CFZ This would make the Cowboys ROH fairer and more respectable

[KJJ]

Watching the Cowboys ROH become the personal play thing of Jerry Jones is very sad. Every Cowboys fan who has followed the team for decades knows Jimmy Johnson should be in the Cowboys ROH. Sadly, the pettiness of JJ is cheapening what should be a wonderful reflection of this great sports institution.

As it stands today, one vindictive 80 year old man is in the ONLY decider of who gets in the Cowboys ROH. That’s insane.
Here‘s a process I think would make the ROH fairer and more respectable:

• The team should appoint a select committee who will use a process to select members of the ROH.
  • Members of the committee would include every living member of the ROH, 3 current members of the current Cowboys team who have been with the team 5 or more years, a member of the front office, and 3 long time local sports writers who have covered the Cowboys for decades (Which is what the Pro Football HOF does)
• The ROH committee would meet once a year in the off-season to decide if anyone should be inducted.
• Induction into the ROH would require a 3/4 majority of the committee’s vote.
• No one would be eligible for the ROH until a minimum of five seasons has passed since their retirement.

The current “system” we have is ridiculous. Fans and the team’s former great players and coaches should not be subject to pettiness of one man to make this prestigious group.

Thoughts?

Jerry is too much of a control freak to allow a committee to pick members for the ROH. That would mean Jimmy would get in. Jerry wants control and the final say in everything.

 

[zrinkill]

Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Jason Garrett, Woody, and Fredbeard.

 

[offlimits]

What’s worse about the current system is that Jones is going to start inducting guys who don’t even have rings.

Agree. Romo, Zeke should not even be in the conversation.

 

[Reality]

Watching the Cowboys ROH become the personal play thing of Jerry Jones is very sad. Every Cowboys fan who has followed the team for decades knows Jimmy Johnson should be in the Cowboys ROH. Sadly, the pettiness of JJ is cheapening what should be a wonderful reflection of this great sports institution.

As it stands today, one vindictive 80 year old man is in the ONLY decider of who gets in the Cowboys ROH. That’s insane.
Here‘s a process I think would make the ROH fairer and more respectable:

• The team should appoint a select committee who will use a process to select members of the ROH.
  • Members of the committee would include every living member of the ROH, 3 current members of the current Cowboys team who have been with the team 5 or more years, a member of the front office, and 3 long time local sports writers who have covered the Cowboys for decades (Which is what the Pro Football HOF does)
• The ROH committee would meet once a year in the off-season to decide if anyone should be inducted.
• Induction into the ROH would require a 3/4 majority of the committee’s vote.
• No one would be eligible for the ROH until a minimum of five seasons has passed since their retirement.

The current “system” we have is ridiculous. Fans and the team’s former great players and coaches should not be subject to pettiness of one man to make this prestigious group.

Thoughts?

While I agree with your idea, I cannot see Jerry, Stephen, etc. ever agreeing to it because the ROH ceremony is a revenue generating event and the more limited it is the more relevance each addition provides.

Beyond that though, I have said for years the only reason Jerry has not inducted Jimmy into the ROH is because he has been waiting until the Cowboys win a Super Bowl without one of Jimmy's teams.

Jerry knows that if he puts Jimmy into the ROH now, the media will unleash a neverending noslaught of questions and articles centered around pointing out the 28 years of failures from Jerry's Cowboys teams versus the accomplishments of Jimmy's Cowboys teams in much less time.

If the Cowboys win a Super Bowl, Jerry can find ways to diminish Jimmy's Super Bowl wins with things like, "We just won a Super Bowl in today's NFL which is a much more competitive league than it was back then due to the salary cap and revenue sharing".

Without a Super Bowl win, Jerry knows the focus will be completely on his failures and that's on top of everyone giving all the credit to the 1990's Super Bowls to Jimmy.

 

[Bobhaze]

Agree. Romo, Zeke should not even be in the conversation.

Zeke- no way. Romo on the other hand deserves consideration. He’s not a lock IMO. His lack of playoff success hurts but being the team’s all time leading passer is worthy of some note.

What is sad to me is Tony Romo certainly had enough talent to get the Cowboys to a SB. He just didn’t have enough around him (other than those 2007-09 teams) to really have a decent chance.

