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

[JoeKing]

I have never claimed to be anything more than a Cowboys fan with opinions on an opinion forum about the Cowboys. I appreciate that you disagree with my opinion. No problem at all Joe.

I apologize for attacking you rather than your post. That's not my intention. I'm more interested in you defending your post. Let's hear it.

 

[Bobhaze]

I apologize for attacking you rather than your post. That's not my intention. I'm more interested in you defending your post. Let's hear it.

No problem Joe. I stand by my OP. What do I need to defend that I haven’t stated?

 

[JoeKing]

After 28 years ......... Patience is the last thing this front office should be asking for.

Then you are looking at it from a whole other perspective. I reset every offseason. I never assume the approach to the season runs over from one season to the next. It's a different team with different players and different coaches. Different salary caps and different contracts expire each season. This season is certainly different than previous seasons when it comes to the business of the Cowboys. I'm still preaching patience.

 

[Sydla]

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 no plan. There is no philosophy. GMs across the league often have philosophies on how to roster build, etc. The Jones do not other than stiffing DT. They collect players/stars. That's it.

Nothing crystalized that more than the whole Murray/Elliott saga. When Murray was up for a new contract, Jerry and Stephen hit the airwaves saying they had a limit on what they would pay Murray because their research showed TBs weren't worth the investment - that they often declined faster than other positions, production dropped off after certain usage, etc. They were basically justifying why they would only go so high with Murray. And guess what? It actually made some sense.

They patch worked TB the next year and the team struggled. But not because of the TB, but because the QB was hurt and they played with slop at QB for much of the year. A retread ran for over 1000 yards on that team.

But Jerry panicked and then next offseason, they did a complete 180 on their "philosophy" and used the 4th pick on a TB. And then, a few years later, made that TB the highest paid TB in NFL history at that time. All that "research" went right out the window. Why? Because they have no guiding principles or philosophies when it comes to building a team. Jerry loves stars, drooled when a flashy Elliott was available at the 4th pick and Jerry felt the need to justify how great a pick that was by signing Elliott to that massive deal.

They don't know what they are doing and never will.

 

[Sydla]

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.

Improved the team how?

Honest question.

They got worse at DT, which is amazing. TB is worse - no Elliott isn't better than Pollard. LB? Their solution is an aging Kendricks. But he's a body so I'll grant you LB is "improved". That's about it. They are worse at CB because their depth is down with Gilmore being gone. OL? Hard to tell. I like Guyton but the likelihood he comes in and gives us what Tyron was giving us is a reach at this point.

They are basically counting on draft picks to make impacts which is a very risky proposition. Other than Cowboys homers, you'd be hard pressed to find any unbiased analyst or expert that would conclude the Jones' have built a roster right now that is BETTER than the one that finished the 2023 season.

 

[MyFairLady]

Then you are looking at it from a whole other perspective. I reset every offseason. I never assume the approach to the season runs over from one season to the next. It's a different team with different players and different coaches. Different salary caps and different contracts expire each season. This season is certainly different than previous seasons when it comes to the business of the Cowboys. I'm still preaching patience.

If you pay close enough attention it is always the exact same thing.

 

[zrinkill]

Then you are looking at it from a whole other perspective. I reset every offseason. I never assume the approach to the season runs over from one season to the next. It's a different team with different players and different coaches. Different salary caps and different contracts expire each season. This season is certainly different than previous seasons when it comes to the business of the Cowboys. I'm still preaching patience.

But its the same Jerry Jones

 

[MyFairLady]

They have no plan. There is no philosophy. GMs across the league often have philosophies on how to roster build, etc. The Jones do not other than stiffing DT. They collect players/stars. That's it.

Nothing crystalized that more than the whole Murray/Elliott saga. When Murray was up for a new contract, Jerry and Stephen hit the airwaves saying they had a limit on what they would pay Murray because their research showed TBs weren't worth the investment - that they often declined faster than other positions, production dropped off after certain usage, etc. They were basically justifying why they would only go so high with Murray. And guess what? It actually made some sense.

They patch worked TB the next year and the team struggled. But not because of the TB, but because the QB was hurt and they played with slop at QB for much of the year. A retread ran for over 1000 yards on that team.

But Jerry panicked and then next offseason, they did a complete 180 on their "philosophy" and used the 4th pick on a TB. And then, a few years later, made that TB the highest paid TB in NFL history at that time. All that "research" went right out the window. Why? Because they have no guiding principles or philosophies when it comes to building a team. Jerry loves stars, drooled when a flashy Elliott was available at the 4th pick and Jerry felt the need to justify how great a pick that was by signing Elliott to that massive deal.

They don't know what they are doing and never will.

100% agree. The same crazy mood swings happen with pretty much everything else. We have a front office than never ever changes yet there is no stability whatsoever.

 

[Sydla]

If you pay close enough attention it is always the exact same thing.

They've been cheap in FA for years. This year, however, they were particularly cheap.

People keep saying fans should be patient, etc. Why? What have Jerry and Stephen done to earn patience at this point?

