My Thoughts on the situation

[UVAwahoos]

I've been reading a lot of the opinions here, and I just don't feel like a couple of the popular concepts on this board will be occurring. Jerry has been directly questioned about hiring a GM in the past and has adamantly refused. He says that is not how he does business. It's not gonna happen, fellas.

I don't think he'll even consider bringing in another strong HC that will make him concede the spotlight. He has hinted upon how the fans called out for a solid HC and how Parcells didn't get it done, somewhat telling us all to *** off with our opinions now because he tried it our way. We can all whine and moan about it...but I honestly doubt things are going to dramatically change here. He got a new stadium and he's making millions each month now on a team that was losing millions when he bought it back in the late 80s.

Even if the Cowboys aren't playing well...he has NCAA bball games, boxing, big college football games and a plethora of other events at the stadium regularly. He has found a way to make money while abandoning the need for a great Cowboys team. At the end of the day, he's a businessman first, and a fan second...so I think a lot the things that are hurting us today are simply not as important to him as we're led to believe. If he can't do it his way, he's content with just not doing it all...particularly if he's still making money in the meantime.

Also, anyone who wants to defend him as a GM is just delusional. He's no better than a glorified fantasy football manager. He's into the sexy picks in free agency and drafts. He's about bringing big names to sell popularity and excitement into his team.

Fullbacks, free safeties, tackles/guards, special teams players...those guys aren't sexy. They don't sell tickets. They don't sell merchandise.

This is where the conflict of interest occurs. The team needs these positions to be strong in order to be successful. The good fantasy football guys can't get it done without these guys in the trenches. A mediocre to good GM would invest time in acquiring players like that. Jerry doesn't even look at these positions. He completely abandoned addressing our weaknesses in the draft or free agency this year. He got just as excited and delusional about our season as a lot of fans did. That's not a good thing. He just wants the popular sexy guys to sell his team. This unfortunately is not fantasy football. We've abandoned building depth at the positions that matter and that's all on our GM.

Parcells came in here and brought structure and discipline. He didn't care about those sexy players. He was even able to take a 15-33 squad to the playoffs with a QB in Quincy Carter that many on here still continue to bash. Don't get it twisted, folks...having a solid coach and some structure at the top makes a world of difference. I love that Jerry is willing to spend money to acquire talent. Unfortunately, he's our own worst enemy because he doesn't have the skills to recognize that it takes more than great fantasy football players to be successful in the NFL.

I'm pretty upset and frustrated right now like most on here. I was talking to a friend last night and telling him that I almost wish I was a bandwagon fan so that it wouldn't suck so much. The worst part of this is that a team with structure like the Steelers was able to go 3-1 without their starting QB, and us losing Romo is pretty much the end in most people's minds. Heck, we were 1-4 with him, so people are right I suppose. Just another failure on the GM's part of not hiring coaches to bring the best out of all this talent.

 

[anj113]

LOve it

 

[TNCowboy]

We have no choice but to hope you're wrong. Because if you aren't, then we won't be seeing real success any time soon with the Cowboys.

$$$ for the new stadium is the one thing that changed Jones' mind before, so hopefully $$ for paying his mortgage will motivate him that way again. Jones said a few years ago he wouldn't go back to that way (Parcells), but then, he never dreamed he'd have a 4-12 team so soon, either. I think worst case he thought this core group of players would keep him in playoff contention for another 3 or so years.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but it's all we've got. If he keeps things as-is and only replaces coaches, the next few years will be no different than the last 15.

 

[Gaede]

Good post

 

[Nightshade]

Excellent Post!

We all know it's true but none of us know what to do about it. The only choice is to become what we hate most... a bandwagon fan.

 

[UVAwahoos]

We have no choice but to hope you're wrong. Because if you aren't, then we won't be seeing real success any time soon with the Cowboys.

$$$ for the new stadium is the one thing that changed Jones' mind before, so hopefully $$ for paying his mortgage will motivate him that way again. Jones said a few years ago he wouldn't go back to that way (Parcells), but then, he never dreamed he'd have a 4-12 team so soon, either. I think worst case he thought this core group of players would keep him in playoff contention for another 3 or so years.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but it's all we've got. If he keeps things as-is and only replaces coaches, the next few years will be no different than the last 15.

Perhaps someone with more detailed insight on the economics of the situation (stadium monthly costs, pending loans, payment structure) could shed more light on this situation, but I believe that he is finding ways to fulfill his payments. The team has already sold thousands in non-refundable season tickets. Thousands more will continue to attend home games and as I mentioned, he brings in other events which turn a profit regularly.

The sad part is that people are disregarding "15 year" chunks to a certain extent here. The average human lives to about age 75.

