The Most Damning Article Ever Written on Jerry (Bob Sturm)

[Rayman70]

Perhaps it's obvious to a lot of us fans, but it hasn't been published to the masses like this, and certainly not with this specific detail and analysis.

I just wish he or another outlet had said this earlier, instead of sitting on their hands for many years watching the trainwreck. They enabled it. Better late than never I suppose. At least the mask has been ripped off and no one likes what we see.

 

[Rayman70]

I read the excerpts and every single one of them hit home...then I spent the time and read the full article. couple of times and its even better. been saying it for years, the Marketing Man, over rules the GM everytime and unfortunately as it says in the article, its the same man..

even if he somehow wins the lottery and wins, or gets to NCCG....still 30 years to get there and lots of futility along the way. and as he gets older, he feels more desparate to prove himself, now, at 82 hearing criticism directly on the air and being challenged...he is going to become more desparate, more irrational and make stupider moves..... this is going to get even worse, because now we are dealing with an egotistical 82 year old man, out to prove the world wrong with time running out......it has never worked in the past. it won't work now....

dollars and cents over winning. PERIOD. Once Jerry put on the Gold Jacket, it was ball game. Hes satisfied. That was the final nail. Until ownership changes hands, we have almost no real shot.

 

[MoistMayonnaise]

#5. He’s the only part time GM in the league.
Every other GM in the NFL dedicates 100% of his time being the GM. If I had to guess, JJ at best is 50%

10% or less, and it shows.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Local Dallas radio host Bob Sturm of The Ticket radio has just written a masterpiece of clarity for us fans. I encourage everyone to read it as it is the best summary of what Jerry has done to our franchise.

https://bobsturm.substack.com/p/founders-choice-the-airing-of-grievances

Some Highlights:

1. He is the ultimate “Dress-Up General Manager” - "He has insisted on playing dress-up and claiming the most important role in any organization – the General Manager – without ever actually fulfilling the role by doing its duties, and more bothersome, never once wavering by giving the role up.
   
   "But the notion that he could take over as owner of the Cowboys and also take over as the GM and replace Tex Schramm was a bad plan in 1989 and a worse plan every year since Jimmy Johnson left (Johnson had, in his contract, full control of personnel moves for his tenure, but of course, no head coach has had that since).
   
   To claim the title suggests that you cannot find anyone more qualified than yourself. Again, he isn’t the first man to suffer from extreme hubris because his bank account allowed it, but at what point of a football team failing would a man seek help?"
   
   
2. Even after 35 years, we still don’t know his personal philosophy on football - "If you talk to anyone who has worked or does work in that organization for any period of time, they would tell you that Jerry has no personal, authentic takes on how the game should be played. Rather he is a product of crowd-sourcing thoughts from current events and the last person who has been in his ear. This is not what good leaders do, of course, because it results in spinning in circles over the long-term.
   
   Instead, the Cowboys have reversed fields countless times since Jerry has been running things. This tells you that there might not be any real core beliefs that are non-negotiable about how the game should be played or how a team should be built or even what sort of players you want in your building. They chase butterflies of past mistakes, current trends, or the belief that they can somehow recreate the 1990s Cowboys dynasty in the 2020s where the game is barely recognizable between those two eras."
   
   
3. He has not let a head coach truly be the actual head coach in decades - "Jerry has never respected the office of head coach enough to allow them to run their program. Because along the way, he has never allowed them to do something as basic as “name their own staff.” Regardless of who it has been and even if that head coach has already demonstrated he can win a Super Bowl, Jerry has constantly pushed coordinators on his new head coaches that the new man had never worked with in any capacity. He gave Mike Zimmer to Parcells. He hired Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator before he even hired Wade Phillips. He suggested strongly that Kellen Moore was on Mike McCarthy’s first staff. He gave Barry Switzer and Chan Gailey full staffs that were already here and employed with the last coach that was fired.
   
