The Big Picture of the Garrett Era

[Diehardblues]

I think Booger got blindsided by Dallas.

He came in and fired a local legend and that started it and buys a home in Highland Park, the town that the Landry's lived in and he was about as welcome as a brown shoe at the formal. The team has a turnaround that shocked not only the NFL but Booger as well. The HC that he hired to replace the HC that he fired and caught all of the heat for became the most loved celebrity in Dallas. He becomes a local legend himself predicting the win against the Niners and the distaste Dallas has for Booger increases with the stare down with Emmitt and he even has credible death threats and is seen nervously hanging out in the alcove of his own stadium before that 2nd game.

He and Johnson divorce and he brings in his buddy and not only does his buddy not get credit for that 3rd ring, he catches the blame for not going in 94. When they do win, it's with Jimmy's team, not Booger's or Barry's. The local media continues their love affair with Jimmy and still does to this day.

Booger shows all of the traits of a narcissist longing for the city to love him as much as he loves himself. He tries to impress a city that worships money and wealth with the price of his toys and his stadium and practice complex and it is all Dallas, all superficial and underneath that pretty face Dallas shows the world is a very ugly one that reveals what they truly are, empty and soulless. Not talking about the everyday people but the money people, the people who really run it.

Yep

But what some fans still ignore is Jerry bought the Cowboys because he wanted to be a celebrity football guy. Owning a team provided him this opportunity his college buddies all had without the insecurity of being held accountable meaning potential of being replaced.

All he needed to do was secure his investment without the results on the field dictating his passion. Which is where all of his contributions to the league come in.

And Jerry had mentioned this on occasion as the140 million gave him the right. Shame on us for not forcing the issue early on but we got all caught up in the hoopla with Jimmy. We had another opportunity after that to run him out of town as I pleaded for years ago much to fans dismay but once all the new revenue streams were in place that he was on the forefront of and the new stadium was built . Game over.

That’s when I waved my white flag and surrendered. We are stuck in this mess until he dies. I’ve come to terms with it and accepted for what it is.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

1989

Actually, never. In '89 he knew, he had his hands full, just taking care of the business side. This is why Jimmy, & his success on the field, was also a long term negative. He was successful quickly, considering where the team was when he started. The negative (in my opinion), it looked easy to Jerry. He was very jealous of the praise, & accolades that went to Jimmy. He wanted to be loved like Jimmy was/is.

Not many leopards ever change their spots. However, when you've tried everything else, what do you do..? Plenty of talking heads have said as much. We all know, Jerry does hear them. We'll never see a situation where Jerry gives up 100% control. So, the best we can hope for, is for a strong will coach like Meyer, who has some control, & can get more out of these players.

Several thoughts on this:

1. Jerry does desperately want to win. Just witness he and Barry Switzer fighting over the last SB trophy. Jerry got, to him, proof of what he had said - "any one of 500 coaches could coach this team to a SB win". But that was over 20 years ago. If Jerry was the kind of person who can get satisfied, he'd never have bought the Cowboys, he was a very successful oil company owner, a multimillionaire. But no, he still had the desire to show how smart he was. So he took on the challenge of re-building the Cowboys from their (at the time) terrible championship drought (11 seasons). ONE championship wasn't enough, not when Jimmy got most of the credit and the praise. Jerry wants that. It's just that he has to win HIS way, but that's not the same as not wanting to win.
2. So let's get Meyer, and more rings will fall like manna from heaven, eh? Well remember Dave Campo, Chan Gailey, Wade Phillips and the much ballyhooed Bill Parcells, he the TWO time SB win, and THREE time SB appearing resume. How many of those guys won it all, or even got to the NFC championship game? ZERO. First of all it's difficult to win SBs, without things like lots of luck, weak divisions year after year, match ups that just happen to fall right in every playoff game, or a new offensive or defensive scheme (West Coast offense & 46 defense) that nobody can handle for a year or two. Second the NFL's history is littered with highly successful college coaches that flopped in the NFL - Nick Saban, Chip Kelly, and others. The Jimmy Johnsons and Pete Carrolls (and it took him two tries) aren't that common. Third, of course, is Jerry - he will NEVER relinquish 100%, or even 90%, control of coaching and personnel matters, he will always have his hands in the batter when it comes to baking up a SB winning team. Now maybe 10% isn't enough to screw up the team, but who knows? So Meyer as coach is no guarantee of success, though certainly Garrett's time is up.
3. Lastly the league. There are many, many ways the NFL can screw up the Cowboys, innumerable ways to use the rules to stick it to a team - Frederick's settling in with the football before a snap, the same way for years, but ONE time, nooooooooo, he is guilty of a false start, or the "yeah, shouldn't have called tripping, heh heh" or our receiver just trying to run his route, and due to defender not getting out of the way, it's an illegal pick play. It goes on and on, they can always find something to call, or not call, to assist in the Cowboys losing.

