In Jerry We No Longer Trust

Jerry Jones is a polarizing figure. Similar to George W. Bush, Terrell Owens, and the New York Yankees, when you mention his name, you'll get a strong reaction--positive or negative--from anyone within earshot. For many fans of the Cowboys, Jones is the only owner they've ever known. And in Dallas, where the other pro owners are Mark Cuban and Tom Hicks, it's easy to be viewed as the best owner in town. Yes, Jerry's a greedy, arrogant man, and getting his new $1 billion stadium partly paid for by the people of Arlington is one of the largest legal robberies of all time. However, on the football side, he's always seemed to be good for the franchise. He wants to win, and he spends quite a large bit of his money trying to do so. As a sports fan, nothing is more frustrating than to see an owner close the wallet and give the fans a poor product to watch each Sunday. Of course, Jones also serves as the team's general manager, and all personnel decisions go through him. When the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls, they had a strong scouting department that led to several excellent drafts (with some luck thanks to the Herschel Walker trade). Jones has always been a maverick on draft day, which does make things interesting and fun. When the Cowboys are winning, all of his micromanaging and sideline roaming is tolerable; after all, Lombardi trophies are fun to look at. Well, now it's 2009, and all of Jones' trophies are old and dusty. Based on his decisions over the last several seasons, one thing is clear: we can no longer trust Jerry Jones' football decisions for the Dallas Cowboys. Jones is a brilliant con artist, er, business man, and he's the main reason the Cowboys are one of the most recognized professional franchises worldwide. He should stay in charge of that side of the business model. But it's time that the Cowboys got a real football man to run the team, as the general manager, head coach, or both. Jones' ego, though, is too large to allow anyone else to make significant decisions regarding his team. That's why Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells had to go, and the Chan Gaileys, Dave Campos, and Wade Phillipses of the NFL world have all paraded through Valley Ranch. No real coach is going to come here with no authority over the team, and Jerry won't hire someone who he can't wholly control. Even if Phillips does make it to training camp with the team (I give him one chance in three), the "changes" he claims are coming are really only going to be what Jones tells him to do. So, sadly, forget about Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, Mike Tomlin, Jeff Fisher, or any real coach roaming around JerryWorld any time soon. With Jerry as the master, the coaching staff will only be his puppets (and the players know this). Moreover, Jones' lust of winning causes him to take significant risks on players with "character issues." Some of these--such as Charles Haley--panned out and contributed to championships. Most, especially lately, have not (Antonio Bryant, Adam Jones, Tank Johnson, Dwayne Goodrich). Here's the problem: because the team hasn't had postseason success in so long, Jerry's desire for a Super Bowl is no insatiable, and he is blinded in pursuit of that quest. Now, he's not calculating his risks and just throwing 53 guys together hoping for a "team" to emerge. Pacman, Tank, and Bryant did nothing useful to the Cowboys on the field, and they significantly damaged the chemistry in the locker room. Not considering "character" players, Jones has made several poor decision is acquiring players who just aren't any good at football. Wasting draft picks and signing bonuses on Quincy Carter, Drew Henson, Bobby Carpenter, Ebenezer Ekuban, Mike Vanderjagt, and pretty much every offensive and defensive lineman drafted since 2000, has hurt the depth of the roster and forced Jones to look at free agent/trade fixes. In order to improve, the Cowboys must have someone with a fresh voice and, most importantly, less blinded vision of the franchise. Charley Casserly laid a solid foundation in Houston, and the Patriots, Colts, Giants (with both Ernie Accorsi and Jerry Reese) have had sustained success because of strong, competent personnel departments. The men who run these departments are secure in the knowledge that they are very good at their jobs, so they would not consider coming to a situation in Dallas where their voices would never be the loudest in the room. Obviously, Jerry has every right to be involved however he wants with the Cowboys; it's his team, and he spends quite a bit of money to operate it. Having such an aggressive owner can be good, but it's time for Jerry to bring in some help. We can't trust his football decisions--from the field to the coaching staff--any longer. As long as he insists on being the grand poo-bah of the team, Wade Phillips, Tony Romo, and 9-7 are as good as its going to get. Brian Smith can be reached at BLSmith@mail.utexas.edu