Recently, I started (but never posted) a thread hypothesizing that Jerry Jones was not root cause of the Cowboy's listless performance over the past decade+. Before going any further, I am neither a fan nor apologist for Jerry Jones.
I have always thought that, as an owner, Jerry has few peers. From building the new stadium to transforming the Cowboys into a financial powerhouse to being a driving force in brokering a deal to bring the Rams back to LA, Jones has made his mark on the NFL.
My research for the post led me to the 2008 book
Playing to Win and a 2003 SI article about Jones. While there are countless other articles about Jones, these two really galvanized what a supremely arrogant, narcissistic, manipulative and self-serving individual he is. I walked away from my original premise that most of the blame for the Cowboy's current woes rest with Garrett.
Everything that Jones does is about feeding his ego. Despite being regaled as a "players" owner, make no mistake, Jones is Voldomort and Garrett is a Death Eater (to coin a Harry Potter phrase).
By the way, I am not apologizing for Garrett either. He is a miserable, untalented, incompetent coach that should have been fired long ago. While JG is the cause of the Cowboy's current poor performance, Jones is the underlying rot.
Whew.. I think I will go shovel snow now.