 

[Jumbo075]

The Ring of Honor for the Cowboys has always had a selection committee of one. Before Jerry Jones, Tex Schramm was the only person choosing who was inducted. One of the things Tex said to Jerry very early on, in the couple of years that Tex stayed on after Jones bought the team, was that the Ring of Honor was primarily meant for players.

Prior to Jerry Jones taking over the selection process, all of the members of the Ring of Honor were players. But even then, Tex seemed malicious to some by excluding some players from the Ring of Honor. Harvey Martin comes to mind as the primary example of Tex Schramm snubbing a player.

Jerry went against the “players only” ethic that Tex Schramm declared as the intent of the existence of the Ring of Honor. He did so to induct the three main architects of the Cowboys’ legacy which led to them being declared “America’s Team” by Sports Illustrated in the late 1970’s: Tom Landry, Gil Brandt, and Tex Schramm.

It is arguable to this day that Gil Brandt had a greater personnel impact on the NFL than any other scout, or personnel executive in NFL history. Brandt was the very first person to implement the use of computers, and data analytics to finding players in the draft, and evaluating trades and free agent acquisitions. He is the reason the NFL implemented the scouting combine in 1983 - so that the rest of the NFL could catch up to the Cowboys.

Prior to Jones, who is a Hall of Famer in his own right as a GM, Schramm was far and away the most important and influential GM in NFL history. He was an executive at CBS before joining the Cowboys, and was instrumental in negotiating the TV broadcast rights and schedule for the entire NFL. Jones has taken what Schramm accomplished to another level - spearheading the expansion of the NFL to other broadcast venues outside the big 3 networks, and campaigning hard for all NFL teams to get new stadiums. Jones also expanded the sponsorship agreements for the entire NFL, not just the Cowboys. But it was Schramm who was the trail blazer.

And what more can be said about Tom Landry. He brought an engineering mind to coaching, creating system based coaching that led to a still record 20 consecutive winning seasons. He invented the 4-3 defense AND the Flex defense, which was the precursor to the 3-4 defense. The read-and-react nature of the flex defense was revolutionary. On the offensive side, he was the first to incorporate the motion offense, and also the first to extensively use the spread (shotgun) offense in the NFL.

Other than the induction of those three men, Jones has stayed true to the ethic of keeping the Ring of Honor for players only. And other than those 3 Cowboys non-players, there haven’t been any other front office staff or coaches who have had as dramatic an impact on not just Cowboys history, but on NFL history itself.

There are many who believe Jimmy Johnson should be honored. But I don’t think anyone can honestly argue that Jimmy had as great an impact on the Cowboys or the NFL itself as any of the 3 non-players currently in the Ring of Honor. Certainly, Jimmy was the architect of the Cowboys dynasty of the 90’s. But the invention of the draft chart is rightfully credited to a chemical engineer who worked for Jerry in his oil business, even if Jimmy wrongfully takes credit for its development. Jimmy was the first to use it, but he didn’t actually create it.

If Jimmy ever does get inducted, he will forever be in the shadow of Landry, Schramm, and Brandt. They tower over him intheir legacy with the Cowboys or with the NFL. Jimmy was a great coach. But he didn’t have the impact the others did.

As for complaints that Jerry has somehow turned it into the Jerry Ring of Honor, let’s be honest. Before Jerry, it was the Schramm Ring of Honor. And he could be and was just as capricious in excluding some men who many thought deserved the honor, but never received it while Tex still ran the team. If Tex can leave out Harvey Martin, and Ed Jones out of personal spite, then why is anyone surprised that Jerry would do likewise? So it isn’t anything new that it is up to one, and only one, man who decides who gets in. It has ALWAYS been that way.

 

[Bobhaze]

While I agree with your idea, I cannot see Jerry, Stephen, etc. ever agreeing to it because the ROH ceremony is a revenue generating event and the more limited it is the more relevance each addition provides.

Beyond that though, I have said for years the only reason Jerry has not inducted Jimmy into the ROH is because he has been waiting until the Cowboys win a Super Bowl without one of Jimmy's teams.

