I apologize in advance, but this is going to be a long read.
Where did it all go wrong? What is the hinderance on this franchise that sees them have early round exits in the playoffs when they get there?
The time of this goes back to the 1993/1994 season when the owner decided to fire the head coach because he wasn’t getting his due. The arrogance and narcissism at that point in time was evidence. Sure, they won again with Switzer but that was Jimmy’s team. The owner of this team put his own ego and need to do it his way in front of probably one of the best built teams we have ever seen. Why? So, he could prove to the football world that he could win his way.
Fast forward 27 years. He hasn’t. It has been catastrophe after catastrophe and debacle after debacle. There are so many things I could dive into but there is one major underlying issue with this team that I believe is the biggest thing holding them back. The culture.
The owner of this team has employed his family at almost every single important position. The only one really pulling their weight is his daughter. His son who has bungled pretty much every negotiation he has been involved in has no one to answer to. If any other GM gave Jaylon Smith that deal, they would have been kicked to the curb. Not in Dallas. Where nepotism and favoritism reign supreme over logical thought, and prudency.
The culture this family has cultivated deep inside this team is one of arrogance, superiority, fame, and brand, all prior to winning. The owner can give us lip service all he wants about how he would do anything to win, however we have seen countless times that just isn’t the case.
Appearing on every single microphone and camera he can, his primary focus is promoting the BRAND of the Dallas Cowboys. It is in no way shape or form what any GM with some semblance of accountability would do after 27 years of no success. He has slapped fans in the face countless times with untimely family vacations, inability to put together a good offense and defense, horrible risk taking in the second rounds of drafts, and overall, his inability to stop being a fan of this team, and start being the GM of this team. This “brand promotion” has now filtered down into the players on the field.
Players using their off days to appear on TV shows, players who tell everyone to “watch the tape” while then promoting their sunglass companies, players who all in all don’t seem to really care if they win or not because in their heads, they already have. The players in Dallas are coddled to the point where there is no accountability for bad play, no punishment for untimely penalties, no nothing. The culture of this team is that of a business. Promote the brand, don’t damage the brand, and if you win cool. If not, it isn’t the end of the world because. You’re a Dallas Cowboy. You are already a rockstar and get treated as such. Why put your body on the line for an owner/GM that only cares about winning the Forbes Superbowl every season? Why risk your life for an Owner that would rather be on TV then on the phones trying to replace the HOF left tackle that just probably ended his career?
The answer. He doesn’t care. He knows like we do that he will sell out every game, get the most ratings, and if a playoff run happens in the meantime. More money for him. This front office is so arrogant that they actually believe that they are so much better at drafting than everyone else, that having a swing tackle in place to replace Tyron if/when he gets hurt wasn’t even on their radar. That is yet another complete failure on their part. The culture of this team needs to change.
Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. The best defensive player the Cowboys have had in years has now been infected with this culture. Will that translate to him not performing the same on the field? Time will tell. But after getting knocked out of the playoffs at home and being dominated in that fashion after making statements about “where I am from the bully gets bullied” the last place this player should be is mouthing off on TV once a week, regardless of if it is only 15 minutes.
This is the end of my rant, but in conclusion. This team needs a culture change in a bad way. It needs an owner that will sign checks and watch games. Not sit in on coaching meetings, tell the coach who should be “featured” and most certainly not on TV talking about the playoffs the same day a legend of your team just had possibly a career ending injury.
