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Let me be up front and blunt, no he hasn't. Some will immediately see this as a defense of Jerry. It isn't.
Almost 3 years ago I posted my thread in the Football 101 series I was doing about how NFL teams, not just the Dallas Cowboys, evaluate talent that they are going to Draft, sign as Free Agents, keep, etc. It caused quite a stir for some reason. Well, with the guys who can't stand my passion for the Cowboys anyway. Some of the things I am going to say now in this thread are going to hopefully illustrate what I said then, and make it clearer how talent evaluation works.
Jerry Jones is and always has been the "Final Say" on all things personnel for the Dallas Cowboys since he took over the team in 1989. Let me make this very clear. Every owner is that. Even when Jimmy was here, Jerry had the "Final Say." What does that really mean? Basically it means that he is going to accept all blame for bad moves. On other NFL Teams where the owner is not the GM, the GM is the guy who ultimately gets blamed for the bad moves. Let me ask you a succinct question. Do you honestly think the owners did not ratify those moves? Don't kid yourselves, of course they did. So, if they had the very same "Final Say," why aren't they blamed for the moves? Actually, they are, but for hiring the GM who takes the blame for the moves. See Dan Snyder for example.
You want the honest truth of why I think Jerry does it his way? I think he can handle the heat when things go wrong, and he doesn't want it aimed at his personnel guys. Please understand something here, every NFL Team has a talent evaluation staff. It isn't one guy. People fret because Jerry Jones listens to Larry Lacewell and Barry Switzer. They are good football guys who he has a relationship with dating back to the early 1960's when he was a player at Arkansas. Jerry also listened to Al Davis. He still listens to Ron Wolf. I do not think these are bad decisions on his part. Sorry, but some of the old dogs of the NFL are smart about football. Why do you think Dick Lebeau, Tom Moore, and Mike Pope are still employed and valued coaches? Because they are good football guys. I am not a fan of Barry, but the man knows football.
Now having said that, this needs to be said, don't for one minute think that Jerry pays more attention to Larry Lacewell than he does Will McClay, or Tom Ciskowski. He doesn't okay? He listens to everyone. How that is bad I don't know. Some people like to say he listens to everyone then does whatever the last person he listened to thinks. What evidence is there to support that theory? I contend there is none.
In fact, the evidence suggests that the team consensus I put forward is the way this team goes. Otherwise you need to explain to me why Johnny Manziel is not a Dallas Cowboy.
In Dallas there has been an identifiable trail for the Talent Evaluation Department. It started with Gil Brandt. When he left with Tom Landry, Bob Ackles took over that role. Bob worked under Gil for 2 years. Larry Lacewell took over for Ackles. Lacewell did not work under Ackles. He came in 1992 at the suggestion of Jimmy Johnson, after he spent a year away from football after stepping down at Arkansas State. Next came Jeff Ireland who worked under Lacewell. Ciskowski worked under Ireland. McClay is a fast riser for us now, but he still works for Ciskowski.
The question here might be, why has Will McClay risen so fast? The answer is he and Jason Garrett think alike. Garrett absolutely relies on the man. They are the same age. I cannot make this any clearer, he still works for Ciskowski, who still works for Jones. The decisions are made by all coming to a consensus for the common good of the team.
Hopefully you're with me so far. I made the claim in that talent evaluation thread that everything revolves around what the Head Coach wants. A couple of people lost their minds over that. I thought it was really funny when I did the podcast with Ted Sundquist that he ratified my "theory." I mean, heck what would a guy who was an actual NFL GM know? Look, it was never a theory. Common sense should tell anyone that every Head Coach is different. They want to do things in different ways. Ask yourself this question. Why would any team hire a guy, and then not try to give him what he wants so he can try to succeed? Exactly, they wouldn't.
That is why I say Jerry Jones hasn't changed. He did everything he could to give Jimmy what he wanted. Same with Barry, Chan, Dave, Bill, Wade, and now Jason. With each hire the Dallas Cowboys changed focus in some way. The guys in the personnel department at Valley Ranch had to adjust to what the Head Coach wanted. For example, Parcells wanted a 3-4 Defense. He got it, and the scouting focus shifted. Now we're back to a 4-3. It has shifted again.
