CFZ 3 Pivotal mistakes by Jerry

[Bobhaze]

The fundamental mistake: Not learning what the winning owners of the last 26 SBs have learned- hire a GM, delegate full authority to them, then hold them accountable for the results. Because JJ the owner never holds his GM accountable, it’s impossible to hold anyone accountable in his organization.

Organizational Success 101: Accountability must be present at the top of any organization or it cannot exist anywhere else in the organization.

Biggest mistake this owner makes year after year.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

The fundamental mistake: Not learning what the winning owners of the last 26 SBs have learned- hire a GM, delegate full authority to them, then hold them accountable for the results. Because JJ the owner never holds his GM accountable, it’s impossible to hold anyone accountable in his organization.

Organizational Success 101: Accountability must be present at the top of any organization or it cannot exist anywhere else in the organization.

Biggest mistake this owner makes year after year.

And, in general, not learning from his mistakes. Then again, it'd mean he'd have to admit mistakes.

 

[stuckindc]

In today's thread, I'm going to examine 3 decisions that were made by Jerry that, compounded with each other, has, imo, led us to where we are now. These are mistakes that changed us from a dominant team to what we are now. I'm not going to include Jimmy as that's been discussed ad nauseam. Instead, I'm going to examine three other mistakes that, between 1998-2000, practically destroyed the Cowboys. I'm going to go in year order with this. I was a new fan in 2000, but this is based on what I've read and based on what could've changed our fortunes. Additionally, these are examples that also show the poor future planning of Jerry.

1. In 1998, we drafted Greg Ellis instead of Randy Moss. While Ellis was a very good player for us, we should have gotten Moss. This is an example of poor planning in my view because Irvin was going into his 10th season at the time at an age in which players didn't often play long. So, Moss could've been a nice successor to Irvin when he retired. Also, those two together would've been dynamic and could have led to more Lombardis. It seems to me, as a young fan, that this was the moment in which Jerry lost his mojo, and he's never gotten it back. It was at this moment he's been craving great WRs to try to expunge this massive mistake.
2. Trading for Joey Galloway - in an effort to try to make up for the mistake of not getting Moss and the recent retirement of Irvin, Jerry made a baffling trade to the Seahawks, in which two firsts were swapped for Joey Galloway. This was likely a panic move that wouldn't have been needed had Jerry planned adequately. It set into motion missing out on some truly great players such as, perhaps, Shaun Alexander who the Seahawks chose who could've been a nice eventual replacement for Emmitt, Nate Clements, who could've replaced Deion at CB, and others.
3. Missing out on Tom Brady - okay, nobody knew Brady was going to be what he is, but I think it's probably safe to say that Jerry missed by not taking him later in the 2000 draft. I'm not saying he should've been the first pick. But, we could have had him in the 6thnround when we took Mario Edwards instead. It shows poor planning, imo, because Aikman was going into his 11th season, and he had missed 5 games in 1998. Therefore, it'd have been smart to have drafted Brady in round 6 to try to develop a QB. I'm not saying he'd have been the Brady we know due to Belichick, but he probably would've been a top QB nonetheless.

I think these are 3 Pivotal mistakes in 3 years that Jerry made that changed the course of the Cowboys from the dominant kings of the League at the time to what we are now. I think these are mistakes that haunt Jerry, and, had he made these moves, he might've actually gotten what he wanted. Instead, he's been scrambling like a chicken without a head since.

The biggest mistake Jerry made was not staying in the owners box and letting Jimmy run the team. Instead he wanted to be on the sidelines and show everyone his new toy. He wanted to be included in all the success and credit for building the 90’s Cowboys. Had he left Jimmy alone to continue to build upon the team and success, he would have gained the credit he deserved by being the owner of a great organization and win more super bowls than the 3. Jimmy could have moved upstairs when he was done coaching and the team from there. Jerry’s ego caused him to believe he could do everything Jimmy did You would think after 25 plus years or futility, he would figure it out. Instead he just compounds the problem by continuing to try and GM the team. The 3 items you mentioned are true but all could have been avoided had he acted like an owner and let his football people do what they were hired to do. You know like Kraft. Jerry and Jimmy were Kraft and Bellichek. But Jerry’s ego killed and still continues to this day.

 

[stuckindc]

To p

From what I have read, it seems to me that Randy Moss's talent wasn't a concern. It was his off the field decisions. I think that, had he been taken by us, he and Irvin would have made quite the combination.

To piggy back on that. I believe because of the somewhat recent off field issue with Irvin, there was some hesitancy to bring in another with character issues. The talent was not in doubt. Jerry was trying to clean up the Cowboys rep

 

[Sydla]

Only 3 pivotal mistakes in 27 years is being overly kind.

I wouldn't even consider them the worst three.

Worse than these personnel moves were some of his hires over the years. Those were brutally bad mistakes. Campo? Ugh. Garrett for a decade? Really bad.