It's almost like they have resigned themselves to this being a lost year out of their own cheapness (like not firing McCarthy because, in part, Jerry hates "dead money" to coaches). They whined about how they couldn't sign FAs because they have their own guys to pay and then literally sign ZERO of their own top guys. Look, if you want to cry cap poor and worry about having the space to bring back Dak and Lamb and Parsons and a few others, ignore FAs and then start signing these guys, that's one thing.

Crying cap poor and then sitting on your hands while you watch the contracts for these guys get more and more expensive? LOL, Jerry with that gaslighting.

 

[Chasing6]

And every good team should have a true GM.

Or just a GM.

 

[Stash]

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.

It’s clear to me that the Joneses are reactive and not proactive. They follow the trends, they don’t set them.

They react to what other teams do, they no longer proactively pursue any and all avenues for competitive advantage the way the original team did.

And they also react to their own mistakes, making major philosophical changes on the fly, based on what happens with one particular player.

From setting the running back market two years too early with Zeke while the rest of the league was cutting back on spending on the position, to now refusing to invest anything significant in the role. From one extreme to another.

 

[Bobhaze]

It’s clear to me that the Joneses are reactive and not proactive. They follow the trends, they don’t set them.

They react to what other teams do, they no longer proactively pursue any and all avenues for competitive advantage the way the original team did.

And they also react to their own mistakes, making major philosophical changes on the fly, based on what happens with one particular player.

From setting the running back market two years too early with Zeke while the rest of the league was cutting back on spending on the position, to now refusing to invest anything significant in the role. From one extreme to another.

I agree 100%. This offseason seems like a perfect example of a reactive response to a disappointing end to 2023.

 

[MyFairLady]

Not only are they strictly reactive IMHO the worst part is that they react emotionally. They run the team as though they are fans because that is basically what they are. They are not professionals who need to deliver a service or they could lose their jobs. They are billionaire fan boys playing with their favorite toy. Honestly I think after last year they may have even started to get tired of their toy. They would never sell it though no matter how tired of it they got because they are addicted to the fame and attention but perhaps if they get tired enough they would hire someone else to run it out of sheer laziness.

 

[Stash]

I agree 100%. This offseason seems like a perfect example of a reactive response to a disappointing end to 2023.

And running back is one of the most obvious examples where they have no consistent philosophy or plan whatsoever.

From Demarco Murray being a mid round draft pick and then leading the league in rushing.

“We’re not investing premium draft picks on running backs.”

“We’re also not investing top dollar to keep them.”

Then they turn around and use the #4 overall pick on one.

Then they pay top of the market money to that guy two years earlier than they had to.

When that predictably goes bad, they do another 180 and go back to no investment in the position.

No plan, no philosophy, just short term, short sighted reactions.

 

[kskboys]

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.

Ooooooooo, good stuff!!!!!!!!

We have seriously never had a plan. Jerry absolutely loves to shoot from the hip, and that is something a GM simply cannot afford to do if he wants to keep his job. Ahem.

And I have just figured out why I can't figure out what we are doing. Because they don't know either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bobhaze]

And running back is one of the most obvious examples where they have no consistent philosophy or plan whatsoever.

From Demarco Murray being a mid round draft pick and then leading the league in rushing.

“We’re not investing premium draft picks on running backs.”

“We’re also not investing top dollar to keep them.”

Then they turn around and use the #4 overall pick on one.

Then they pay top of the market money to that guy two years earlier than they had to.

When that predictably goes bad, they do another 180 and go back to no investment in the position.

No plan, no philosophy, just short term, short sighted reactions.

It’s called fantasy football.

 

[kskboys]

And running back is one of the most obvious examples where they have no consistent philosophy or plan whatsoever.

From Demarco Murray being a mid round draft pick and then leading the league in rushing.

“We’re not investing premium draft picks on running backs.”

“We’re also not investing top dollar to keep them.”

Then they turn around and use the #4 overall pick on one.

Then they pay top of the market money to that guy two years earlier than they had to.

When that predictably goes bad, they do another 180 and go back to no investment in the position.

No plan, no philosophy, just short term, short sighted reactions.

This post should be memo'd and sent to Jerry every day.

We've always been strictly reactive, and we've always run personnel as a fan would. Jerry's reaction to the 2023 ending is very much like the posters on the game day threads who freak out at every little thing.

Remember the 09 season winding down? Our OL couldn't block a kindergardener by the end of the season, and it was obvious 2 or 3 of them were simply done. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, what did we do? Gave up a 3rd rounder to move up 2 or 3 spots to draft Dez, then took a 6th round OL whose balance was so bad he couldnt' stay on his feet. I mean, you cannot even make up this much pure incompetence.

 

[kskboys]

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.​

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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...​

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

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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...​

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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,​

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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..​

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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...​

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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..​

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

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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..​

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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..​

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Hey, I got through your first sentence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, because you're not a doctor, if you get your leg cut off you wouldn't admit it was cut off until a doctor told you?

I mean seriously, did you just awaken from a coma? This has been going on for decades. Maybe you're a 12 year old youngster?

 

[kskboys]

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.

Kettle, pot, black.

 

[kskboys]

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…

Or you're too lazy to analyze so you crapp on those who do.