Every good front office should have a clear plan in advance of every season

[Bobhaze]

In the NFL, waiting to sign players you know you will eventually sign to a new contract is crazy. Prices for players you want (and other teams would want too) will not go down unless an unforeseen major injury or serious crime occurs. Waiting is expensive. Time is literally money.

Heres my big point: Every good front office should have a plan in advance of every season, knowing exactly which players are in their plans and which ones are not. Jerry is famous for saying he’s “comfortable with ambiguity“, which is great for an entrepreneurial business, but bad for running a pro football team.
Does the Jones front office even know what they want? This idea of “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether or not to sign guys for the future is bad planning. As the old saying goes, “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

Here‘s some examples of planning and decisions this FO should have made by now:

• Do you want Cedee Lamb to be a Cowboy in the next 4-5 years? If the answer is yes, sign him now. If not trade him. We know exactly what his market value is. He will get either exactly what Jefferson got or more. NOT LESS. It’s not complicated. Stephen Jones will not win some negotiation war in this. Period. Want Lamb or not?
• Is Dak in this team’s future plans or not? If not trade him. (Yes I know the no trade clause is there but if Dak knows he’s not in their future he WILL accept a trade and make a ton of money elsewhere) This team has 8 years of evidence of what Dak is and isn’t. Make a freaking decision. If he is in the team’s plans, extending him actually gives them cap maneuverability. If he’s not in their plans, move on and start planning for the next franchise QB. Truth is they don’t know how to do this.
• You want Parsons in the future? He would be a lot cheaper to extend now than in a year or two.

What the Jones boys are doing this off-season is just stupid. You either have a clear plan or not. If these guys knew what they were doing, we would have had a very different off-season.

 

[fivetwos]

This organization is run by Jerry Jones’ ego, which right now is bruised because he probably feels as if he hasn’t gotten enough return on rewarding players so he isn’t currently up for extensions. No argument from the kid in that regard. He would rather keep the signing bonus money longer and count the interest.

If the plan is to not sign these guys, then fine, but they should be traded if that’s the case (with Parsons and Lamb anyway).

What’s really going on? They have no idea WHAT to do, so they do nothing.

 

[KingCorcoran]

In the NFL, waiting to sign players you know you will eventually sign to a new contract is crazy. Prices for players you want (and other teams would want too) will not go down unless an unforeseen major injury or serious crime occurs. Waiting is expensive. Time is literally money.

Heres my big point: Every good front office should have a plan in advance of every season, knowing exactly which players are in their plans and which ones are not. Jerry is famous for saying he’s “comfortable with ambiguity“, which is great for an entrepreneurial business, but bad for running a pro football team.
Does the Jones front office even know what they want? This idea of “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether or not to sign guys for the future is bad planning. As the old saying goes, “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

Here‘s some examples of planning and decisions this FO should have made by now:

• Do you want Cedee Lamb to be a Cowboy in the next 4-5 years? If the answer is yes, sign him now. If not trade him. We know exactly what his market value is. He will get either exactly what Jefferson got or more. NOT LESS. It’s not complicated. Stephen Jones will not win some negotiation war in this. Period. Want Lamb or not?
• Is Dak in this team’s future plans or not? If not trade him. (Yes I know the no trade clause is there but if Dak knows he’s not in their future he WILL accept a trade and make a ton of money elsewhere) This team has 8 years of evidence of what Dak is and isn’t. Make a freaking decision. If he is in the team’s plans, extending him actually gives them cap maneuverability. If he’s not in their plans, move on and start planning for the next franchise QB. Truth is they don’t know how to do this.
• You want Parsons in the future? He would be a lot cheaper to extend now than in a year or two.

What the Jones boys are doing this off-season is just stupid. You either have a clear plan or not. If these guys knew what they were doing, we would have had a very different off-season.

