobody was better on a unit the causal fan knew nothing about.
Darren Woodson. A three-time All Pro, a five-time Pro Bowler won three Super Bowl titles. He was a talented safety who not only covered tight ends but wide receivers. His presence is still felt at Valley Ranch, because the Cowboys have not replaced him and his signature is inside a locker of former safety Roy Williams, that’s now the home of cornerback Terence Newman.
Everson Walls. He led the Cowboys in interceptions five times, is second all-time in franchise history with 44 and still holds the single-season record with 11 picks in 1981. The 11 picks is also the franchise record for a rookie. It would be nice if Walls gets in with Martin, another Dallas native.
Jimmy Johnson. The second coach in Cowboys history rebuilt the franchise and won two Super Bowl titles and the third one, XXX in 1995 was with Barry Switzer, but it was Johnson’s team. The ending was bad, but there’s no denying what Johnson meant to the franchise.
Charlie Waters. A three-time Pro Bowler at strong safety, Waters started 22 of 25 playoff games. He was a fierce hitter who gets lost because we talk so much about Cliff Harris. Waters is considered one of the top safeties in Cowboys history.
Deion Sanders.He made his mark with Atlanta, yet, Sanders was a four-time Pro Bowler, three-time All Pro and of course won one title with the Cowboys. Sanders holds the career mark for punt return average at 13.3. He was the first big money free agency signed by the Cowboys and he was a playmaker on defense and special teams.
Daryl Johnston. When Emmitt Smith broke the all-time rushing mark, he hugged this man. Johnston didn’t miss a game from 1992-to-1995. Johnston is one of the best fullbacks in franchise history, and his blocks paved the way for Smith to get a bulk of his yardage.
Danny White. The third-round pick from Arizona State, made only one Pro Bowl, and he had just one losing season in the years he started, 1987 where he compiled a 3-6 mark at age 35. He took the Cowboys to three NFC title games, never advancing to the Super Bowl. White is second in completions in franchise history at 1,761.
Mark Stepnoski.A five-time Pro Bowler who won three titles. But here’s a little known fact: He was named to the second-team of the 1990s All-Decade team. Stepnoski was a solid player during his era, not only with the Cowboys but in the NFL as well.
SPOTLIGHT: Jerry Jones – Dallas Cowboys owner, general manager
Dallas Cowboys owner_general manager has produced three Super Bowl winning teams!
Jerral “Jerry” Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Early life
Jerry Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School. Jones attended college at the University of Arkansas and was a co-captain of the 1964 National Championship football team. He was an all-SWC offensive lineman for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles and a teammate of Neil Rosenberg and Jimmy Johnson. Other notable teammates were Glen Ray Hines, Ken Hatfield, Jim Lindsey, and Loyd Phillips. Several future great head coaches were assistant coaches for Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks during his college career in Fayetteville including Hayden Fry, Johnny Majors, and most notably Barry Switzer, Hall of Fame coach of the University of Oklahoma. Jerry Jones is one of a very small number of NFL owners who actually earned a significant level of success as a football player.
When Jerry Jones graduated college in 1965, he was hired as an executive vice president at Modern Security Life of Springfield, Missouri, his father’s insurance company. He received his Masters degree in business in 1970. After several unsuccessful business ventures (including passing up the opportunity to purchase the AFL‘s San Diego Chargers in 1967), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became phenomenally successful. His privately-held company currently does natural resource prospecting.
Dallas Cowboys
In 1989, Jerry Jones purchased the Cowboys and Texas Stadium from H.R. “Bum” Bright for $140 million. Soon after the purchase, he fired long time coach Tom Landry, to that point the only coach in the team’s history, in favor of his old teammate at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson. A few months later, he forced out longtime general manager Tex Schramm, and assumed complete control over football matters.
After the 1993 Super Bowl victory, reports began to surface in the media that Jerry Jones had made the statement that “any one of 500 coaches could have won those Super Bowls”, given the type of talent that he (Jones) had drafted and signed for the team. Jones also stated to reporters at a late night cocktail party that he intended to replace Jimmy Johnson with former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. The next morning, however, Jones famously denied those reports by stating that it “was the whiskey talking”. Jimmy Johnson was eventually forced out in 1994 and Barry Switzer was hired to be the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Jerry Jones is one of two NFL owners who also have the title or powers of general manager, the other being the Cincinnati Bengals’ Mike Brown.
Of all the owners in American professional sports, he is considered to be one of the most involved, on a day-to-day basis, with his team. He can be seen in his box at every Cowboys game and in many cases he ventures down to the Cowboys sideline (usually late in the game).