You know how I often say that none of Jerry's ex Head Coaches ratify the media theory that he is a meddling owner? The above is exactly why. I want you to ponder this for a minute. If you were a football coach wouldn't you want to work for a man who does everything he can to get you what you want? These guys recognize that he does this. They appreciate it, and that is why they do not bash him. Not even, the very loquacious and quotable Bill Parcells. Never one to pull punches, he doesn't ratify the theories about Jerry. Why not? Because they do not fit the truth.
So, where does that take us to for today, right now, 2014 (with 2015 coming fast) as Cowboys fans? Jerry Jones is still the Owner, President, and GM of the Dallas Cowboys. He still has the final say on all personnel decisions, just like he always has, just like every other NFL owner ultimately does. He still has a personnel department trying to do their job for the team. Whose team is it?
Financially it belongs to Jerry Jones. Philosophically this is Jason Garrett's team. It was Tom Landry's team. It was Jimmy Johnson's team. It was Barry Switzer's team. It was Chan Gailey's team. It was Dave Campo's team. It was Bill Parcells' team. It was Wade Phillips' team. It has never been Tex Schramm's team. It has never been Jerry the GM's team. Jerry the owner, yes. Not Jerry the GM.
Does he deserve blame then for the down years? The answer is yes. He was, and is, the "Final Say." Is there blame elsewhere as well? The answer is yes, and the lion's share of the blame should fall on the Head Coach, because it is his team, his vision, his focus. The Head Coach is hired by the GM, and thus the GM is also blamed. Jerry isn't Teflon here. It sticks to him.
Winning makes people see the good that you do. Losing makes them see the bad that you do. When Jerry hired Jimmy and fired Tom it was a horrible move...until Jimmy started winning. Ever since Jimmy left people have tried to invent scenarios where Jerry would step aside, park his ego and bring Jimmy and glory back. I'll say it again, hiring Jimmy was a horrible move, until his teams (emphasis on "his") started winning.
Jimmy didn't change. He did adapt. He didn't change when he went to the Dolphins either. So, why didn't he have the same magic there that he did here? Truthfully, he was married to an aging QB who was a legend in that city, and the salary cap free agency period had arrived. What he did in transforming Dallas from laughing stock to Champion could not be replicated in an NFL that had changed. If he had young building blocks to work with, and the time to see it through, I am absolutely convinced Jimmy could have had the same type of success with the Dolphins. Jimmy was not a long term kind of guy. He admits that. I will admit he was a fantastic football coach who got people to buy into his vision.
That last comment folks is the key to our current success. The team has bought in to Jason Garrett's vision. Not Jerry's vision.
I am going to say something that might be a little controversial here. Don't get so hung up on what someone does as a Head Coach at any level as the barometer to their football knowledge. Will McClay was an Arena League Head Coach for the Dallas Desperadoes. Rod Marinelli was Head Coach of the only 0-16 team in NFL History. Jason Garrett's Dad had a horrible record in college football. Do not for one minute let those things jade you about these men and their passion for football. That would be a mistake. Not everyone is a Jimmy Johnson who can have success at both levels. Bud Wilkinson was one of the greatest Head Coaches in NCAA History at Oklahoma. He did not have success with the Cardinals in the NFL. That doesn't mean he wasn't a good football man.
I do not like Dave Campo. Jimmy Johnson did. I submit to you that Jimmy Johnson knows a good football man. Dave Campo is still in coaching. He just wasn't a good Head Football Coach. I like Wade Phillips a lot. He is, in my opinion, a good football man. He is not a good Head Coach. Rod Marinelli is a good football man. Jason Garrett's dad, Jim, was a very good football man. If he wasn't, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm never would have hired him. Jimmy Johnson wouldn't have wanted him kept around. Jerry wouldn't have kept him around.
