Troy Aikman takes aim at Jerry Jones regarding Cowboys' Super Bowl drought

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took over as the franchise's general manager in 1989, and the Cowboys notched three Super Bowl victories during the 1990s when Hall of Famer and current NFL analyst Troy Aikman was serving as the team's starting quarterback. 

However, the Cowboys have not played in an NFC Championship Game under Jones since they won the Super Bowl in January 1996. During a recent appearance on the "Dallas Dialogue with Dale" program, Aikman was asked if Jones is to blame for the Cowboys' title drought.

Troy Aikman: Jerry Jones wouldn't "shy away" from acknowledging that the Cowboys' championship drought starts "at the top" 

"It all does start at the top," Aikman said, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "Good or bad, it starts at the top. I don’t think Jerry would shy away from that. You have to take responsibility when it doesn’t work out, and it hasn’t worked out. I’ve heard Jerry say the reason he hasn’t hired a general manager is there are no guarantees and no one can guarantee him that making a change at GM and replacing himself would guarantee that they’d be any better. But if that’s your philosophy, then you’d never fire the head coach either. You’d never make any changes because there are no guarantees whatsoever. They’ve been going down this road so long, and yet it hasn’t translated to success in January. There has to be a reason for that." 

Jones will turn 84 years old this coming October, and there's no indication he plans on hiring an outsider to serve as the franchise's general manager anytime soon. For what it's worth, he has received credit from unnamed league executives and from quarterback Dak Prescott for moves the Cowboys made following the 2025 season to bolster their defense. 

Jones also held onto star wide receiver George Pickens via the franchise tag through the summer. Earlier in August, Dallas signed defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a big-money contract extension. Meanwhile, Prescott has a career record of 2-5 as a postseason starter. 

Troy Aikman: Cowboys' playoff struggles for past three decades are "unacceptable"

"To me, you have to make changes in how you’re doing it, if for three decades you haven’t made an NFC Championship Game," Aikman added. "It’s just unacceptable."

It could be interesting to see if Jones responds to Aikman's remarks before the upcoming season gets underway.