Well articulated. I don’t agree with Dak would accept a trade at this point. The NFLPA has certainly discussed his upcoming free agency with Dak and France. They have to be planning, too. They see what top basketball and baseball players can get paid as free agents in leagues with a soft cap. The NFL’s salary cap acts as a control over big stars’ pay. He NFLPA will be prepared with what that cap is worth to owners well ahead of discussion of the next CBA. They’ll use the owners desire to keep a hard cap for concessions. Roster size is much different than the NBA and MLB, but a view to what happens when a productive player is a free agent will make their position strong. More players will be asking for NTC/no tag language in their contracts to accomplish what Dak has. It was a pertinent point from Hurts’ agent when she negotiated with Philadelphia. And she got it for him. Perhaps Dak would accept a trade as a one season rental for a team, but that won’t garner much in trade. For Dak it’s either a very significant deal with Dallas or it’s free agency.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Agreed. Not being able to properly make a decision on a player after years 3 & 4 in the NFL is a failure of a GMs ability to evaluate a player.

If you don’t feel a player is worth the market value then it’s better to move on a year early than a year late to maximize the return.

The NFL with the cap structure is really set up to be ran like a small to mid market MLB team would. The cowboys do this in a lot of ways…build through the draft, will bring back a few top guys but are willing to let players walk, limit FA bidding wars, etc. The part they really don’t embrace though is a willingness to use the trade market to their advantage.

This could go for a guy like Lamb or Parsons if you don’t want to lock them up long term but also I even look back to a guy like Dorrance Armstrong. Granted there is a good chance the cowboys will net a comp pick from him leaving trading a cheap 9 sack player a year before he walks probably gets you a 2nd/3rd round pick to use during the 2023 draft. It’s easy to cherry pick drafts after the fact but that could have been a pick that could have landed us an opportunity to fill another need in a tank dell, achane, etc. and have under contract through 2026.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Jerry is completely indecisive and that is proof he’s not capable.

 

[Bullflop]

If the Cowboys' FO has a plan, they're certainly doing a good job of keeping it a secret. Obviously, their ego is badly bruised by the fact that they've expressed such confidence in Dak and it hasn't paid off in nearly the manner that they had hoped it might. They seem to be awaiting the oncoming of their TC and the preseason to provide them a clue as to what course to follow, in its results. That's what I'm sensing at this juncture.

Of course, I'm no more a mind reader than anyone else hereabouts, but let's just wait to see if that's anywhere near approaching the truth, shall we? Right now, it's a mystery, that's for doggone sure! Expect the unexpected . . . scary thought, I know.

 

[Bobhaze]

If the Cowboys' FO has a plan, they're certainly doing a good job of keeping it a secret. Obviously, their ego is badly bruised by the fact that they've expressed such confidence in Dak and it hasn't paid off in nearly the manner that they had hoped it might. They seem to be awaiting the oncoming of their TC and the preseason to provide them a clue as to what course to follow, in its results. That's what I'm sensing at this juncture.

Of course, I'm no more a mind reader than anyone else hereabouts, but let's just wait to see if that's anywhere near approaching the truth, shall we? Right now, it's a mystery, that's for doggone sure! Expect the unexpected . . . scary thought, I know.

It’s interesting you mentioned not being a “mind reader” because with this FO it’s been a mysterious offseason I doubt any front office with their jobs on the line would ever do.

 

[Rockport]

In the NFL, waiting to sign players you know you will eventually sign to a new contract is crazy. Prices for players you want (and other teams would want too) will not go down unless an unforeseen major injury or serious crime occurs. Waiting is expensive. Time is literally money.

Heres my big point: Every good front office should have a plan in advance of every season, knowing exactly which players are in their plans and which ones are not. Jerry is famous for saying he’s “comfortable with ambiguity“, which is great for an entrepreneurial business, but bad for running a pro football team.
Does the Jones front office even know what they want? This idea of “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether or not to sign guys for the future is bad planning. As the old saying goes, “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

Here‘s some examples of planning and decisions this FO should have made by now:

• Do you want Cedee Lamb to be a Cowboy in the next 4-5 years? If the answer is yes, sign him now. If not trade him. We know exactly what his market value is. He will get either exactly what Jefferson got or more. NOT LESS. It’s not complicated. Stephen Jones will not win some negotiation war in this. Period. Want Lamb or not?
• Is Dak in this team’s future plans or not? If not trade him. (Yes I know the no trade clause is there but if Dak knows he’s not in their future he WILL accept a trade and make a ton of money elsewhere) This team has 8 years of evidence of what Dak is and isn’t. Make a freaking decision. If he is in the team’s plans, extending him actually gives them cap maneuverability. If he’s not in their plans, move on and start planning for the next franchise QB. Truth is they don’t know how to do this.
• You want Parsons in the future? He would be a lot cheaper to extend now than in a year or two.