Jerry knows that if he puts Jimmy into the ROH now, the media will unleash a neverending noslaught of questions and articles centered around pointing out the 28 years of failures from Jerry's Cowboys teams versus the accomplishments of Jimmy's Cowboys teams in much less time.

If the Cowboys win a Super Bowl, Jerry can find ways to diminish Jimmy's Super Bowl wins with things like, "We just won a Super Bowl in today's NFL which is a much more competitive league than it was back then due to the salary cap and revenue sharing".

Without a Super Bowl win, Jerry knows the focus will be completely on his failures and that's on top of everyone giving all the credit to the 1990's Super Bowls to Jimmy.

Brother sadly, I can’t see it either. But with almost every other team in the league choosing their ROH type honorees using a committee and occasionally even including some fan input, it just emphasizes how sad it is we as fans are subjected to this kind of dictatorial control.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, being an owner of a pro sports franchise is not like owing a family donut shop or lumber yard. Being an NFL owner means you do have the right to the financial profits of the team. But you also have some responsibility to the communities that gave you huge tax breaks (that other family businesses don’t have) and even have tax payers helping to build the giant stadiums that haul in enormous profits.

In short, being a dictator of a family donut shop is fine. Being a dictator of a modern NFL franchise built with huge support and tax breaks from the local community is apples and oranges.

 

[Brax]

Watching the Cowboys ROH become the personal play thing of Jerry Jones is very sad. Every Cowboys fan who has followed the team for decades knows Jimmy Johnson should be in the Cowboys ROH. Sadly, the pettiness of JJ is cheapening what should be a wonderful reflection of this great sports institution.

As it stands today, one vindictive 80 year old man is in the ONLY decider of who gets in the Cowboys ROH. That’s insane.
Here‘s a process I think would make the ROH fairer and more respectable:

• The team should appoint a select committee who will use a process to select members of the ROH.
  • Members of the committee would include every living member of the ROH, 3 current members of the current Cowboys team who have been with the team 5 or more years, a member of the front office, and 3 long time local sports writers who have covered the Cowboys for decades (Which is what the Pro Football HOF does)
• The ROH committee would meet once a year in the off-season to decide if anyone should be inducted.
• Induction into the ROH would require a 3/4 majority of the committee’s vote.
• No one would be eligible for the ROH until a minimum of five seasons has passed since their retirement.

The current “system” we have is ridiculous. Fans and the team’s former great players and coaches should not be subject to pettiness of one man to make this prestigious group.

Thoughts?

The HOF is joke why would Jerry ever change he’s in charge of everything and it’s not changing. ROH and HOF aren’t fair and never will be.

 

[Bobhaze]

The Ring of Honor for the Cowboys has always had a selection committee of one. Before Jerry Jones, Tex Schramm was the only person choosing who was inducted. One of the things Tex said to Jerry very early on, in the couple of years that Tex stayed on after Jones bought the team, was that the Ring of Honor was primarily meant for players.

Prior to Jerry Jones taking over the selection process, all of the members of the Ring of Honor were players. But even then, Tex seemed malicious to some by excluding some players from the Ring of Honor. Harvey Martin comes to mind as the primary example of Tex Schramm snubbing a player.

Jerry went against the “players only” ethic that Tex Schramm declared as the intent of the existence of the Ring of Honor. He did so to induct the three main architects of the Cowboys’ legacy which led to them being declared “America’s Team” by Sports Illustrated in the late 1970’s: Tom Landry, Gil Brandt, and Tex Schramm.

It is arguable to this day that Gil Brandt had a greater personnel impact on the NFL than any other scout, or personnel executive in NFL history. Brandt was the very first person to implement the use of computers, and data analytics to finding players in the draft, and evaluating trades and free agent acquisitions. He is the reason the NFL implemented the scouting combine in 1983 - so that the rest of the NFL could catch up to the Cowboys.

Prior to Jones, who is a Hall of Famer in his own right as a GM, Schramm was far and away the most important and influential GM in NFL history. He was an executive at CBS before joining the Cowboys, and was instrumental in negotiating the TV broadcast rights and schedule for the entire NFL. Jones has taken what Schramm accomplished to another level - spearheading the expansion of the NFL to other broadcast venues outside the big 3 networks, and campaigning hard for all NFL teams to get new stadiums. Jones also expanded the sponsorship agreements for the entire NFL, not just the Cowboys. But it was Schramm who was the trail blazer.