 

[stuckindc]

I would have loved to seen what we could have been with Randy. Troy would have launched bombs all day to Randy.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

The biggest mistake Jerry made was not staying in the owners box and letting Jimmy run the team. Instead he wanted to be on the sidelines and show everyone his new toy. He wanted to be included in all the success and credit for building the 90’s Cowboys. Had he left Jimmy alone to continue to build upon the team and success, he would have gained the credit he deserved by being the owner of a great organization and win more super bowls than the 3. Jimmy could have moved upstairs when he was done coaching and the team from there. Jerry’s ego caused him to believe he could do everything Jimmy did You would think after 25 plus years or futility, he would figure it out. Instead he just compounds the problem by continuing to try and GM the team. The 3 items you mentioned are true but all could have been avoided had he acted like an owner and let his football people do what they were hired to do. You know like Kraft. Jerry and Jimmy were Kraft and Bellichek. But Jerry’s ego killed and still continues to this day.

Oh, no doubt. Still, I reckon that the mistakes I've mentioned could've salvaged the mistake of sacking Jimmy because these would have been players that the Cowboys could have used to develop and replace the already high caliber players. Or, in the case of Randy Moss, given us a very early version of a dynamic WR threat, similar to what is now taking place in today's NFL. I reckon Emmitt would've gotten to the rushing record more quickly with this as well because there'd be no way to cover Irvin and Moss and defend the run at the same time. So, the moves mentioned in my OP, had Jerry made them, could have ended up making that earlier mistake not as big an issue as it is currently.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I wouldn't even consider them the worst three.

Worse than these personnel moves were some of his hires over the years. Those were brutally bad mistakes. Campo? Ugh. Garrett for a decade? Really bad.

Honestly, I'm not sure all of the 5-11s were Campo's fault. Granted, I was just starting as a fan then. However, Jerry went completely mad before that and didn't exactly give Campo much help, especially with the idiotic trade that was the Galloway trade. We had a solid defence then. If we actually had usable weapons like Randy Moss, who knows how things change?

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

To p

To piggy back on that. I believe because of the somewhat recent off field issue with Irvin, there was some hesitancy to bring in another with character issues. The talent was not in doubt. Jerry was trying to clean up the Cowboys rep

I get that, but, at the same time, Randy Moss and Irvin would've basically, provided they stayed healthy, a golden ticket for a Lombardi.

 

[John813]

I can't put Brady against Jerry as no one knew he was going to be what he became. No one.

Drew Henson split playing time with Brady in Michigan in 1999.
Yes, that Drew Henson.
The guy we traded a mid round pick for that was cut by Parcells a few years later.

 

[JoeKing]

get over who owns this team!

 

[stuckindc]

I get that, but, at the same time, Randy Moss and Irvin would've basically, provided they stayed healthy, a golden ticket for a Lombardi.

100% agree

 

[Big_D]

The pivotal mistake list is a mile long!

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I would have loved to seen what we could have been with Randy. Troy would have launched bombs all day to Randy.

I just learned something else. Apparently, we didn't have a 3rd round pick in 1998 because we used it to trade up in 1997 with the Eagles for David LaFleur, which was an obvious bad move. Worse yet, had we not done that, we could've had Hines Ward. If they were worried about character concerns with Moss, then we could well have had Hines Ward paired with Irvin. That'd have been an incredible duo too.

 

[stuckindc]

I just learned something else. Apparently, we didn't have a 3rd round pick in 1998 because we used it to trade up in 1997 with the Eagles for David LaFleur, which was an obvious bad move. Worse yet, had we not done that, we could've had Hines Ward. If they were worried about character concerns with Moss, then we could well have had Hines Ward paired with Irvin. That'd have been an incredible duo too.

It’s all bad and really a comedy of errors from a clown

 

[jsb357]

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

It’s all bad and really a comedy of errors from a clown

Exactly, and it's a shame that it cost not only the Cowboys, but it also meant the Eagles became relevant.

 

[MS17]

I know this won't fall in his top 3, but Jerruh's move to have the playing field oriented East-West, so teams are blinded by the glaring sun from the giant doors in his billion+ stayjum is notable. quarterbacks blinded by the light in November; that Jerruh, he showed em.
Soon he'll hang a sign on the bottom of the AT&T scoreboard, "Punt/hit scoreboard Win a steak dinner."

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I know this won't fall in his top 3, but Jerruh's move to have the playing field oriented East-West, so teams are blinded by the glaring sun from the giant doors in his billion+ stayjum is notable. quarterbacks blinded by the light in November; that Jerruh, he showed em.
Soon he'll hang a sign on the bottom of the AT&T scoreboard, "Punt/hit scoreboard Win a steak dinner."

Yes, the direction of the stadium is idiotic. It's not surprising that we've struggled when he clearly doesn't know which way the sun rises and sets.

 

[plasticman]

There are literally dozens of such examples.

However, they are all side effects of one horrific blunder, the root of 26 seasons of mediocrity.

Jerry completely disrespected the position of GM in competitive sports by giving himself the title.

This was despite zero experience in talent evaluation, team building, draft strategy, effective cap management and providing an environment where a Head Coach would have a fair chance of being successful. As a GM, Jerry made football related decisions despite zero experience and zero credentials.

As a result, the single most important position in NFL franchise management for the Cowboys faces zero consequences for failure. Furthermore, he will never learn from his mistakes, he will only change them into different mistakes.