What the Jones boys are doing this off-season is just stupid. You either have a clear plan or not. If these guys knew what they were doing, we would have had a very different off-season.

They have a clear plan. The fans just don’t like it.

 

[fivetwos]

Jerry is completely indecisive and that is proof he’s not capable.

Also emotional, loyal to a fault, and fully driven by stubbornness and ego.

 

[Bullflop]

They have a clear plan. The fans just don’t like it.

I guess that's possible, although, I sure do with they'd supply some kind of information as to what it might be. I'm guessing it's to wait for TC and the preseason to come up with some heretofore untold course of action. Seems like they're getting their kicks out of keeping us in "delicious anticipation of what's to come", or something! I think I might like it if it included something reasonably promising but, that's just me. Sigh . . .

 

[CT Dal Fan]

They have a clear plan. The fans just don’t like it.

What is the plan then?

If it's to win now, they should have extended Dak and Lamb. This would have opened up cap space allowing for more free agent pickups that would actually improve their playoff chances.

If it's to build for the future, they should have bit the bullet and let Dak and some other veterans go, be it by trade or release. Instead, with those guys coming back, they will be drafting in the 20's again next April and have no chance to start over at quarterback.

Basically, the Cowboys have done nothing either way except allow a roster that was not good enough the past three years to get even worse.

If that is their clear plan, you are right, a lot of us don't like it.

 

[Praxit]

....maybe they are tired of paying people and not winning anything..lol. This scenario has been the norm for years in Dallas.

Pay players big money, and still the drought continues. ......just saying..

 

[Bullflop]

What is the plan then?

If it's to win now, they should have extended Dak and Lamb. This would have opened up cap space allowing for more free agent pickups that would actually improve their playoff chances.

If it's to build for the future, they should have bit the bullet and let Dak and some other veterans go, be it by trade or release. Instead, with those guys coming back, they will be drafting in the 20's again next April and have no chance to start over at quarterback.

Basically, the Cowboys have done nothing either way except allow a roster that was not good enough the past three years to get even worse.

If that is their clear plan, you are right, a lot of us don't like it.

Yep -- they're not proactive, obviously. We all knew that, but it'd sure be comforting if they had something concrete to share w/us!
As much as I hate to say it, it really seems somewhat likely that they aren't nearly certain themselves as to what the heck to do . . .

 

[Rockport]

What is the plan then?

If it's to win now, they should have extended Dak and Lamb. This would have opened up cap space allowing for more free agent pickups that would actually improve their playoff chances.

If it's to build for the future, they should have bit the bullet and let Dak and some other veterans go, be it by trade or release. Instead, with those guys coming back, they will be drafting in the 20's again next April and have no chance to start over at quarterback.

Basically, the Cowboys have done nothing either way except allow a roster that was not good enough the past three years to get even worse.

If that is their clear plan, you are right, a lot of us don't like it.

I don’t know what the plan is other than whatever it is, the haters will hate it. And they HAVE improved the team but again, people are blinded by their agenda’s so refuse to see it.

 

[Coogiguy03]

In the NFL, waiting to sign players you know you will eventually sign to a new contract is crazy. Prices for players you want (and other teams would want too) will not go down unless an unforeseen major injury or serious crime occurs. Waiting is expensive. Time is literally money.