And what more can be said about Tim Landry. He brought an engineering mind to coaching, creating system based coaching that led to a still record 20 consecutive winning seasons. He invented the 4-3 defense AND the Flex defense, which was the precursor to the 3-4 defense. The read-and-react nature of the flex defense was revolutionary. On the offensive side, he was the first to incorporate the motion offense, and also the first to extensively use the spread (shotgun) offense in the NFL.

Other than the induction of those three men, Jones has stayed true to the ethic of keeping the Ring of Honor for players only. And other than those 3 men, there haven’t been any other front office staff or coaches who have had as dramatic an impact on not just Cowboys history, but on NFL history itself.

There are many who believe Jimmy Johnson should be honored. But I don’t think anyone can honestly argue that Jimmy had as great an impact on the Cowboys or the NFL itself as any of the 3 non-players currently in the Ring of Honor.

If Jimmy ever does get inducted, he will forever be in the shadow of Landry, Schramm, and Brandt. They tower over him in their legacy to the Cowboys or to the NFL.

As for complaints that Jerry has somehow turned it into the Jerry Ring of Honor, let’s be honest. Before Jerry, it was the Schramm Ring of Honor. And he could be and was just as capricious in excluding some men who many thought deserved the honor, but never received it while Tex still ran the team. So it isn’t anything new that it is up to one, and only one, man who decides who gets in. It has ALWAYS been that way.

Well said Jumbo. But as I said earlier, Tex was wrong too being the sole decider.

IMO, one reason we don’t have the great Cornell Green, Harvey Martin and Too Tall Jones in there is because Schramm was vindictive too. He held it against several guys who had contract disputes with him and in the case of Too Tall, sat out a season to box in the prime of his career, probably in part because of his contract squabbles with Tex.

Having one individual have that kind of power to decide who is in the team’s ROH is wrong. It’s why a vast majority of NFL teams today use a committee.

 

[jterrell]

The Cowboys Ring of Honor is Jerry's ring of honor.

We do not have to like that but crying about it and talking about it just makes him right.

Ignore it, call it meaningless then perhaps it will change.

 

[DallasEast]

For what it is worth, here is the record between Jerry Jones and the Pro Football Hall of Fame as far as which entity selected someone first for enshrinement since 1989:

Overall

Jones [for the Ring]: 12 (0.667) | Lee Roy Jordan, Bob Hayes, Cliff Harris, Rayfield Wright, Drew Pearson, Gil Brandt, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Charles Haley, Larry Allen, Darren Woodson

Hall: 6 (0.333) | Tom Landry, Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Tex Schramm, DeMarcus Ware, Jimmy Johnson


Pre-Jones Era Inductees

Jones: 6 (0.600) | Lee Roy Jordan, Bob Hayes, Cliff Harris, Rayfield Wright, Drew Pearson, Gil Brandt

Hall: 4 (0.400) | Tom Landry, Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Tex Schramm


Post-Jones Franchise Inductees

Jones: 6 (0.750) | Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Charles Haley, Larry Allen, Darren Woodson

Hall: 2 (0.250) | DeMarcus Ware, Jimmy Johnson


Jones should be acknowledged for having a better record than the Hall for the people listed but here is my question...

Shouldn't Jones record be closer to 100% instead of closer to 50%? Any franchise should recognize everyone who contributed to its greatness first before the Hall does. Or does that not make sense?

 

[Cowboys5217]

as I have been told in the past, his business, his rules

His franchise license can be revoked. Not likely, but not totally impossible.

 

[atlantacowboy]

The idea that an NFL franchise is 100% the property of one individual is as ancient as the pyramids. Owning an NFL team is NOT like owning a family lumber business which in that case you should have total autonomy. Owners are also beholden to the communities that have supported their teams.