Jason's Dad is a football encyclopedia. His entire life revolves around football. He bought a house one time simply because of the yard, and how he could use it to coach his boys in football. The house itself was a disaster area that their family had to renovate. It was the yard that made it what he wanted. His sons are all about football. You know about John and Judd. Jim is a High School football coach. One of Jason's sisters is married to a former Dallas Cowboy, LB Harry Doherty, their son (Harry Jr.) was on the Practice Squad as a TE, that brother-in-law is the head of the New Jersey chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes founded by Tom Landry.
Jason Garrett's entire life is and always has been about football. You want to know what has changed for Jerry Jones, the answer is the drive of his Head Coach. Is his drive different than Wade Phillips' was? Probably not. But much like Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, and Bill Parcells, Jason Garrett has that inner something that draws people to him. You see it in the post game locker room celebrations. Counting coaching staff and scouts, trainers, and players, the post game locker room has about 80 people or more in it. Everyone gets dead silent when the Head Coach raises his hand to speak. Try that sometime.
Jim Garrett describes his son Jason as a football sponge. He is highly intelligent and his outlook on life touches these guys. 8-8 for three straight years sucked folks. I am not here to tell you it didn't. It did for me. I know it did for you. But when a team buys into a vision, it can change everything. It has changed the perception of Jerry Jones the GM. Yet Jerry Jones the GM himself, has not changed. He merely hired the right guy to lead the change.
Has the focus of the Dallas Cowboys changed under Jason Garrett? Look at our Offensive Line. Look at the age of our team. Look at how we operate in Free Agency. It is the same GM, so ask yourself, is the focus of a team the vision of the GM, or the vision of a Head Coach? Guys who bash Jerry the GM think it is his focus. Are they right? Of course not. I've been trying to get that message across for years now, and it has been seen as me defending Jerry. Am I? If I put the credit and blame at the feet of the Head Coach over the feet of the GM am I really defending the GM? I don't think I am, but some people can't shake that perception. Where has anyone seen me crediting Jerry for our success in 2014? That's right, nowhere, because I haven't, and I won't.
Does he deserve some? Yes, of course. He'll get it, and he'll feel vindicated to some degree, and everything will be wine and roses until this team struggles again, and they will struggle at some point folks. That is the nature of football. Will that mean he's meddling again? Of course not. He still will not have changed. Will that mean Jason Garrett has changed? No. It will mean the team makeup has, and that the chemistry isn't as strong, or the talent isn't.
I can't stress this enough. Every player in the NFL is talented. You do not get there without it. Every team in the NFL has the same goals and the same mantras. Not every team has success. Why not? Because individual players still make up the nucleus of every team. People know I dislike Terrell Owens. I do not hate him. I have never downgraded his talent level. I do not like him because he has a way of making everything about him. We win if we get him the ball, make him the focus, etc. Let me ask you this, do we win right now by relying on DeMarco Murray? My answer to that is yes. Do you think Murray would ever say that he is the reason we are winning? Of course not. Instead, he buys gifts for his O-line, praises them, and the rest of his team and coaching staff.
Why does he do that? Because he has bought in to what Jason Garrett is preaching here. They all have. Dez Bryant is supposed to be this ultimate diva WR. Do you see anyone on this team more excited by success than him? I am not talking about his success? I am talking about the team's. Watch every TD. He is there celebrating with his teammates. Watch him strut with Terrance Williams on that first TD against the Colts. Watch him come running to find Witten and Beasley on their TDs. Listen to him talk about the beast that Murray is.
This guy is supposed to be TO reborn. Instead, he is Michael Irvin reborn. Why? Quite simply because he is the right kind of guy, and all of this has been a process. In other words, the focus of the Head Coach has come to fruition, and we and the team are enjoying the fruits of that vision. It very easily could have come apart at the seams. Losing has a way of tearing at the fabric of a team, and we have been losing as much as winning the last three years. So the team got rid of the guys who focus on losing, or on themselves, and got guys who focus on sacrificing so the team will win.
