Paul Finebaum Gives Harsh Assessment of Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated May 18, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Jerry Jones is one of the most prominent figures in American professional sports. He purchased the Dallas Cowboys in February 1989 and quickly revitalized the struggling franchise.

At the time, the Cowboys had just finished the season with a record of 3-13 under the legendary head coach Tom Landry and had not achieved a winning season in three years.

Jones made the difficult decision to fire Landry and replace him with Jimmy Johnson. Although the Cowboys finished Johnson's first season with a disappointing record of 1-15, the move ultimately proved successful. Johnson led the team to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1992 and 1993.

However, Jones and Johnson parted ways in 1994 after they reached an agreement to separate. Their split was fueled by growing disagreements and a perceived inability to work effectively together. Subsequently, Jones hired former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer, who led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl win in 1995.

Despite his early success, Jones has not led Dallas to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, let alone the Super Bowl, since 1995. The team's record in 18 playoff games in that time frame is 5-13.

On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on the Cowboys' 2025 NFL Draft class, which received an "A-" grade from NFL.com's Chad Reuter. Finebaum did not hold back in his critique of Jones.

"There's not much that I've seen from Jerry Jones that impresses me," Finebaum said. "I think (George) Pickens was a good move. I like Dak (Prescott), myself. He needs to stay healthy, though."

Finebaum has been very critical of Jones this offseason. He was particularly critical of Jones for hiring Brian Schottenheimer as the head coach after parting ways with Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys finished the 2024 season with a 7-10 record, following three consecutive 12-5 seasons under McCarthy.

Although Schottenheimer served as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator last season, he has no previous head coaching experience and did not call plays while in that role; that responsibility fell to McCarthy instead.

Schottenheimer does come from a notable lineage, as he is the son of legendary head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Marty spent 21 seasons as an NFL head coach, achieving a record of 200-126-1.

Despite his success, he never won a Super Bowl and is the only NFL head coach with at least 200 regular season wins who has a losing playoff record, has not won a championship and has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Finebaum weighed in on the move, stating, "Every time you think that Jerry is about to accidentally make a good decision, he makes an even dumber one." It is clear that Finebaum is not a fan of Jones.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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