In the case of the Dallas franchise:

• While Jerry has certainly done a great job of increasing the value of the Cowboys and all NFL teams, he did not buy the browns. He bought “America’s Team” which already had a great brand when he bought it.
• The voters in Irving and Arlington have certainly padded his wallet through paying for most of the building of the two stadiums the Cowboys have played in since he bought the team. A family lumber company doesn’t have taxpayers build stuff for them.

Here’s what an owner of a modern sports owes its community:

• While Jerry and the Jones family are entitled to the profits of the franchise, they also have an obligation to their community to not make the team a “personal toy”.
• Almost all modern sports teams have a much higher commitment to be accountable to their fans and community. Look at the article I linked at how many teams now use committees rather than one dictator to decide their ROH.

I could go on. But saying that the owner of the Dallas Cowboys is same as owning a family donut shop or restaurant is ridiculous. Owners of sports franchises owe a lot to the communities where they reside and where they receive huge tax breaks other “family” businesses do not.

This is should be permanently posted somewhere on this board.

 

[Captain-Crash]

I'll give you one of the go-to comments from haters, "if you don't like it find another team" I'm sure some old guy is sitting at home pinning and whining about not being in the ROH.
It bothers me none. This is the last thing I worry about from this cluster crap of a team. smh.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Zeke- no way. Romo on the other hand deserves consideration. He’s not a lock IMO. His lack of playoff success hurts but being the team’s all time leading passer is worthy of some note.

What is sad to me is Tony Romo certainly had enough talent to get the Cowboys to a SB. He just didn’t have enough around him (other than those 2007-09 teams) to really have a decent chance.

Truth! I'm angrier with Jerry Jones and the missed opportunities to contend than the ROH issue which is petty and personal for sure, but it's a side story in my mind compared to the on-the-field travesty.

 

[Mark]

The idea that an NFL franchise is 100% the property of one individual is as ancient as the pyramids.

Yet, oligarchical ownership is mandated by the League; they require every club to be wholly owned by either a single owner or a small group of owners, one of whom must hold a one-third stake in the team. The only reason the Packers are (theoretically) publicly-owned by community shareholders is that their 100-year-old arrangement was "grandfathered" in. It's no longer permitted.

 

[atlantacowboy]

next time I'm in Dallas, I will demand an audience with Jerry to tell how run his unit. I will let you know how it goes.

the point is simple. Jerry Jones didn’t invent the Dallas Cowboys or the teams ring of honor. While the franchises are founded as business ventures , what makes them successful is not who buys them. The fan base makes the team. Without it , Jerry wouldn’t be where he is today. So in that regard, Jerry does have an obligation to us collectively. That is not the same as an individual being a jerk and demanding an audience.

 

[blueblood70]

Agree. Romo, Zeke should not even be in the conversation.

Disagree both should get consideration,

This is why fans can't be part of it just like Jerry can't be the sole guy this needs to be a group decision and I'm sorry they both probably should get in there eventually...

they're top five in almost every statistical category is from their position against other Dallas Cowboys at their position since 1960, get that get that through your head...EE had a much better career than people want to admit with selective memory because all they seen was the big money and how he degraded over time at the end before he left.. The man put up better stats than Terrell Davis​

​

I'm sorry but it's actual facts that is what can get you in the Hall of Fame as well as a Ring of Honor it has nothing to do with rings remember there are dudes all over the Hall of Fame without rings..​

 

[Captain-Crash]

the point is simple. Jerry Jones didn’t invent the Dallas Cowboys or the teams ring of honor. While the franchises are founded as business ventures , what makes them successful is not who buys them. The fan base makes the team. Without it , Jerry wouldn’t be where he is today. So in that regard, Jerry does have an obligation to us collectively. That is not the same as an individual being a jerk and demanding an audience.

Tickets will be sold no matter what. Stupid "gear" crap will be sold. His venue will be hosting singers, rodeos, motocross, and whatnot. He doesn't need us. He isn't concerned about anything but money and what he wants to do. shrugs this is his toy and it matters none to him what we think. If 29 years doesn't prove this nothing will.

 

[cowboysfan99]

What’s worse about the current system is that Jones is going to start inducting guys who don’t even have rings.

Rings shouldn’t be a prerequisite. Do you really think hall of famers like Ware or eventually Zack Martin haven’t earned their spots up there?