Just saying that if and once we get our wish and the red-headed stepchild is gone, can't breathe a big sigh of relief and think "Happy days are here again". More like relief, don't know what the future holds but at least something has changed.....

 

[Bobhaze]

I'll go even further. I don't think Jerry even thinks about himself being the best option. I think his thought process stops at "I'm the owner, I'll do it my way." I think "options" are the furthest thing from his mind.

My only hope at present is that Jerry decides to do what it takes to win one before he passes. At 77, prolly doesn't have much time left, so I do believe there's a slight chance he'll feel desperate and try to get a legit HC.

This is our only realistic hope. If somehow Jerry wants to win more than his narcissism, there’s hope. If he either keeps Garrett or hires another puppet, we will know the answer to that question.

 

[Direwolf63]

There are potential HC hires out there that would tell me Jerry is serious about winning.
There are also HC hires out there that would tell me that Jerry has little interest in winning at all.
And certainly keeping Jason Garrett would prove that winning is the last thing Jerry is interested in.

These next 2 months will finally reveal how serious Jerry is in winning one last Super Bowl before he dies. This will likely be his last hire. We will know by the end of January what Jerry's motivations truly are at this point of his life.

 

[Diehardblues]

This is an excellent description of Jerry and his psychological profile, and his weird dance with Dallas.

Jerry’s need to constantly be validated and hero worshipped is pathological. Like most narcissists, he sees himself in ways almost everyone but his sycophants don’t. He is mostly responsible for this nearly quarter century of playoff futility. And yet he never seems to accept it. He holds others responsible for his own failures, creating a Khama death grip on his franchise that probably doesn’t end until he changes, steps aside or sings in the choir eternal.

Jerry Jones is the most bizarrely insecure billionaire I’ve ever seen. While 30 of the other 32 owners know to win a super bowl they need to hire someone who knows what they’re doing, our billionaire gas lights himself year after into thinking he can do what 24 straight years say he cannot. It’s really pathetic.

I don’t totally buy into the Narcissistic angle while he does share some symptoms.

I think it’s actually pretty simple. Jerry bought a NFL team( shame it wasn’t the Chargers) so he could play Football Guy. A passion he’d had since Arkansas.

Winning and celebrity status would just make it more fun for him but isn’t necessary to continue his quest to play ball his way.

He’s even admitted he bought the right to do so.

 

[kskboys]

Several thoughts on this:

1. Jerry does desperately want to win. Just witness he and Barry Switzer fighting over the last SB trophy. Jerry got, to him, proof of what he had said - "any one of 500 coaches could coach this team to a SB win". But that was over 20 years ago. If Jerry was the kind of person who can get satisfied, he'd never have bought the Cowboys, he was a very successful oil company owner, a multimillionaire. But no, he still had the desire to show how smart he was. So he took on the challenge of re-building the Cowboys from their (at the time) terrible championship drought (11 seasons). ONE championship wasn't enough, not when Jimmy got most of the credit and the praise. Jerry wants that. It's just that he has to win HIS way, but that's not the same as not wanting to win.
2. So let's get Meyer, and more rings will fall like manna from heaven, eh? Well remember Dave Campo, Chan Gailey, Wade Phillips and the much ballyhooed Bill Parcells, he the TWO time SB win, and THREE time SB appearing resume. How many of those guys won it all, or even got to the NFC championship game? ZERO. First of all it's difficult to win SBs, without things like lots of luck, weak divisions year after year, match ups that just happen to fall right in every playoff game, or a new offensive or defensive scheme (West Coast offense & 46 defense) that nobody can handle for a year or two. Second the NFL's history is littered with highly successful college coaches that flopped in the NFL - Nick Saban, Chip Kelly, and others. The Jimmy Johnsons and Pete Carrolls (and it took him two tries) aren't that common. Third, of course, is Jerry - he will NEVER relinquish 100%, or even 90%, control of coaching and personnel matters, he will always have his hands in the batter when it comes to baking up a SB winning team. Now maybe 10% isn't enough to screw up the team, but who knows? So Meyer as coach is no guarantee of success, though certainly Garrett's time is up.
3. Lastly the league. There are many, many ways the NFL can screw up the Cowboys, innumerable ways to use the rules to stick it to a team - Frederick's settling in with the football before a snap, the same way for years, but ONE time, nooooooooo, he is guilty of a false start, or the "yeah, shouldn't have called tripping, heh heh" or our receiver just trying to run his route, and due to defender not getting out of the way, it's an illegal pick play. It goes on and on, they can always find something to call, or not call, to assist in the Cowboys losing.