   So, when players circumvent the coach to take up an issue with the owner, in most places that would get the player in hot water with the organization. Here, it simply cements the fact that Jones has been this team’s actual head coach in these matters since before these players were born. He welcomes them in and hears their issues. It sends the message that the coach is not powerful. Again."
   
   
4. He wanted to be right more than he wanted to win - "In many ways, it is no longer about just winning a title. It is about winning a title in precisely the way that people have long said he cannot. He needs to show people that he has been correct all along and that is why nothing ever changes besides the names and the faces of those who serve him.
   
   It all feels like one large plot-line narrative to demonstrate that everyone else was wrong and that eventually he could do this very thing in the way that he saw fit – gathering all of the money and attention – and still win that one last trophy.
   
   He wants to be right much more than he wants to win. Which is why I doubt he will ever be able to do either."
   
   This is the best summary of what Jerry has done to our franchise, not from a forum poster but from an industry insider who has covered the Cowboys for more than a quarter of a century. This is exactly who Jerry is and it's high time ALL Cowboys fans saw him as he really is.

Well, many of us have been saying these things since forever, so yay Bob, industry insider.

 

[fivetwos]

In fairness to Jerry, he was instrumental in two things that ensured the dynasty. First, he vetoed Jimmy trading Irvin to the Raiders. And second, he forced the trade of Walsh to NO so that Jimmy would stop trying to usurp Aikman. That trade also yielded some great picks that turned into key pieces.

Jimmy was incredible but he wasn’t perfect and Jerry did a good job of reining him in when Jimmy was getting too cute. And not to mention Jerry had the stones to fire Landry and bring in Jimmy in the first place. Jerry eventually went nuts but I think it’s unfair to give him zero credit for the dynasty.

I’m not calling you out but I’d like to know how you heard about the Irvin and Walsh things.

I absorbed absolutely anything and everything about this team at that time and even worked in sports media in NYC then. Literally next to Mike Knisley and Chris Mortensen among others.

I never heard or read a thing about either situation, so I’m asking how it is that you know.

 

[Rayman70]

the message is loud and clear Jerry and son have sent to the fans and the team. Its about his profit margins, and that's HIS bottom-line & end game.

 

[FLCowboyFan]

The players, assistant coaches, head coaches, have all changed over multiple times since 1995. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the way that Jones family has run this team. Heck even the press and the fans have mostly changed. At some point you can’t keep blaming everyone but yourself and be credible!

 

[5Stars]

That is Jerry drawing up some plays for his Cowboys.

 

[visionary]

Ho hum
Intelligent Cowboy fans have known this for over 2 decades

 

[kskboys]

#5. He’s the only part time GM in the league.
Every other GM in the NFL dedicates 100% of his time being the GM. If I had to guess, JJ at best is 50%

Less. By his own admission, he does not watch tape at all, including game tape or tape of possible draftees. I'm going to say maybe around 20%. In all honestly, exactly what does he do as GM?

 

[kskboys]

"He wants to be right more than he wants to win."

I'd love to hear from the fans who insist Jerry wants to win more than anyone.

 

[Jarv]

Sorry for the delayed response. World Series sort of got in the way lol.

Parcells’ good friend at the time was a prominent NY radio guy. I listened daily and recall exactly where I was when I was hearing this and most of the details that aren’t relevant.

He was explaining some things about how BP ended up in Dallas…how he had just gone through a divorce and got hit pretty hard, and was looking for an opportunity. We of course know Jerrys motivations from the drunken video, but that’s a different story.

Anyhow, Jerry asked ‘can you keep this DC, I like him and just signed him, etc’ Parcells met with Zimmer and didn’t dislike him, so he complied.

We know the results. BP basically willed a not great Quincy Carter-led team to the playoffs, but it didnt work so well in year two. He finally put his foot down in year three and switched to the 34…..although Zimmer was still retained since Jerry wasn’t even about to eat the final year.

