Key misconception obliterated during the JW Retirement Presser

[BulletBob]

Year after year of not winning isn’t the benchmark for wanting to win. Saying he wants to win is comical. If you truly wanted to win, then you make the necessary changes to get there. Wishful thinking isn’t enough!

You're off target.

He has made plenty of changes. Some of the biggest were this year. Your measurement of wanting to win is making the necessary changes to get there. By that very logic, there are 31 teams out there who's GMs do not want to win (because they did not make the necessary changes to get there). Only the Eagles care about winning.

I'll reiterate - don't confuse motivation with effectiveness. Motivation is only a component to success (an important one, but only one of many).

My original point was that the criticism of Jerry's motivation is misplaced.

And just to put a finer point on it - even though his motivation is in the right place, he has failed in several of the other components to success (motivation of those who report to you, selecting the right team to compete, usurping the authority of those who report to you, failing to hold people accountable, putting loyalty above bottom-line results, etc.).

 

[Miller]

Jerry cares about winning. Definitely. But only if he gets the credit. Therein lies the rub! I'm never sure true motive..."let's win it" vs "I'll do this and when we do win, I'll show everyone." Both are wanting to win. One of them has motives that might stop it from happening. But that is my only beef.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

It was special moment....... the emotion just showed Jerry is human like the rest of us. Hard to see a player every day and not develop some sort bond. What was truly telling to me was his feelings and placing Jason in top 5 of special people he's met through almost 30 years in NFL. Even his wife was fighting emotion. For the most part, he's always cared about his players, maybe too much sometimes.

 

[DFWJC]

On these boards there have been multiple discussions about Jerry Jones and his effectiveness as a business owner, GM, football man, NFL owner, etc. In most of those discussions, I can usually understand most of the points made from both sides, even if I don't really agree with some of them.

However, it always struck me as odd when a poster would assert that Jerry cares nothing about winning, and only chases the almighty dollar. I always wondered where such opinions sprung up from. Maybe they come from the overall results of the team the last 20 years, or maybe they are influenced by the lens through which the poster views life in general.

With all that said, I think there is a very strong piece of evidence that disproves the idea that Jerry cares nothing about winning.

Just about the 1:09:30 mark in the press conference, Jerry is asked a question about how hard it is to come to terms with the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were not able to win a Super Bowl title while Jason Witten was here.

If you watch and listen to Jerry's response, I'm not sure how even the coldest-hearted individual could come to the conclusion that this man is all about the money and doesn't care about winning. His emotions are completely genuine - you can't fake this type of stuff.

We can continue to argue about Jerry's effectiveness in each of his roles. But after viewing this press conference with an open mind (and a few tissues at hand), I'm not sure some of the arguments about his motivation really hold that much water anymore.

*** SORRY ABOUT CREATING A REDUNDANT THREAD. Didn't see the other one on this topic. Mods, feel free to merge. ***

I agree.

Of course he cares about winning, and always has.

He's just so good at the marketing stuff that his success in that area makes the failures to field a Super Bowl team in 20 years even more glaring.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

On these boards there have been multiple discussions about Jerry Jones and his effectiveness as a business owner, GM, football man, NFL owner, etc. In most of those discussions, I can usually understand most of the points made from both sides, even if I don't really agree with some of them.

However, it always struck me as odd when a poster would assert that Jerry cares nothing about winning, and only chases the almighty dollar. I always wondered where such opinions sprung up from. Maybe they come from the overall results of the team the last 20 years, or maybe they are influenced by the lens through which the poster views life in general.

With all that said, I think there is a very strong piece of evidence that disproves the idea that Jerry cares nothing about winning.

Just about the 1:09:30 mark in the press conference, Jerry is asked a question about how hard it is to come to terms with the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were not able to win a Super Bowl title while Jason Witten was here.

If you watch and listen to Jerry's response, I'm not sure how even the coldest-hearted individual could come to the conclusion that this man is all about the money and doesn't care about winning. His emotions are completely genuine - you can't fake this type of stuff.

We can continue to argue about Jerry's effectiveness in each of his roles. But after viewing this press conference with an open mind (and a few tissues at hand), I'm not sure some of the arguments about his motivation really hold that much water anymore.