Jerry has changed? No, I don't think he has. Jason Garrett has changed Wade's vision? Maybe a little bit. He certainly made a concerted effort to bring back the "Cowboy way." I'm going to be honest and tell you that I truly believe Jimmy, Barry, Chan, Dave, Bill, and Wade all preached the same concepts of process and focus. Maybe in different ways. I know Tom Landry did. I know all coaches do. They may say it differently, but it is the same thing.
What changed? The team dynamic. We got together a group of guys who truly enjoy winning, playing for each other, putting the team above self, and that my dear friends has us where we are right now, screaming at the top of our lungs, "How 'bout them Cowboys!"
That's the point I want to make most of all. This is entirely about the guys who are down there sweating, hurting, bleeding, and in some cases downright suffering to give us the kind of football we are dying to see. That is why I got so teary eyed when Bill Parcells in his HOF Speech mentioned seeing guys lying in the aisles on flights home, with IVs in their arms because they were too sore to sit in the airline seats.
You want to know why I so passionately defend our football team? Because even the 5-11 Dave Campo teams sacrificed to try their best to give us this kind of team to root for. I know that. I think deep down we all do. No athlete enjoys losing. But a team full of talented individuals will often lose to a lesser talented, more united team. They are all talented. Every single player. Are they united?
I don't care if they are. I know we are. That is why I have been saying for the last 3 years to listen to the players. This success had to come. You don't get that many people on the same page without it coming. The players echoing Jason Garrett has always been a very positive sign. Yes, things have changed. But please give the credit to the players and coaches who are united. Give credit to the scouts and front office, and yes even Jerry. But the change we all needed was in the chemistry and make up of this team.
Now, we just need for them to get it in their DNA like Landry's teams did, like Belichick's teams do. I submit to you we are closer to that than we have been since the day Jimmy and Jerry let egos get in the way. I think we were on the right track to that until Bill Parcells' brother died and he lost his fire. I do not see the fire going out in Dallas any time soon. It has always been here, but it has at times been focused wrong, too injured to do anything about it, or simply out manned.
Here's to those days being gone. Merry Christmas Cowboys fans.
Almost 3 years ago I posted my thread in the Football 101 series I was doing about how NFL teams, not just the Dallas Cowboys, evaluate talent that they are going to Draft, sign as Free Agents, keep, etc. It caused quite a stir for some reason. Well, with the guys who can't stand my passion for the Cowboys anyway. Some of the things I am going to say now in this thread are going to hopefully illustrate what I said then, and make it clearer how talent evaluation works.
Jerry Jones is and always has been the "Final Say" on all things personnel for the Dallas Cowboys since he took over the team in 1989. Let me make this very clear. Every owner is that. Even when Jimmy was here, Jerry had the "Final Say." What does that really mean? Basically it means that he is going to accept all blame for bad moves. On other NFL Teams where the owner is not the GM, the GM is the guy who ultimately gets blamed for the bad moves. Let me ask you a succinct question. Do you honestly think the owners did not ratify those moves? Don't kid yourselves, of course they did. So, if they had the very same "Final Say," why aren't they blamed for the moves? Actually, they are, but for hiring the GM who takes the blame for the moves. See Dan Snyder for example.
You want the honest truth of why I think Jerry does it his way? I think he can handle the heat when things go wrong, and he doesn't want it aimed at his personnel guys. Please understand something here, every NFL Team has a talent evaluation staff. It isn't one guy. People fret because Jerry Jones listens to Larry Lacewell and Barry Switzer. They are good football guys who he has a relationship with dating back to the early 1960's when he was a player at Arkansas. Jerry also listened to Al Davis. He still listens to Ron Wolf. I do not think these are bad decisions on his part. Sorry, but some of the old dogs of the NFL are smart about football. Why do you think Dick Lebeau, Tom Moore, and Mike Pope are still employed and valued coaches? Because they are good football guys. I am not a fan of Barry, but the man knows football.