Parcells was literally one of the innovators of the 34…if not THEE innovator…but Jerry had to have one of “his guys” per usual….and would not eat a coaching contract, so it was a square peg for two years.

By the time BP could get the defense right, the relationship had run its course, BPs contract was up and Jerry basically said ‘I’ll take it from here….’

We know those results as well.

I do not have similar knowledge, but I suspect the same thing happened with McCarthy and Moore. MM needed/wanted a pay day, was an offensive guy who called his own plays….yet claimed to have wanted to keep Moore at the time he was hired. BS. Three years in they suddenly “have different philosophies.” That’s not what it was…it was Jerry’s fingerprints all over things. It hasn’t worked and never will.

Yeo I listened to Mike Francesa a bit to on the WFAN. That's about how I heard it too and I agree with your suspected ending of that relationship.

 

[bewp7]

nice keep it up

show support to all media who is not scared to call out jerry the tyrant bully

bring down jerry the clown jones

bring down stephen the bozo too

 

[Cowboys5217]

This. only a fool believes Jerry had anything to do with building a dynasty. Jerry signed checks and had no say in football matters.

Plus, it was Aikman who coached that team to a SB from the huddle in 1995. Barry was just over on the sidelines eating hot dogs and collecting checks.

 

[Cowboys5217]

In fairness to Jerry, he was instrumental in two things that ensured the dynasty. First, he vetoed Jimmy trading Irvin to the Raiders. And second, he forced the trade of Walsh to NO so that Jimmy would stop trying to usurp Aikman. That trade also yielded some great picks that turned into key pieces.

Jimmy was incredible but he wasn’t perfect and Jerry did a good job of reining him in when Jimmy was getting too cute. And not to mention Jerry had the stones to fire Landry and bring in Jimmy in the first place. Jerry eventually went nuts but I think it’s unfair to give him zero credit for the dynasty.

Need some receipts on that Irvin trade. And Jimmy always planned to trade Walsh for picks. I would link it, but it's from a forbidden source. Just google it. Jerry had nothing to do with the Walsh situation at any point. It was all a master plan of Jimmy.

 

[Cowboys5217]

I’m not calling you out but I’d like to know how you heard about the Irvin and Walsh things.

I absorbed absolutely anything and everything about this team at that time and even worked in sports media in NYC then. Literally next to Mike Knisley and Chris Mortensen among others.

I never heard or read a thing about either situation, so I’m asking how it is that you know.

I know for a fact he is full of BS on the Walsh claims.

 

[fivetwos]

I know for a fact he is full of BS on the Walsh claims.

I’m not sure why some can’t accept (Jerry Jones included) that Jimmy assembled those teams on his own.

If untrue, why does Jerry remain hell bent on still trying to prove himself into his 80s, and/or hasn’t been able to duplicate it since?

It also means Jimmy Johnson is a flat out liar which I don’t buy.

 

[EGTuna]

Bob previously had bosses/editors at the DMN and The Athletic that would arguably reject such a comprehensive take down. Now that Bob is on substack and is accountable only to subscribers, he can write whatever he wants. And he’s doing a great job.

 

[Cowboys5217]

I’m not sure why some can’t accept (Jerry Jones included) that Jimmy assembled those teams on his own.

If untrue, why does Jerry remain hell bent on still trying to prove himself into his 80s, and/or hasn’t been able to duplicate it since?

It also means Jimmy Johnson is a flat out liar which I don’t buy.

Jimmy even explains why he let Aikman fear for his job - he needed everyone to believe that Walsh was starting QB material to maximize trade value. it worked like a charm. Jimmy hoodwinked New Orleans, and parlayed Walsh into Erik Williams and, via further trades with NE, Russel Maryland.

 

[TequilaCowboy]

Plus, it was Aikman who coached that team to a SB from the huddle in 1995. Barry was just over on the sidelines eating hot dogs and collecting checks.

Even Barry admitted he didn’t do much… he later on said why mess up a good thing. LOL.

He got his ring and went back to his couch.