*** SORRY ABOUT CREATING A REDUNDANT THREAD. Didn't see the other one on this topic. Mods, feel free to merge. ***

I believe you've hit on the biggest myth about Jerry Jones. All of his actions reveal a man who wants very badly for his team to win a championship. That doesn't mean, of course, that all has strategy has been good. Some of it has been poor (Roy Williams trade anyone?). I believe it's obvious that every action he's taken has been for the purpose of creating a winning team. Does he also care about money? Of course. You can't have a company that doesn't make money, and he does put effort into that, but his ultimate goal is a championship.

 

[BulletBob]

Jerry Jones is not stupid. He understands that winning is what created a lot of the marketing opportunities he has. Make no mistake, he wants to win badly. The problem is, he wants to be, and believes he can be the architect of the whole thing.

That's certainly a fair point. Ego is definitely a key flaw in his approach (in my opinion).

And a factor in his wanting to win may very well be the marketing angle - winners bring in more dollars.

But this press conference (and that tearful answer) indicate that his motivation for winning runs deeper than that.

If motivation and a drive to win were all it took to succeed, we'd be Super Bowl Champs every year - but so would a bunch of other teams.

 

[Sydla]

I don’t think he doesn’t want to win.

I don’t believe he knows how to build a championship caliber team by himself, which is what he’s tried to do for 20 years.

 

[aikemirv]

Year after year of not winning isn’t the benchmark for wanting to win. Saying he wants to win is comical. If you truly wanted to win, then you make the necessary changes to get there. Wishful thinking isn’t enough!

Jerry wants to win, winning does bring even more money. As successful as Jerry has been in his life, his is too proud to think that he is the main cause of the Cowboys not winning a SuperBowl in 25 years. Being blinded by his ego does not mean he is ok with losing or does not want to win.

 

[cowboy_ron]

On these boards there have been multiple discussions about Jerry Jones and his effectiveness as a business owner, GM, football man, NFL owner, etc. In most of those discussions, I can usually understand most of the points made from both sides, even if I don't really agree with some of them.

However, it always struck me as odd when a poster would assert that Jerry cares nothing about winning, and only chases the almighty dollar. I always wondered where such opinions sprung up from. Maybe they come from the overall results of the team the last 20 years, or maybe they are influenced by the lens through which the poster views life in general.

With all that said, I think there is a very strong piece of evidence that disproves the idea that Jerry cares nothing about winning.

Just about the 1:09:30 mark in the press conference, Jerry is asked a question about how hard it is to come to terms with the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were not able to win a Super Bowl title while Jason Witten was here.

If you watch and listen to Jerry's response, I'm not sure how even the coldest-hearted individual could come to the conclusion that this man is all about the money and doesn't care about winning. His emotions are completely genuine - you can't fake this type of stuff.

We can continue to argue about Jerry's effectiveness in each of his roles. But after viewing this press conference with an open mind (and a few tissues at hand), I'm not sure some of the arguments about his motivation really hold that much water anymore.

*** SORRY ABOUT CREATING A REDUNDANT THREAD. Didn't see the other one on this topic. Mods, feel free to merge. ***

I'm sure he feels bad that the team is not able to win a SB while he has been playing GM, but rather than acknowledging that, he hasn't felt bad enough to bring in a real GM and relinquish his GM title, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to his "sadness" in front of the camera. He could've fixed it years ago but chose not to.

 

[Rockport]

Year after year of not winning isn’t the benchmark for wanting to win. Saying he wants to win is comical. If you truly wanted to win, then you make the necessary changes to get there. Wishful thinking isn’t enough!

He just replaced the majority of the coaching staff. Doesn’t fit your agenda I get it.

 

[Jake]

On these boards there have been multiple discussions about Jerry Jones and his effectiveness as a business owner, GM, football man, NFL owner, etc. In most of those discussions, I can usually understand most of the points made from both sides, even if I don't really agree with some of them.

However, it always struck me as odd when a poster would assert that Jerry cares nothing about winning, and only chases the almighty dollar.

It's a ridiculous assertion, usually made by people who don't understand there's a salary cap.

Jerry won't fire JG because he doesn't want to pay him.