Criticism
In an online poll from October 8, 2003, Jerry Jones was named the least favorite sports personality by Sports Illustrated. He is often vilified by fans who remain bitter at Jones’ unceremonious firing of fan-favorite Tom Landry. Some of the fan criticism is due to Jerry Jones’ high visibility and involvement as the “face of the team” which is in stark contrast to original owner Clint Murchison Jr.
Some Dallas Cowboy fans have expressed their displeasure with Jerry Jones and the lack of success in the franchise. This had led to formation of grassroots organizations aimed at displacing Jones from his position.
Jones is the subject of a book published September 1, 2008 titled ‘Playing to Win’ by David Magee. In the book, Jerry Jones says he handled the firing of Tom Landry poorly and takes some blame for the disintegration of his relationship with Jimmy Johnson.
NFL fines
Jerry Jones was fined $25,000 by the NFL for publicly criticizing referee Ed Hochuli after Hochuli made a controversial call in a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos on September 14, 2008. He made comments both to the press and on his radio show, saying Hochuli was one of the most criticized officials in the NFL. This was Jones’ first fine by the NFL.
In 2009, Jones was fined for violating a gag order on labor issues. Commissioner Roger Goodell had issued a gag order for all owners and team executives from discussing any aspect of the pending labor issues. Jones “crossed the line”, drawing a “six-figure” fine, sources said, as the commissioner distributed a memo to all 32 owners, along with a reminder that the gag order remains in effect. Goodell did not disclose the specific amount of Jones’ fine in the memo.
Jones in popular culture
Jerry Jones was the inspiration for the character Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), owner of the Dallas Felons, in the 1998 film BASEketball. He had a brief cameo appearance as himself in the 1998 made-for-television reunion movie Dallas: War of the Ewings. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the TV show “Coach” in 1996. He also appeared as himself in a 2007 television commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX, which also featured then Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo. Jerry Jones most recently starred in a commercial for Papa John’s in which a stunt man performs a dance act. Jones also appeared in the seventh season of the HBO series Entourage as himself in 2010.
Personal life
Jerry Jones is married to Gene Jones and they have three children: Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry, Jr. They also have nine grandchildren.
Stephen Jones (born July 21, 1964) is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and serves as the Cowboys’ chief operating officer/executive vice president/director of player personnel. Charlotte (born July 26, 1966) is a Stanford graduate and serves as the Cowboys’ vice president/director of charities and special events. Jerry, Jr (born September 27, 1969) is a graduate of Georgetown University who earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University, is the Cowboys’ chief sales and marketing officer/vice president.
Cowboys Stadium
A highlight of Cowboys Stadium is its gigantic, center-hung high-definition television screen, the largest in the world. The 160 by 72 feet, 11,520-square-foot scoreboard surpasses the 8,736 sq ft screen that opened in 2009 at the renovated Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri as the world’s largest.
At the debut pre-season game of Cowboys Stadium, a punt by Tennessee Titans kicker, AJ Trapasso, hit the 2,100 in. screen above the field. The punt deflected and was ruled in-play until Titans coach Jeff Fisher informed the officials that the punt struck the scoreboard. (Many believe Trapasso was trying to hit the suspended scoreboard, based on replays and the angle of the kick.) The scoreboard is, however, within the regulation of the NFL guidelines – hanging approximately five feet above the minimum height. It should also be noted that no punts hit the scoreboard during the entire 2009 regular season during an actual game. Also, what should be noted is that on August 22, 2009, the day after AJ Trapasso hit the screen, many fans touring the facility noted that half of the field was removed with large cranes re-positioning the screen. According to some fans, a tour guide explained that Jerry Jones invited a few professional soccer players to drop kick soccer balls to try and hit the screen. Once he observed them hitting it consistently he had the screen moved up another 10 feet.
The first regular season home game of the 2009 season was against the New York Giants. A league record-setting 105,121 fans showed up to completely pack Cowboys Stadium for the game before which the traditional “blue star” at the 50 yard line was unveiled for the first time; however, the Cowboys lost in the final seconds, 33–31.
The Cowboys got their first regular season home win on September 28, 2009. They beat the Carolina Panthers 21–7 with 90,588 in attendance. The game was televised on ESPN’s Monday Night Football and marked a record 42nd win for the Cowboys on MNF.
EXECUTIVE BIO – Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys website)
In one of the most dramatic eras of ownership in professional sports, Jerry Jones’ stewardship of the Dallas Cowboys has brought unprecedented results and success to one of the world’s most popular sports entities.
