Contemplating the future
During a wide-ranging interview at the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch complex, Jerry candidly discusses a future that eventually, inevitably, won’t include him.
“I do want to emphasize that, at this particular time, it would be madness not to think about succession,” he says. “You have to. And you should.
“I’m very confident that if I got hit by a truck tomorrow, we’ve got a great succession plan. Everybody here understands football, loves it, is not really interested in anything else in sports and has tunnel vision relative to football.”
Longtime speculation has been that Stephen, the Cowboys’ 48-year-old chief operating officer and director of player personnel, would eventually assume Jerry’s role.
That is partly true, Jerry says, pointing out that Stephen already oversees the scouting and player personnel departments, Cowboys Stadium management operations and attends NFL owners meetings.
But in reality, Jerry sees a continuation of Team Jones management already in place. Charlotte is vice president of brand management and the president of the charity foundation. Jerry Jr. is the chief sales and marketing officer.
In the early 1990s, Jerry transferred minority limited partnership interests to Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry Jr., giving them what he calls “serious skin in the game,” a daily incentive to fully invest their professional lives.
“I was fortunate to have put things like that in place long before the Cowboys were worth what they are now,” he says.