Jerry's got that kind of money under his couch cushions. He keeps JG because he likes JG.

Jerry absolutely wants to win. He just wants to do it his way.

 

[JoeKing]

Stephen Jones and Will McClay have this team on the right path.

 

[KingintheNorth]

When a person is truly sorry about something they've done, they change the behavior.

So, nope, not buying it.

He said he was sorry that he didn't provide Romo with a better defense. What has he done differently, specifically on defense, since he uttered those words?

 

[Big_D]

He just replaced the majority of the coaching staff. Doesn’t fit your agenda I get it.

Maybe you can put a list together of all the coaches he blew through in 25 years?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Jones has loosened up the grip quite a bit in terms of control and a lot of that has been blown out of proportion.

He has.....but I think he's loosened up his control and handed it over to Stephen......and while some may believe that's the right move.......I'm not sure if he's any better than his father is. We already know he's far more frugal than Jerry is.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

When a person is truly sorry about something they've done, they change the behavior.

So, nope, not buying it.

He said he was sorry that he didn't provide Romo with a better defense. What has he done differently, specifically on defense, since he uttered those words?

He's changed it somewhat. 10 years ago Jerry and now are two completely different people.

 

[jazzcat22]

And once we win the SB, these same fans, some will go the opposite direction. Some will say we won it in spite of him. Some will not give any credit to Jerry no matter what. A few may change and say Jerry changed, but what will he do to screw the team up to repeat. It will never end.

I get in my jabs at him, mostly in jest. But the Jones family will always own the Dallas Cowboys until football is no more. And with that goofy arse Goodell in charge it may be sooner than later.

 

[jazzcat22]

He's changed it somewhat. 10 years ago Jerry and now are two completely different people.

Schizophrenic? Sorry could not resist...

 

[visionary]

On these boards there have been multiple discussions about Jerry Jones and his effectiveness as a business owner, GM, football man, NFL owner, etc. In most of those discussions, I can usually understand most of the points made from both sides, even if I don't really agree with some of them.

However, it always struck me as odd when a poster would assert that Jerry cares nothing about winning, and only chases the almighty dollar. I always wondered where such opinions sprung up from. Maybe they come from the overall results of the team the last 20 years, or maybe they are influenced by the lens through which the poster views life in general.

With all that said, I think there is a very strong piece of evidence that disproves the idea that Jerry cares nothing about winning.

Just about the 1:09:30 mark in the press conference, Jerry is asked a question about how hard it is to come to terms with the fact that the Dallas Cowboys were not able to win a Super Bowl title while Jason Witten was here.

If you watch and listen to Jerry's response, I'm not sure how even the coldest-hearted individual could come to the conclusion that this man is all about the money and doesn't care about winning. His emotions are completely genuine - you can't fake this type of stuff.

We can continue to argue about Jerry's effectiveness in each of his roles. But after viewing this press conference with an open mind (and a few tissues at hand), I'm not sure some of the arguments about his motivation really hold that much water anymore.

*** SORRY ABOUT CREATING A REDUNDANT THREAD. Didn't see the other one on this topic. Mods, feel free to merge. ***

Trying to figure out if you're 12, been asleep for the last 20 years or just that dumb

Because there isn't a 4th explanation for this OP

 

[BulletBob]

When a person is truly sorry about something they've done, they change the behavior.

So, nope, not buying it.

He said he was sorry that he didn't provide Romo with a better defense. What has he done differently, specifically on defense, since he uttered those words?

Once again, you're confusing effectiveness with motivation.

Jones is truly sorry about not winning a Super Bowl with Romo and Witten. He has made PLENTY of changes all across the team.

You are arguing the effectiveness of those changes (which I think all of us would agree are lacking given the absence of titles over the past 20 years).

Actually, re-reading your post, you are arguing that he hasn't made any changes, especially on defense.

I'd argue that he has made plenty of changes (letting Carr go, letting Claiborne go, shifting Byron to CB, drafting Jaylon, drafting heavy CBs in 2017, letting Eberflus leave, bringing in Richard, etc).

All of these changes may turn out to be ineffective. So, by all means, argue that. I'm onboard.

But back to my original point - none of this indicates that Jerry doesn't want to win, or is obsessed only with money.