Now having said that, this needs to be said, don't for one minute think that Jerry pays more attention to Larry Lacewell than he does Will McClay, or Tom Ciskowski. He doesn't okay? He listens to everyone. How that is bad I don't know. Some people like to say he listens to everyone then does whatever the last person he listened to thinks. What evidence is there to support that theory? I contend there is none.
In fact, the evidence suggests that the team consensus I put forward is the way this team goes. Otherwise you need to explain to me why Johnny Manziel is not a Dallas Cowboy.
In Dallas there has been an identifiable trail for the Talent Evaluation Department. It started with Gil Brandt. When he left with Tom Landry, Bob Ackles took over that role. Bob worked under Gil for 2 years. Larry Lacewell took over for Ackles. Lacewell did not work under Ackles. He came in 1992 at the suggestion of Jimmy Johnson, after he spent a year away from football after stepping down at Arkansas State. Next came Jeff Ireland who worked under Lacewell. Ciskowski worked under Ireland. McClay is a fast riser for us now, but he still works for Ciskowski.
The question here might be, why has Will McClay risen so fast? The answer is he and Jason Garrett think alike. Garrett absolutely relies on the man. They are the same age. I cannot make this any clearer, he still works for Ciskowski, who still works for Jones. The decisions are made by all coming to a consensus for the common good of the team.
Hopefully you're with me so far. I made the claim in that talent evaluation thread that everything revolves around what the Head Coach wants. A couple of people lost their minds over that. I thought it was really funny when I did the podcast with Ted Sundquist that he ratified my "theory." I mean, heck what would a guy who was an actual NFL GM know? Look, it was never a theory. Common sense should tell anyone that every Head Coach is different. They want to do things in different ways. Ask yourself this question. Why would any team hire a guy, and then not try to give him what he wants so he can try to succeed? Exactly, they wouldn't.
That is why I say Jerry Jones hasn't changed. He did everything he could to give Jimmy what he wanted. Same with Barry, Chan, Dave, Bill, Wade, and now Jason. With each hire the Dallas Cowboys changed focus in some way. The guys in the personnel department at Valley Ranch had to adjust to what the Head Coach wanted. For example, Parcells wanted a 3-4 Defense. He got it, and the scouting focus shifted. Now we're back to a 4-3. It has shifted again.
You know how I often say that none of Jerry's ex Head Coaches ratify the media theory that he is a meddling owner? The above is exactly why. I want you to ponder this for a minute. If you were a football coach wouldn't you want to work for a man who does everything he can to get you what you want? These guys recognize that he does this. They appreciate it, and that is why they do not bash him. Not even, the very loquacious and quotable Bill Parcells. Never one to pull punches, he doesn't ratify the theories about Jerry. Why not? Because they do not fit the truth.
So, where does that take us to for today, right now, 2014 (with 2015 coming fast) as Cowboys fans? Jerry Jones is still the Owner, President, and GM of the Dallas Cowboys. He still has the final say on all personnel decisions, just like he always has, just like every other NFL owner ultimately does. He still has a personnel department trying to do their job for the team. Whose team is it?
Financially it belongs to Jerry Jones. Philosophically this is Jason Garrett's team. It was Tom Landry's team. It was Jimmy Johnson's team. It was Barry Switzer's team. It was Chan Gailey's team. It was Dave Campo's team. It was Bill Parcells' team. It was Wade Phillips' team. It has never been Tex Schramm's team. It has never been Jerry the GM's team. Jerry the owner, yes. Not Jerry the GM.
Does he deserve blame then for the down years? The answer is yes. He was, and is, the "Final Say." Is there blame elsewhere as well? The answer is yes, and the lion's share of the blame should fall on the Head Coach, because it is his team, his vision, his focus. The Head Coach is hired by the GM, and thus the GM is also blamed. Jerry isn't Teflon here. It sticks to him.
Winning makes people see the good that you do. Losing makes them see the bad that you do. When Jerry hired Jimmy and fired Tom it was a horrible move...until Jimmy started winning. Ever since Jimmy left people have tried to invent scenarios where Jerry would step aside, park his ego and bring Jimmy and glory back. I'll say it again, hiring Jimmy was a horrible move, until his teams (emphasis on "his") started winning.