That means 15 YEARS IS 20% OF YOUR LIFETIME. That's a pretty significant amount of time. As others have mentioned multiple times on this sight, nobody would hire him as a GM, nor would they hire Wade/Garrett as head coach.

The Cowboys compare only to franchises like the Lakers and Yankees in sports. You'll notice that both of those franchises have very solid GMs established despite the love and extreme interest in the team that their respective owners have. Additionally, those teams tend to go after only the best of coaches. I'd just love to have the football equivalent of Phil Jackson in here. Not gonna happen, unfortunately.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I don't think it really matters about the GM. He can remain the nominal GM as long as he has experienced football people and listens to them instead of forcing counterproductive ideas upon them.

Say you bring in a Jeff Fisher... He's experienced and respected enough to know what's what in this league. Set up things the way he wants them and don't interfere. And Tom Ciskowski seems to be a very good draft guy. Draft to his board and stop making panicky FA trades, and that part of the equation won't be a problem.

Just listen to those guys and Jerry as GM can work just fine.

 

[ZeroClub]

I don't think it really matters about the GM. He can remain the nominal GM as long as he has experienced football people and listens to them instead of forcing counterproductive ideas upon them.

Say you bring in a Jeff Fisher... He's experienced and respected enough to know what's what in this league. Set up things the way he wants them and don't interfere. And Tom Ciskowski seems to be a very good draft guy. Draft to his board and stop making panicky FA trades that part won't be a problem.

Just listen to those guys and Jerry as GM can work just fine.

I think you are correct.

I'd love Jeff Fisher. He'd be great.

Is there any reason to think he'd be available?

Who are the other Jeff Fisher-like candidates?

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

to bring the best out of all this talent.

 

[UVAwahoos]

I had to end it with that talent phrase. It was too tempting to forego.

 

[bysbox1]

Perhaps someone with more detailed insight on the economics of the situation (stadium monthly costs, pending loans, payment structure) could shed more light on this situation, but I believe that he is finding ways to fulfill his payments. The team has already sold thousands in non-refundable season tickets. Thousands more will continue to attend home games and as I mentioned, he brings in other events which turn a profit regularly.

The sad part is that people are disregarding "15 year" chunks to a certain extent here. The average human lives to about age 75.

That means 15 YEARS IS 20% OF YOUR LIFETIME. That's a pretty significant amount of time. As others have mentioned multiple times on this sight, nobody would hire him as a GM, nor would they hire Wade/Garrett as head coach.

The Cowboys compare only to franchises like the Lakers and Yankees in sports. You'll notice that both of those franchises have very solid GMs established despite the love and extreme interest in the team that their respective owners have. Additionally, those teams tend to go after only the best of coaches. I'd just love to have the football equivalent of Phil Jackson in here. Not gonna happen, unfortunately.

You know George Steinbrenner tried to be GM for the Yankees for a while. After he stunk it up in NYC (whose fans are hardcore and would not turn out for bad product), he hired a GM.

The fans could send a message and stay away from the product. But Jerry Jones has a lot of non-football streams of income now. Boxing matches, Football games, concerts all allow him to turn a profit regularly, thus he may not hurt as bad from a financial side.

The only thing we can hope for is he hurts from the ego side of things. Seeing attendances severely drop may be enough to get the ego of Jerry Jones the owner to do somthing about Jerry Jones the GM. Eventually if he can't fill the seats, it would eventually cut into his profits.

We can only hope.

 

[Nav22]

Fullbacks, free safeties, tackles/guards, special teams players...those guys aren't sexy. They don't sell tickets. They don't sell merchandise.

Um...

Fullback: Deon Anderson, 2007 draft pick. Chris Gronkowski, 2010.
Safety: Sensabaugh, 2009. Akwasi, 2010.
Tackle/guard: Doug Free and James Marten, 2007. Leonard Davis, 2007. Montrae Holland, 2009. Sam Young, 2010.
Special Teams: Nick Folk, 2007 draft pick. David Buehler, 2009 draft pick. In fact, almost our entire 2009 draft class was classified as a "special teams draft", meaning the rookies were expected to play a lot of special teams.

Mike Iupati (guard) was one of our targets in the 1st round this year, but SF took him before he could fall to us. You got a problem with the "sexy" Dez Bryant pick? I sure as hell don't.

So what recent draft pick or signing did you have a major problem with, and what "unsexy" player would you have rather us taken instead? Not that I'm insinuating that our drafts/signings have been perfect, but I think it's inaccurate to say we've been unsuccessful because Jerry's fallen in love with the sexy positions instead of positions of need.