Just saying that if and once we get our wish and the red-headed stepchild is gone, can't breathe a big sigh of relief and think "Happy days are here again". More like relief, don't know what the future holds but at least something has changed.....

Once again, if you're not willing/able to do what it takes to win, just how badly do you really want to win? Jerry wants personal credence, he does not want to win.

 

[Diehardblues]

This is our only realistic hope. If somehow Jerry wants to win more than his narcissism, there’s hope. If he either keeps Garrett or hires another puppet, we will know the answer to that question.

I’d argue we already know. And why were even at this crossroads.

 

[Direwolf63]

This is an excellent description of Jerry and his psychological profile, and his weird dance with Dallas.

Jerry’s need to constantly be validated and hero worshipped is pathological. Like most narcissists, he sees himself in ways almost everyone but his sycophants don’t. He is mostly responsible for this nearly quarter century of playoff futility. And yet he never seems to accept it. He holds others responsible for his own failures, creating a Khama death grip on his franchise that probably doesn’t end until he changes, steps aside or sings in the choir eternal.

Jerry Jones is the most bizarrely insecure billionaire I’ve ever seen. While 30 of the other 32 owners know to win a super bowl they need to hire someone who knows what they’re doing, our billionaire gas lights himself year after into thinking he can do what 24 straight years say he cannot. It’s really pathetic.

Jerry has mentioned that he regrets not building a team around Romo and Witten that would allow them to win a Super Bowl.

So Jerry does accept blame. But he doesn't hold himself accountable. He doesn't care about his failures. He just keeps going. Because he can.

As for bizarrely insecure billionaires, there is another one who lives on Pennsylvania Avenue who is even more bizarre than Jerry.

 

[Diehardblues]

Once again, if you're not willing/able to do what it takes to win, just how badly do you really want to win? Jerry wants personal credence, he does not want to win.

He wants to win his way. Very badly.
I’m not sure why this is so difficult for all fans to see?

Basically if Jerry can’t play ball his way he’s not interested in owning a team. That’s why he bought a team. He wanted to play football guy all at our expense. It appears to be working.

All he has to do is appease to the fans that he’s trying and continue the revenue flow. Its his baby to do as he pleases.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Once again, if you're not willing/able to do what it takes to win, just how badly do you really want to win? Jerry wants personal credence, he does not want to win.

We've had this discussion before. Nothing's changed.

 

[Diehardblues]

I'll go even further. I don't think Jerry even thinks about himself being the best option. I think his thought process stops at "I'm the owner, I'll do it my way." I think "options" are the furthest thing from his mind.

My only hope at present is that Jerry decides to do what it takes to win one before he passes. At 77, prolly doesn't have much time left, so I do believe there's a slight chance he'll feel desperate and try to get a legit HC.

That’s more hope than I have.

He looks ready to double down on himself to me.

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry has mentioned that he regrets not building a team around Romo and Witten that would allow them to win a Super Bowl.

So Jerry does accept blame. But he doesn't hold himself accountable. He doesn't care about his failures. He just keeps going. Because he can.

As for bizarrely insecure billionaires, there is another one who lives on Pennsylvania Avenue who is even more bizarre than Jerry.

There is a big difference between accepting blame and being held accountable for it.

Sure Jerry will occasionally say it’s his fault- sort of- but he never does anything that changes his role(s) with the team. It’s empty talk. It’s like someone getting caught cheating, then says “Yeah I cheated- oops”. Then keeps cheating. That’s how Jerry takes “blame”.

 

[Sydla]

I sum it up with a few bullet points

• Average coach, average results
• Decent enough guy, never really embarrassed the franchise with his antics or off the field stuff. I don't hate him. I just don't think he's a good enough HC.

 

[Bobhaze]

Once again, if you're not willing/able to do what it takes to win, just how badly do you really want to win? Jerry wants personal credence, he does not want to win.

This.

 

[johneric8]

Please explain that Jerry has no choice?

after nearly 10 years of Garrett and his failures, Jones is now being called out by people he respects in the media, and not only that the fans are absolutely laughing at the Cowboys around the league and by most accounts considered a joke. I believe that Jerry now sees the jig is up and his stubborn behavior in keeping Garrett has severely tarnished not only his image but the whole organizations. I believe by not making a fan friendly hire will cause a very real revolt unlike one we haven't seen here. Jerry is having to at least entertain that his coach in training method was a huge flop and one that never matured in the 10 years he pressed for it.