Jimmy didn't change. He did adapt. He didn't change when he went to the Dolphins either. So, why didn't he have the same magic there that he did here? Truthfully, he was married to an aging QB who was a legend in that city, and the salary cap free agency period had arrived. What he did in transforming Dallas from laughing stock to Champion could not be replicated in an NFL that had changed. If he had young building blocks to work with, and the time to see it through, I am absolutely convinced Jimmy could have had the same type of success with the Dolphins. Jimmy was not a long term kind of guy. He admits that. I will admit he was a fantastic football coach who got people to buy into his vision.
That last comment folks is the key to our current success. The team has bought in to Jason Garrett's vision. Not Jerry's vision.
I am going to say something that might be a little controversial here. Don't get so hung up on what someone does as a Head Coach at any level as the barometer to their football knowledge. Will McClay was an Arena League Head Coach for the Dallas Desperadoes. Rod Marinelli was Head Coach of the only 0-16 team in NFL History. Jason Garrett's Dad had a horrible record in college football. Do not for one minute let those things jade you about these men and their passion for football. That would be a mistake. Not everyone is a Jimmy Johnson who can have success at both levels. Bud Wilkinson was one of the greatest Head Coaches in NCAA History at Oklahoma. He did not have success with the Cardinals in the NFL. That doesn't mean he wasn't a good football man.
I do not like Dave Campo. Jimmy Johnson did. I submit to you that Jimmy Johnson knows a good football man. Dave Campo is still in coaching. He just wasn't a good Head Football Coach. I like Wade Phillips a lot. He is, in my opinion, a good football man. He is not a good Head Coach. Rod Marinelli is a good football man. Jason Garrett's dad, Jim, was a very good football man. If he wasn't, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm never would have hired him. Jimmy Johnson wouldn't have wanted him kept around. Jerry wouldn't have kept him around.
Jason's Dad is a football encyclopedia. His entire life revolves around football. He bought a house one time simply because of the yard, and how he could use it to coach his boys in football. The house itself was a disaster area that their family had to renovate. It was the yard that made it what he wanted. His sons are all about football. You know about John and Judd. Jim is a High School football coach. One of Jason's sisters is married to a former Dallas Cowboy, LB Harry Doherty, their son (Harry Jr.) was on the Practice Squad as a TE, that brother-in-law is the head of the New Jersey chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes founded by Tom Landry.
Jason Garrett's entire life is and always has been about football. You want to know what has changed for Jerry Jones, the answer is the drive of his Head Coach. Is his drive different than Wade Phillips' was? Probably not. But much like Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, and Bill Parcells, Jason Garrett has that inner something that draws people to him. You see it in the post game locker room celebrations. Counting coaching staff and scouts, trainers, and players, the post game locker room has about 80 people or more in it. Everyone gets dead silent when the Head Coach raises his hand to speak. Try that sometime.
Jim Garrett describes his son Jason as a football sponge. He is highly intelligent and his outlook on life touches these guys. 8-8 for three straight years sucked folks. I am not here to tell you it didn't. It did for me. I know it did for you. But when a team buys into a vision, it can change everything. It has changed the perception of Jerry Jones the GM. Yet Jerry Jones the GM himself, has not changed. He merely hired the right guy to lead the change.
Has the focus of the Dallas Cowboys changed under Jason Garrett? Look at our Offensive Line. Look at the age of our team. Look at how we operate in Free Agency. It is the same GM, so ask yourself, is the focus of a team the vision of the GM, or the vision of a Head Coach? Guys who bash Jerry the GM think it is his focus. Are they right? Of course not. I've been trying to get that message across for years now, and it has been seen as me defending Jerry. Am I? If I put the credit and blame at the feet of the Head Coach over the feet of the GM am I really defending the GM? I don't think I am, but some people can't shake that perception. Where has anyone seen me crediting Jerry for our success in 2014? That's right, nowhere, because I haven't, and I won't.