Aside from being one of only four current owners to guide their franchises to at least three Super Bowl titles, Jones’ efforts in the areas of sports marketing, promotion and the development of Cowboys Stadium have created a vivid imprint on the landscape of the NFL and the American sports culture.
Highlighted by Super Bowl victories following the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons, Jones became the first owner in NFL history to guide his team to three league championships in his first seven years of ownership. In 1995 Dallas also became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four seasons while tying the then-NFL record for most Super Bowl victories by an organization with five.
The first decade of Jones’ ownership closed with eight playoff appearances, six division titles, four conference championship game appearances and three world crowns as the Cowboys were named the NFL’s Team of the 1990s. Dallas closed the first decade of the new millennium with division titles in 2007 and 2009 while the 2009 club secured the 11th playoff appearance in Jones’ 22 seasons of leadership.
Along with the success of the Dallas Cowboys on the field, Jones’ vision and leadership provided the driving influence behind the concept, design, and construction of Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas – a venue that is recognized internationally as perhaps the most spectacular and state-of-the-art sports stadium in the world.
Opened to the public in May of 2009, Cowboys Stadium’s dramatic first season of operation resulted in the venue being named the Sports Facility of the Year by the Sports Business Journal in May of 2010. Along with that achievement for the team’s new home, Jones was also named the 2009 Sports Executive of the Year by the SBJ.
The 100,000 plus seat Cowboys Stadium established the attendance record for an NFL regular season game as 105,121 witnessed the September 20, 2009 home opener, while the 108,713 who attended the NBA All-Star Game on February 14, 2010 became the largest crowd to witness a basketball game in the history of the sport.
In just over two years of operation, more than four million fans have attended events that included high school and collegiate football, major college basketball, professional bull riding, Motocross, world championship boxing and a handful of concerts that featured world renowned recording artists. Another million visitors have passed through the twelve-story-high doors of the stadium for daily public tours of the venue.
With its architectural versatility and cutting edge media capabilities, Cowboys Stadium has become a visible beacon that has established North Texas as a major focal point on the sports and entertainment canvas of North America.
The brilliant home of the Cowboys has become a powerful catalyst in attracting a wide range of national and international events that will define the future of the region for generations to come. After already playing host to Super Bowl XLV in February of 2011, other top flight events for the future include the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl, the 2014 NCAA Final Four in men’s basketball and the annual Texas A&M-Arkansas football series just to name a few.
Since he took over as general manager in 1989, the Cowboys have drafted 25 different players who have gone on to appear in a combined total of 95 Pro Bowls. Dallas has also signed 11 free agent players who have made 28 Pro Bowl appearances while representing the Dallas Cowboys. Since 1989 the Cowboys have made 129 trades, the most celebrated of which was the 1989 deal that sent Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings and provided the personnel foundation for three league titles.
In selecting the on-the-field leadership for the Cowboys, Jones hired a pair of coaches who won three Super Bowls in Dallas: Jimmy Johnson (1992-1993) and Barry Switzer (1995). Chan Gailey followed with a division title and playoff appearances in 1998 and 1999. In 2003 Jones successfully recruited two-time Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells to Dallas, and Parcells directed the team to three winning seasons and two playoff trips in four seasons. In February of 2007, Jones added another successful NFL head coach in Wade Phillips who guided the club to a pair of division titles in his first three years (2007 and 2009) and a playoff victory in 2009. In 2011, Jones named Jason Garrett as the team’s eighth head coach after the former Cowboys’ quarterback guided the club to a 5-3 record as the interim coach in the second half of the 2010 season.
In the last 33 years, 34 different owners have entered the National Football League. Of that group, only Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft of New England have guided their franchises to more than two Super Bowl championships. Moreover, Jones joins Art Rooney, Jack Kent Cooke, Al Davis, Eddie DeBartolo and Kraft as the only men to have won at least three Super Bowls as NFL owners.
On the league front, he actively contributes his vision and enthusiasm to enhancing the NFL’s status as the world’s premier professional sports league by serving on a wide range of league committees. He was recently very involved—as a member of the Management Council Executive Committee–in the labor negotiations that resulted in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and its players. In addition to the CEC, Jones is currently the Chairman of the NFL Network Committee, and he is a member of the NFL Broadcasting Committee, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee and the NFL Player Dire-Need Committee. Jones also served on the committee that was charged with overseeing the search for a successor to retired NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue — a search that successfully landed current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in September of 2006. In addition, Jones has served two prior terms as a member of the NFL’s Competition Committee as well as a stint on the Business Ventures Committee.
