- Messages
- 79,281
- Reaction score
- 45,652
03:05 AM CDT on Friday, March 26, 2010
Figured out a way to get the Cowboys into the Super Bowl the other day. No need to thank me.
Having grown up in Oak Cliff, consider it part of my civic duty, so to speak. It won't cost Jerry Jones a draft pick or a seven-digit signing bonus to add this person to the Cowboys' organization.
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@***BANNED-URL***
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Blog | E-mail
All it will take is money – and Jerry still has plenty, even after funding a chunk of Cowboys Stadium and having to file lawsuits against 17 alleged deadbeats who don't want to pay for their swanky suites at the new stadium.
All Jerry needs to do is hire Mike Pereira, who's retiring as the NFL's VP of officiating in May.
Stop giggling. Or rolling around on the floor.
Seriously. Let it marinate.
Who better to help the Cowboys reduce all the senseless, debilitating penalties they've committed over the last decade more than the man who has been in charge of NFL officials since 2001 and spent two seasons as a side judge?
It makes perfect sense.
Besides, Pereira wants to coach. At least that's what he recently told Sports Illustrated's Peter King.
"I believe penalties have a bigger impact on the game than anyone realizes," Pereira said. "I'm fascinated by the coaching aspect of it, of trying to cut down the penalties.
"Obviously it's never been done before, and I realize not every team would be interested in something like this. I think it's a matter of who's progressive enough to think about it. Who would take the chance?"
That's easy. Jerry.
He's taken more chances than any NFL owner since buying the Cowboys in 1989. It's not even close.
Heck, his whole life has been based on taking chances, whether it's drilling for oil or picking Barry Switzer as one of the 500 coaches he thought could lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl after the Jimmy-Jerry saga.
Jerry has always been a visionary when it comes to the NFL, whether we're talking stadium marketing deals or finding salary-cap loopholes so he could sign players such as Deion Sanders.
Jason Garrett is the NFL's highest-paid offensive coordinator at $3 million per season, and Hudson Houck is the league's highest-paid offensive line coach at $1 million per season.
Jerry shouldn't mind spending $300,000 or so for a penalty coach.
For years, the Cowboys were the only team with a full-time kicking coach until Bill Parcells decided Steve Hoffman provided the kickers with more excuses than help and declined to retain him after his contract expired.
How much would Jerry have paid to have Hoffman last season, when Nick Folk struggled and the Cowboys found themselves relying on Shaun Suisham in the playoffs?
This is no different.
Jerry could hire Pereira as a full-time assistant. Or a consultant who spends training camp with the team and shows up regularly to give insight on officials and the things players do that make it more likely an official will call a penalty.
The Cowboys produce a report on the officials for each game and what penalties they're likely to call based on history, and Pereira could supply invaluable information on individual crews.
It couldn't hurt.
The Cowboys tied for third with Philadelphia and Baltimore in the NFL with 115 penalties last season, three penalties behind league leader Green Bay. Dallas led the NFL in penalty yardage.
In 2008, the Cowboys led the league in penalties, while finishing second in yardage. Don't blame Wade Phillips for this.
Dallas ranked fifth in penalty yardage in 2006, Parcells' final season. The Cowboys were fifth in penalty yardage in 2002 under Dave Campo, and they led the league in penalties and yardage in 1999 under Chan Gailey.
Gailey punished the players – even Troy Aikman – with penalty laps for miscues during practice. Parcells yelled a lot when he wasn't saying, "I don't coach penalties," and two seasons ago, Phillips had his players sign letters that they wouldn't get retaliatory personal fouls.
None of those tactics worked. This will.
All Jerry needs to do is pick up the phone and write the check.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032610dnspotaylorcowboys.45e2670.html
Figured out a way to get the Cowboys into the Super Bowl the other day. No need to thank me.
Having grown up in Oak Cliff, consider it part of my civic duty, so to speak. It won't cost Jerry Jones a draft pick or a seven-digit signing bonus to add this person to the Cowboys' organization.
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@***BANNED-URL***
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Blog | E-mail
All it will take is money – and Jerry still has plenty, even after funding a chunk of Cowboys Stadium and having to file lawsuits against 17 alleged deadbeats who don't want to pay for their swanky suites at the new stadium.
All Jerry needs to do is hire Mike Pereira, who's retiring as the NFL's VP of officiating in May.
Stop giggling. Or rolling around on the floor.
Seriously. Let it marinate.
Who better to help the Cowboys reduce all the senseless, debilitating penalties they've committed over the last decade more than the man who has been in charge of NFL officials since 2001 and spent two seasons as a side judge?
It makes perfect sense.
Besides, Pereira wants to coach. At least that's what he recently told Sports Illustrated's Peter King.
"I believe penalties have a bigger impact on the game than anyone realizes," Pereira said. "I'm fascinated by the coaching aspect of it, of trying to cut down the penalties.
"Obviously it's never been done before, and I realize not every team would be interested in something like this. I think it's a matter of who's progressive enough to think about it. Who would take the chance?"
That's easy. Jerry.
He's taken more chances than any NFL owner since buying the Cowboys in 1989. It's not even close.
Heck, his whole life has been based on taking chances, whether it's drilling for oil or picking Barry Switzer as one of the 500 coaches he thought could lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl after the Jimmy-Jerry saga.
Jerry has always been a visionary when it comes to the NFL, whether we're talking stadium marketing deals or finding salary-cap loopholes so he could sign players such as Deion Sanders.
Jason Garrett is the NFL's highest-paid offensive coordinator at $3 million per season, and Hudson Houck is the league's highest-paid offensive line coach at $1 million per season.
Jerry shouldn't mind spending $300,000 or so for a penalty coach.
For years, the Cowboys were the only team with a full-time kicking coach until Bill Parcells decided Steve Hoffman provided the kickers with more excuses than help and declined to retain him after his contract expired.
How much would Jerry have paid to have Hoffman last season, when Nick Folk struggled and the Cowboys found themselves relying on Shaun Suisham in the playoffs?
This is no different.
Jerry could hire Pereira as a full-time assistant. Or a consultant who spends training camp with the team and shows up regularly to give insight on officials and the things players do that make it more likely an official will call a penalty.
The Cowboys produce a report on the officials for each game and what penalties they're likely to call based on history, and Pereira could supply invaluable information on individual crews.
It couldn't hurt.
The Cowboys tied for third with Philadelphia and Baltimore in the NFL with 115 penalties last season, three penalties behind league leader Green Bay. Dallas led the NFL in penalty yardage.
In 2008, the Cowboys led the league in penalties, while finishing second in yardage. Don't blame Wade Phillips for this.
Dallas ranked fifth in penalty yardage in 2006, Parcells' final season. The Cowboys were fifth in penalty yardage in 2002 under Dave Campo, and they led the league in penalties and yardage in 1999 under Chan Gailey.
Gailey punished the players – even Troy Aikman – with penalty laps for miscues during practice. Parcells yelled a lot when he wasn't saying, "I don't coach penalties," and two seasons ago, Phillips had his players sign letters that they wouldn't get retaliatory personal fouls.
None of those tactics worked. This will.
All Jerry needs to do is pick up the phone and write the check.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/032610dnspotaylorcowboys.45e2670.html