Does he deserve some? Yes, of course. He'll get it, and he'll feel vindicated to some degree, and everything will be wine and roses until this team struggles again, and they will struggle at some point folks. That is the nature of football. Will that mean he's meddling again? Of course not. He still will not have changed. Will that mean Jason Garrett has changed? No. It will mean the team makeup has, and that the chemistry isn't as strong, or the talent isn't.
I can't stress this enough. Every player in the NFL is talented. You do not get there without it. Every team in the NFL has the same goals and the same mantras. Not every team has success. Why not? Because individual players still make up the nucleus of every team. People know I dislike Terrell Owens. I do not hate him. I have never downgraded his talent level. I do not like him because he has a way of making everything about him. We win if we get him the ball, make him the focus, etc. Let me ask you this, do we win right now by relying on DeMarco Murray? My answer to that is yes. Do you think Murray would ever say that he is the reason we are winning? Of course not. Instead, he buys gifts for his O-line, praises them, and the rest of his team and coaching staff.
Why does he do that? Because he has bought in to what Jason Garrett is preaching here. They all have. Dez Bryant is supposed to be this ultimate diva WR. Do you see anyone on this team more excited by success than him? I am not talking about his success? I am talking about the team's. Watch every TD. He is there celebrating with his teammates. Watch him strut with Terrance Williams on that first TD against the Colts. Watch him come running to find Witten and Beasley on their TDs. Listen to him talk about the beast that Murray is.
This guy is supposed to be TO reborn. Instead, he is Michael Irvin reborn. Why? Quite simply because he is the right kind of guy, and all of this has been a process. In other words, the focus of the Head Coach has come to fruition, and we and the team are enjoying the fruits of that vision. It very easily could have come apart at the seams. Losing has a way of tearing at the fabric of a team, and we have been losing as much as winning the last three years. So the team got rid of the guys who focus on losing, or on themselves, and got guys who focus on sacrificing so the team will win.
Jerry has changed? No, I don't think he has. Jason Garrett has changed Wade's vision? Maybe a little bit. He certainly made a concerted effort to bring back the "Cowboy way." I'm going to be honest and tell you that I truly believe Jimmy, Barry, Chan, Dave, Bill, and Wade all preached the same concepts of process and focus. Maybe in different ways. I know Tom Landry did. I know all coaches do. They may say it differently, but it is the same thing.
What changed? The team dynamic. We got together a group of guys who truly enjoy winning, playing for each other, putting the team above self, and that my dear friends has us where we are right now, screaming at the top of our lungs, "How 'bout them Cowboys!"
That's the point I want to make most of all. This is entirely about the guys who are down there sweating, hurting, bleeding, and in some cases downright suffering to give us the kind of football we are dying to see. That is why I got so teary eyed when Bill Parcells in his HOF Speech mentioned seeing guys lying in the aisles on flights home, with IVs in their arms because they were too sore to sit in the airline seats.
You want to know why I so passionately defend our football team? Because even the 5-11 Dave Campo teams sacrificed to try their best to give us this kind of team to root for. I know that. I think deep down we all do. No athlete enjoys losing. But a team full of talented individuals will often lose to a lesser talented, more united team. They are all talented. Every single player. Are they united?
I don't care if they are. I know we are. That is why I have been saying for the last 3 years to listen to the players. This success had to come. You don't get that many people on the same page without it coming. The players echoing Jason Garrett has always been a very positive sign. Yes, things have changed. But please give the credit to the players and coaches who are united. Give credit to the scouts and front office, and yes even Jerry. But the change we all needed was in the chemistry and make up of this team.
Now, we just need for them to get it in their DNA like Landry's teams did, like Belichick's teams do. I submit to you we are closer to that than we have been since the day Jimmy and Jerry let egos get in the way. I think we were on the right track to that until Bill Parcells' brother died and he lost his fire. I do not see the fire going out in Dallas any time soon. It has always been here, but it has at times been focused wrong, too injured to do anything about it, or simply out manned.
Here's to those days being gone. Merry Christmas Cowboys fans.
