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(Warning: Jerry Jones fans cover your eyes. This aint pretty. It's Bleacher Report, so take it with a grain of salt).
Jerry Jones' Influence is Dallas Cowboys' Biggest Obstacle In 2009
There are many questions surrounding the 2009 Dallas Cowboys.
Can Tony Romo finally lead them to a playoff victory? Can Roy Williams step up and become the dominating receiver he was projected to be coming out of college? Is the supposedly talent-rich Dallas defense going to coalesce into a dominating unit?
However, the major question facing "America's Team" is whether omnipresent owner Jerry Jones plans to run the team as he has in years past or begin to change his ways and become less of presence on and off the field. If it's latter, that's good news for fans of the silver and blue. If not, more trouble lies ahead for one of the NFL's most recognizable franchises.
The team's history of the last 20 years had shown that Jones' influence, when not countered by the presence of strong head coach, has done nothing but create a circus-like atmosphere, one which is discipline disappears and prima donnas thrive.
When Jones first bought the franchise, he fired Tom Landry in manner that left many disgusted by the action. In truth, he was left holding the bag for that decision — a justified one based on Landry's coaching performance of the previous three seasons — by the outgoing owner Bum Bright, who should have done the dirty deed and then sold the franchise, allowing Jones to start with a clean slate.
Jones did more good than harm in dealing with the falling, which included bringing aboard Jimmy Johnson, a hard-nosed disciplinarian with a keen eye for talent. Johnson rebuilt the Cowboys into a unit resembling his University of Miami Hurricanes, a cocky, confident bunch who's speed and stamina were unmatched by any opponent.
By 1992, they were ready to seize the Super Bowl crown, which they did by walloping the Buffalo Bills. A year later, Dallas beat those same Bills to retain the title.
However, by that time, though, Jones' ego has become as powerful as the Cowboys themselves. Folks around the country got a glimpse of it early in the 1993 season, when he provoked Emmitt Smith's contract holdout by lowballing on an offer.
Only after Dallas started 0-2 did Jones offer Smith, the NFL's leading rusher in 1991 and 1992, a legitimate salary. After the team's second Super Bowl win, Jones seemed to have convinced himself that he built the Cowboys, even blowing off Johnson's contributions with talk about how "500 other coaches" could have won with such talented players.
He seemed to have forgotten, or ignored, that Johnson was the primary architect behind the Cowboys' reconstruction.
Since Johnson's departure, Cowboys fans have been treated to the likes of Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and now Wade Phillips, each of whom was or is willing to be subserviant to Jones. Only Bill Parcells — a large ego within an even bigger body — was able to keep Jones in check, if for just a little while.
When Jones is fully in charge, the Cowboys appear to lack direction, often making personnel moves that seem done to sell tickets (the Terrell Owens signing) and not with the intent of building a Super Bowl champion.
It's no surprise, either, that Dallas' off-the-field problems are magnified when there's no strong presence on the sideline. I'm not saying that Michael Irvin's drug arrest or Pacman Jones' suspension wouldn't have happened under Johnson or Parcells, but I don't believe either coach would have coddled those players the way Jones did, especially Pacman, who was allowed to return late in 2008 before finally being let go in the offseason. Johnson likely would have brought back Irvin, a Hall-of-Fame receiver, but not before verbally taking him out the woodshed.
Another irksome aspect of Jones's personality is his desire to rewrite team history by insisting the he's always has been the primary force behind the Cowboys' draft.
Funny, isn't it, that when Johnson and Parcells were on the scene, Dallas' drafts were solid and each team was built the way the coach wanted. After each departed, the Cowboys' drafts went downhill.
To borrow and old cliché, a leopard can't change his spots, and Jones likely doesn't plan altering his anytime soon. He remains the Cowboys' biggest obstacle to any major success, and probably won't be moving out of the way anytime soon.
Jerry Jones' Influence is Dallas Cowboys' Biggest Obstacle In 2009
There are many questions surrounding the 2009 Dallas Cowboys.
Can Tony Romo finally lead them to a playoff victory? Can Roy Williams step up and become the dominating receiver he was projected to be coming out of college? Is the supposedly talent-rich Dallas defense going to coalesce into a dominating unit?
However, the major question facing "America's Team" is whether omnipresent owner Jerry Jones plans to run the team as he has in years past or begin to change his ways and become less of presence on and off the field. If it's latter, that's good news for fans of the silver and blue. If not, more trouble lies ahead for one of the NFL's most recognizable franchises.
The team's history of the last 20 years had shown that Jones' influence, when not countered by the presence of strong head coach, has done nothing but create a circus-like atmosphere, one which is discipline disappears and prima donnas thrive.
When Jones first bought the franchise, he fired Tom Landry in manner that left many disgusted by the action. In truth, he was left holding the bag for that decision — a justified one based on Landry's coaching performance of the previous three seasons — by the outgoing owner Bum Bright, who should have done the dirty deed and then sold the franchise, allowing Jones to start with a clean slate.
Jones did more good than harm in dealing with the falling, which included bringing aboard Jimmy Johnson, a hard-nosed disciplinarian with a keen eye for talent. Johnson rebuilt the Cowboys into a unit resembling his University of Miami Hurricanes, a cocky, confident bunch who's speed and stamina were unmatched by any opponent.
By 1992, they were ready to seize the Super Bowl crown, which they did by walloping the Buffalo Bills. A year later, Dallas beat those same Bills to retain the title.
However, by that time, though, Jones' ego has become as powerful as the Cowboys themselves. Folks around the country got a glimpse of it early in the 1993 season, when he provoked Emmitt Smith's contract holdout by lowballing on an offer.
Only after Dallas started 0-2 did Jones offer Smith, the NFL's leading rusher in 1991 and 1992, a legitimate salary. After the team's second Super Bowl win, Jones seemed to have convinced himself that he built the Cowboys, even blowing off Johnson's contributions with talk about how "500 other coaches" could have won with such talented players.
He seemed to have forgotten, or ignored, that Johnson was the primary architect behind the Cowboys' reconstruction.
Since Johnson's departure, Cowboys fans have been treated to the likes of Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and now Wade Phillips, each of whom was or is willing to be subserviant to Jones. Only Bill Parcells — a large ego within an even bigger body — was able to keep Jones in check, if for just a little while.
When Jones is fully in charge, the Cowboys appear to lack direction, often making personnel moves that seem done to sell tickets (the Terrell Owens signing) and not with the intent of building a Super Bowl champion.
It's no surprise, either, that Dallas' off-the-field problems are magnified when there's no strong presence on the sideline. I'm not saying that Michael Irvin's drug arrest or Pacman Jones' suspension wouldn't have happened under Johnson or Parcells, but I don't believe either coach would have coddled those players the way Jones did, especially Pacman, who was allowed to return late in 2008 before finally being let go in the offseason. Johnson likely would have brought back Irvin, a Hall-of-Fame receiver, but not before verbally taking him out the woodshed.
Another irksome aspect of Jones's personality is his desire to rewrite team history by insisting the he's always has been the primary force behind the Cowboys' draft.
Funny, isn't it, that when Johnson and Parcells were on the scene, Dallas' drafts were solid and each team was built the way the coach wanted. After each departed, the Cowboys' drafts went downhill.
To borrow and old cliché, a leopard can't change his spots, and Jones likely doesn't plan altering his anytime soon. He remains the Cowboys' biggest obstacle to any major success, and probably won't be moving out of the way anytime soon.