His contributions and innovations in the areas of marketing, corporate sponsorships, television, stadium management, stadium development, labor negotiations and community service have made a visible imprint on the ever evolving face of professional sports in America. Since becoming involved with the Cowboys, Jones’ accomplishments have been recognized through his induction into the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2007), the Texas Business Hall of Fame (2005), the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (1999) and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (1998). In August of 2007, he served as the presenter for Michael Irvin’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — a recognition he was also named for by Emmitt Smith as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher was enshrined in Canton in August of 2010.
As a co-captain of the 1964 National Championship Arkansas Razorbacks, Jones is one of a very small number of NFL owners who actually earned a significant level of success as a football player. He is the only man in the history of the National Football League to play for a collegiate national championship football team and own a Super Bowl winner. In addition, Jones and the legendary George Halas are the only two men to become NFL owners after playing in a major college football bowl game. His current ties to the college game include membership on the Board of Directors for the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.
A man of varied interests who will not rest on yesterday’s achievements, he is a dedicated businessman and family man – sharing a vivid enthusiasm for both. Although Jones and his family are very involved in numerous civic and charitable causes, the Joneses have left an indelible local and national impression on the philanthropic landscape with their love and dedication to The Salvation Army.
For the past 14 seasons, the Jones family has dedicated the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day halftime show as a national showcase to kick off The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Drive. Through the donation of national television air-time, the event has created a new holiday tradition, while helping to increase donations to The Salvation Army’s annual fund raising efforts by hundreds of millions of dollars. Major George Hood of The Salvation Army states that “by presenting the National Kettle Kickoff on Thanksgiving Day, the Dallas Cowboys have helped the Army raise over one billion dollars in the past 14 years.” Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Jessica Simpson, Billy Gilman, Creed, LeAnn Rimes, Toby Keith, Destiny’s Child, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, The Jonas Brothers, Daughtry and Keith Urban have provided the entertainment for the holiday extravaganzas.
The Salvation Army points to the annual Cowboys kickoff event as one of the most effective, creative and important innovations that has been developed in the long and storied history of the organization.
The Joneses received the Evangeline Booth Award in 1999, one of the Army’s highest national community service awards and have been selected for membership into the prestigious Salvation Army William Booth Society. Gene and Jerry were also named to the Army’s National Advisory Board in April of 1998 shortly after being named the organization’s Partners of the Year in 1997. In April of 2007, Gene and Jerry Jones served as the honorary chairpersons for the Salvation Army’s National Advisory Organizations Conference (NAOC) that was held in Dallas.
For 10 years, Gene and Jerry Jones served as hosts and underwrote the costs for the Super Lunch, a fundraising event for The Salvation Army Irving Corps Community Center. In 1998 the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Center for Children opened in conjunction with The Army.
As part of the Jones Family and the Dallas Cowboys commitment to Arlington, Texas, the home of the club’s new stadium, Gene and Jerry Jones Family Charities will donate a total of $16.5 million to non-profit organizations serving youth in Arlington from 2009-2041.
In 2001 the Joneses were awarded the Chairman’s Award by The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. In June of 2002, Gene and Jerry Jones were recognized as the recipients of the Children’s Champion Award for Philanthropy that was presented by the Dallas for Children organization. In 2003 the Family Gateway organization of Dallas presented Gene and Jerry with the Annette G. Strauss Humanitarian Award. In April of 2005, Gene and Jerry were recipients of the Hope Award, the highest community service recognition awarded by the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 2010 the Jones Family and the Cowboys were selected by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to receive the prestigious Chairman’s Award that recognized the Cowboys long and dedicated history of supporting that organization.
The Jones family is very involved with several other community-related organizations, including Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Happy Hill Farm Academy/Home, the National Board for The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Kent Waldrep Paralysis Foundation, The Rise School of Dallas, The Family Place and The Family Gateway. In 2010, the Jones family endowed the North Texas Youth Education Town with a $1 million grant. Created as a lasting legacy of Super Bowl XLV, the North Texas YET will be administered by The Salvation Army and provide North Texas youth with education, mentoring, fitness and character enrichment programs.
Jerry (10/13/42) and Gene live in Dallas. They have three children, Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry, Jr., and nine grandchildren.
Stephen (6/21/64) is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and serves as the Cowboys Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President/ Director of Player Personnel. Charlotte (7/26/66) is a Stanford graduate and serves as the Cowboys Executive Vice President/VP of Brand Management/President Charity Foundation. Jerry Jr. (9/27/69), a graduate of Georgetown University who earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University, is the Cowboys Executive Vice President/ Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.
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Courtesy: Wikipedia and Dallas Cowboys website Edited: The Boys Are Back
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