Heres my big point: Every good front office should have a plan in advance of every season, knowing exactly which players are in their plans and which ones are not. Jerry is famous for saying he’s “comfortable with ambiguity“, which is great for an entrepreneurial business, but bad for running a pro football team.
Does the Jones front office even know what they want? This idea of “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether or not to sign guys for the future is bad planning. As the old saying goes, “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

Here‘s some examples of planning and decisions this FO should have made by now:

• Do you want Cedee Lamb to be a Cowboy in the next 4-5 years? If the answer is yes, sign him now. If not trade him. We know exactly what his market value is. He will get either exactly what Jefferson got or more. NOT LESS. It’s not complicated. Stephen Jones will not win some negotiation war in this. Period. Want Lamb or not?
• Is Dak in this team’s future plans or not? If not trade him. (Yes I know the no trade clause is there but if Dak knows he’s not in their future he WILL accept a trade and make a ton of money elsewhere) This team has 8 years of evidence of what Dak is and isn’t. Make a freaking decision. If he is in the team’s plans, extending him actually gives them cap maneuverability. If he’s not in their plans, move on and start planning for the next franchise QB. Truth is they don’t know how to do this.
• You want Parsons in the future? He would be a lot cheaper to extend now than in a year or two.

What the Jones boys are doing this off-season is just stupid. You either have a clear plan or not. If these guys knew what they were doing, we would have had a very different off-season.

I think their plan is as usual, keep this going to have something to talk about the cowboys for, as stupid as this sounds, they love the attention. I don't see what's the hold up. What are they gaining by complaining about money, but end up paying more money due to waiting around

 

[blueblood70]

I believe a bunch of amateurs in here judging whether they have a plan or not have a plan or whether that plan is good or not without seeing it actually unfold on the field because that's where it starts these dudes got their fifth-year option sign that is moving ahead in one Micah Parsons and lamb... We call that a bookmark and they're going to get to it eventually, but everyone keeps forgetting they probably are not going to give them contracts because their big plan is to figure out whether they're keeping Prescott Prescott's deal or no deal is holding up the future plans of this team because why would you sign all these dudes to record-breaking contracts without having a quarterback?

These deals don't get done without negotiations you can't allow players to just demand money and give them a blank check and tell them whenever they want go ahead and write their own contracts & it at the bottom and we'll go ahead and file them with the league that is not what happens just because they know the market which is just recently happened and we still have months before the first game other teams have done this I mean the Kansas City Chiefs didn't get Chris Jones deal done till a week before the season starts they knew how much he wanted he held out all off season this happens all over the league you don't know if they have a plan because you don't live there you don't work there you actually have no idea what they're doing or not doing and it drives some of you crazy because you think you're experts...

Let me splash you in with a cold water dose of reality.​

​

none of you are experts, none of you know what you're talking about except for you're giving opinions on what you've seen in the past and you're saying you can use that as evidence for what's happening now and in the future...​

​

I'm telling you you don't have an idea whether they have a plan or not,​

​

I see the hold up being the agents and the players more than the front office, I see the hold up being the negotiations but the biggest point of contention right now is Prescott's deal will he get signed because the rest of it will fall in place including probably Mike McCarthy, which I'm tired of seeing the write ups on how he should have been fired and lame duck coaches don't do this and don't do that and yet they do we have proof that Jason Garrett was a lame duck coach and earned his way into a contract...​

​

we have proof that players play on one year deals to prove it and they usually have what one calls a contract year and everyone see beware of the contract year because they do so well well,​

​

why don't everybody get on board with the fact that this is what the front office plan is they want to see more from the players and coaches so they've put an order a priority on this and I believe it all starts with Prescott and that's a huge deal to deal with..​

​

It might happen right before the season, I've seen this happen before all over the league the chips will all fall when they fall but these guys are all signed why are we worried about 2025 with 2024 these guys are signed and my expectations are all starting game one...​

​

who cares whether they have a long term contract or not, since when did it become a fan issue the team is actually signed for 2024 and we don't know what's legitimately going to happen until the games start and who shows up and who doesn't and then we'll have a better outlook on the season but for me it's about the games when the real games start playing and the real players starters role players everything is set, then we could discuss it..​

​

if not you guys are just creating more drama so there's something to talk about during these dry days of NFL football,​

​

I get it and don't come at me some like I don't know what I'm talking about this is content creation at its best we need to keep everything fresh, so we just keep saying things even though it's all redundant ,you don't like the Jones family, you don't like the way they do things and yet here you are talking about their team over and over and over just like everyone else you use them in order to keep your whatever you want to call it it's not a job but your content creation and the site that hired you or chose you to keep the site fresh and moving..​