What "sells tickets" isn't a sexy draft pick, winning games sells tickets. Jerry's trying to win. He's not currently succeeding, but he's trying like he always has.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And Tom Ciskowski seems to be a very good draft guy.

I used to think this was the case, but I'm beginning to have serious doubts about our talent evaluation team. We are woefully deficient in several areas and the young guys they have drafted have simply not been very good.

 

[wileedog]

The Cowboys compare only to franchises like the Lakers and Yankees in sports..

And you are risking that as an entire generation of new football fans is growing up without the Cowboys being anything other then perennial disappointments and losers.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

I've been reading a lot of the opinions here, and I just don't feel like a couple of the popular concepts on this board will be occurring. Jerry has been directly questioned about hiring a GM in the past and has adamantly refused. He says that is not how he does business. It's not gonna happen, fellas.

I don't think he'll even consider bringing in another strong HC that will make him concede the spotlight. He has hinted upon how the fans called out for a solid HC and how Parcells didn't get it done, somewhat telling us all to *** off with our opinions now because he tried it our way. We can all whine and moan about it...but I honestly doubt things are going to dramatically change here. He got a new stadium and he's making millions each month now on a team that was losing millions when he bought it back in the late 80s.

Even if the Cowboys aren't playing well...he has NCAA bball games, boxing, big college football games and a plethora of other events at the stadium regularly. He has found a way to make money while abandoning the need for a great Cowboys team. At the end of the day, he's a businessman first, and a fan second...so I think a lot the things that are hurting us today are simply not as important to him as we're led to believe. If he can't do it his way, he's content with just not doing it all...particularly if he's still making money in the meantime.

Also, anyone who wants to defend him as a GM is just delusional. He's no better than a glorified fantasy football manager. He's into the sexy picks in free agency and drafts. He's about bringing big names to sell popularity and excitement into his team.

Fullbacks, free safeties, tackles/guards, special teams players...those guys aren't sexy. They don't sell tickets. They don't sell merchandise.

This is where the conflict of interest occurs. The team needs these positions to be strong in order to be successful. The good fantasy football guys can't get it done without these guys in the trenches. A mediocre to good GM would invest time in acquiring players like that. Jerry doesn't even look at these positions. He completely abandoned addressing our weaknesses in the draft or free agency this year. He got just as excited and delusional about our season as a lot of fans did. That's not a good thing. He just wants the popular sexy guys to sell his team. This unfortunately is not fantasy football. We've abandoned building depth at the positions that matter and that's all on our GM.

Parcells came in here and brought structure and discipline. He didn't care about those sexy players. He was even able to take a 15-33 squad to the playoffs with a QB in Quincy Carter that many on here still continue to bash. Don't get it twisted, folks...having a solid coach and some structure at the top makes a world of difference. I love that Jerry is willing to spend money to acquire talent. Unfortunately, he's our own worst enemy because he doesn't have the skills to recognize that it takes more than great fantasy football players to be successful in the NFL.

I'm pretty upset and frustrated right now like most on here. I was talking to a friend last night and telling him that I almost wish I was a bandwagon fan so that it wouldn't suck so much. The worst part of this is that a team with structure like the Steelers was able to go 3-1 without their starting QB, and us losing Romo is pretty much the end in most people's minds. Heck, we were 1-4 with him, so people are right I suppose. Just another failure on the GM's part of not hiring coaches to bring the best out of all this talent.

I would say we are not worthy of a post this excellent...but I feel like I have been saying all of this for some time now...so all I can offer you is a hand clap.

 

[THUMPER]

Great post UVA.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think you are correct.

I'd love Jeff Fisher. He'd be great.

Is there any reason to think he'd be available?

Who are the other Jeff Fisher-like candidates?

I think John Fox would be similar. Cowher definitely would be, though from what I've heard he'd want too much say over everything. Probably Gruden would be as well, although his personnel decisions scare me.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Is there a way to bookmark these type of threads?

This has to be Colin Cowherd or Jim Rome level.

 

[ZeroClub]

I think John Fox would be similar. Cowher definitely would be, though from what I've heard he'd want too much say over everything. Probably Gruden would be as well, although his personnel decisions scare me.

Gruden is half-crazy. It is difficult to imagine him adjusting to the full-crazy of Jerry's franchise. I doubt that Gruden would or could reliably edit himself; he'd say things that would get under Jerry's skin. Mayhem ensues. Gruden would be entertaining in a "watching the train wreck" sort of way.

I'd rather have Cowher or Fox.

 

[UVAwahoos]

Great post UVA.

Thanks. Too bad none of us can do anything about this except get on here and complain. I guess it's somewhat therapeutic to know ur not alone at least.