My read on the situation in all honesty is Jerry is really not left with any good choice but to make a splash hire to the mob off his back. He has to be careful how he handles this decision because everyone knows the turd was never worth trying to polish, even though he stubbornly tried... Having said all of that, Jerry does have choices to make, but if he wants to save this team there really is only one choice to make and I personally believe he understands this because his face tells all! I also think he knows he has to go out and show he isn't the liability that is keeping us underachieving and the only way to do that is show he is willing to hire someone who has more control over the team and the decisions that made.

We can agree to disagree here as I know we will, but my gut is telling me something is up.

 

[Diehardblues]

after nearly 10 years of Garrett and his failures, Jones is now being called out by people he respects in the media, and not only that the fans are absolutely laughing at the Cowboys around the league and by most accounts considered a joke. I believe that Jerry now sees the jig is up and his stubborn behavior in keeping Garrett has severely tarnished not only his image but the whole organizations. I believe by not making a fan friendly hire will cause a very real revolt unlike one we haven't seen here. Jerry is having to at least entertain that his coach in training method was a huge flop and one that never matured in the 10 years he pressed for it.

My read on the situation in all honesty is Jerry is really not left with any good choice but to make a splash hire to the mob off his back. He has to be careful how he handles this decision because everyone knows the turd was never worth trying to polish, even though he stubbornly tried... Having said all of that, Jerry does have choices to make, but if he wants to save this team there really is only one choice to make and I personally believe he understands this because his face tells all! I also think he knows he has to go out and show he isn't the liability that is keeping us underachieving and the only way to do that is show he is willing to hire someone who has more control over the team and the decisions that made.

We can agree to disagree here as I know we will, but my gut is telling me something is up.

I hope you’re right. But my money is on Jerry disappointing us.

 

[75boyz]

This is an excellent description of Jerry and his psychological profile, and his weird dance with Dallas.

Jerry’s need to constantly be validated and hero worshipped is pathological. Like most narcissists, he sees himself in ways almost everyone but his sycophants don’t. He is mostly responsible for this nearly quarter century of playoff futility. And yet he never seems to accept it. He holds others responsible for his own failures, creating a Khama death grip on his franchise that probably doesn’t end until he changes, steps aside or sings in the choir eternal.

Jerry Jones is the most bizarrely insecure billionaire I’ve ever seen. While 30 of the other 32 owners know to win a super bowl they need to hire someone who knows what they’re doing, our billionaire gas lights himself year after into thinking he can do what 24 straight years say he cannot. It’s really pathetic.

Bob, as a guy who has a tad bit of education in human behavior you truly nailed it here. Big fan of your posts anyway, but this is an all time accurate one.
Nice job bro.

 

[Diehardblues]

I sum it up with a few bullet points

• Average coach, average results
• Decent enough guy, never really embarrassed the franchise with his antics or off the field stuff. I don't hate him. I just don't think he's a good enough HC.

Unfortunately this makes him perfect for Jerry. A HC that won’t take credit if we win. Which is more important than winning.

 

[Tommy]

I can’t believe we win one game against a winning team finally and some people think we are awesome.........stupid Cowboy fans....

OMG... Totally!

I can’t believe I’m reading all these posts from people who think we are awesome.

Where are they again? I can’t seem to find them now.

 

[Diehardblues]

There is a big difference between accepting blame and being held accountable for it.

Sure Jerry will occasionally say it’s his fault- sort of- but he never does anything that changes his role(s) with the team. It’s empty talk. It’s like someone getting caught cheating, then says “Yeah I cheated- oops”. Then keeps cheating. That’s how Jerry takes “blame”.

Jerry is continually promoting his product and himself. Fans interpret this as doing everything to win.

It’s like going to a restaurant and the owner keeps over cooking your steak and you tell him to let someone else cook but he refuses cause he owns it.

It’s why he bought it . It’s his pursuit to produce the best but if it doesn’t isn’t willing to let someone else. I’ve known men like this. Instead they either go broke or sell out.

For Cowboy fans we never forced Jerry to sell or go out cause of a poor product. And hence he put into place mechanisms financially which won’t go broke. And refuses to walk away. It’s a dead end but he’s still there cause we are still here supporting his selfish passionate craziness. Saddest thing I’ve ever seen in business. But we can’t expect the junkie football owner to quit if we keep feeding him .