​

so, you have to start things that are hot button topics to keep it going...kudos it's like eating air when you are hungry..​

​

​

 

[rags747]

I believe a bunch of amateurs in here judging whether they have a plan or not have a plan or whether that plan is good or not without seeing it actually unfold on the field because that's where it starts these dudes got their fifth-year option sign that is moving ahead in one Micah Parsons and lamb... We call that a bookmark and they're going to get to it eventually, but everyone keeps forgetting they probably are not going to give them contracts because their big plan is to figure out whether they're keeping Prescott Prescott's deal or no deal is holding up the future plans of this team because why would you sign all these dudes to record-breaking contracts without having a quarterback?

These deals don't get done without negotiations you can't allow players to just demand money and give them a blank check and tell them whenever they want go ahead and write their own contracts & it at the bottom and we'll go ahead and file them with the league that is not what happens just because they know the market which is just recently happened and we still have months before the first game other teams have done this I mean the Kansas City Chiefs didn't get Chris Jones deal done till a week before the season starts they knew how much he wanted he held out all off season this happens all over the league you don't know if they have a plan because you don't live there you don't work there you actually have no idea what they're doing or not doing and it drives some of you crazy because you think you're experts...

Let me splash you in with a cold water dose of reality.​

​

none of you are experts, none of you know what you're talking about except for you're giving opinions on what you've seen in the past and you're saying you can use that as evidence for what's happening now and in the future...​

​

I'm telling you you don't have an idea whether they have a plan or not,​

​

I see the hold up being the agents and the players more than the front office, I see the hold up being the negotiations but the biggest point of contention right now is Prescott's deal will he get signed because the rest of it will fall in place including probably Mike McCarthy, which I'm tired of seeing the write ups on how he should have been fired and lame duck coaches don't do this and don't do that and yet they do we have proof that Jason Garrett was a lame duck coach and earned his way into a contract...​

​

we have proof that players play on one year deals to prove it and they usually have what one calls a contract year and everyone see beware of the contract year because they do so well well,​

​

why don't everybody get on board with the fact that this is what the front office plan is they want to see more from the players and coaches so they've put an order a priority on this and I believe it all starts with Prescott and that's a huge deal to deal with..​

​

It might happen right before the season, I've seen this happen before all over the league the chips will all fall when they fall but these guys are all signed why are we worried about 2025 with 2024 these guys are signed and my expectations are all starting game one...​

​

who cares whether they have a long term contract or not, since when did it become a fan issue the team is actually signed for 2024 and we don't know what's legitimately going to happen until the games start and who shows up and who doesn't and then we'll have a better outlook on the season but for me it's about the games when the real games start playing and the real players starters role players everything is set, then we could discuss it..​

​

if not you guys are just creating more drama so there's something to talk about during these dry days of NFL football,​

​

I get it and don't come at me some like I don't know what I'm talking about this is content creation at its best we need to keep everything fresh, so we just keep saying things even though it's all redundant ,you don't like the Jones family, you don't like the way they do things and yet here you are talking about their team over and over and over just like everyone else you use them in order to keep your whatever you want to call it it's not a job but your content creation and the site that hired you or chose you to keep the site fresh and moving..​

​

so, you have to start things that are hot button topics to keep it going...kudos it's like eating air when you are hungry..​

​

​

Agreed. It’s like the Beverly Hills homeless guy telling the guy who lives in a $15m house what he’s doing wrong. Total nonsense…

 

[Diehardblues]

I don’t know what the plan is other than whatever it is, the haters will hate it. And they HAVE improved the team but again, people are blinded by their agenda’s so refuse to see it.

Is it possible the blindness goes both ways?

If the haters hate the plan regardless the homers support it regardless too.

 

[Diehardblues]

Agreed. It’s like the Beverly Hills homeless guy telling the guy who lives in a $15m house what he’s doing wrong. Total nonsense…

We don’t have to be mechanics to know something has malfunctioned.

As fans we can offer criticism without offering solutions.

 

[JBS]

There is no plan here for tomorrow. Forget next season