What was Jerrys biggest mistake?

[gimmesix]

You don't think there is a chance that Jimmy would have stayed a few more years if JJ just sat back and not intervened? I think he would have, or at least a good chance at that scenario.

I don't think the evidence supports that. In fact, even Johnson says it isn't so.

DALLAS -- A lot of folks will forever blame Jerry Jones (and his ego) for the death of the Cowboys’ 1990s dynasty.

That shouldn’t be so, according to Jimmy Johnson.

The perception is that Jones pushed Johnson out of Valley Ranch after the Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls because the owner/general manager wanted a bigger share of the spotlight. Johnson insists that isn’t the reality.

“I’d done my deal and needed to move on,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s PwC-SMU Athletic Forum luncheon. “Jerry Jones catches more abuse -- he doesn’t deserve abuse. I was going to south Florida.”

Johnson described leaving Dallas as the most difficult decision of his career. He is adamant, however, that it was his decision to walk away after the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVIII.

“It’s something I had to do,” Johnson said, adding that he was consumed with coaching and essentially an absentee father for his five years in Dallas. “I knew I was going to do it, but I had to do it. Sometimes you’ve got things you’ve got to do.

“It had nothing to do with anybody or anything. It was just me. I had done my job. For five years, I lived (at the facility). I didn’t have a life.”

 

[Idgit]

Romo -6 year....108mil

Everything else will pale in comparison in a few years

People just don't know it yet

Look at you, trying to get some attention. You're adorable.

 

[gimmesix]

There is no real denying the fact Jimmy Johnson wanted out. Jones had threatened him and his ego repeatedly. Instead of getting out of the way, he interjected himself because he was insecure.

But let's play make-believe and look at things now. Imagine Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. Imagine Bob Kraft suddenly demanding that Belichick make him look important in the draft room. Imagine if Kraft became furious that Belichick announced a trade that did not allow him to take credit when he had nothing to do with it? Would he want to leave? I can assure you he would.

I don't have to imagine, since Johnson said it had nothing to do with that. He was just ready to leave. I'm sure Jerry's ego made it easier, but that's about all.

Johnson knew despite Jerry's bluster that he was in a situation where he could run the team as long as he wanted to and the way he wanted to and could get Jerry to give him whatever he wanted. So I don't think the situation over credit was as big a deal to him as that.

 

[gimmesix]

Jimmy's said publicly many times that he was the reason for his own departure from Dallas.

Whoops, didn't see that you had already quoted that article.

It simply restates a truth that both have been saying since the breakup happened. For some reason (read: agenda), a lot of Cowboys fans don't want to believe that's the way it happened.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

You're being sarcastic right? (about that being the reason why Dallas hasn't won a Super Bowl since)

Dallas did win one, the very year Jerry signed with Nike and Pepsi, in 1995.

 

[gimmesix]

that is my favorite moment as a cowboys fan. Hated it at the moment because walker was the reason i started watching the cowboys.

Jimmy might not have any Super Bowls to his credit if it hadn't been for this trade. It allowed him and Jerry to quickly put together a team with depth around their cornerstones.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

Whoops, didn't see that you had already quoted that article.

It simply restates a truth that both have been saying since the breakup happened. For some reason (read: agenda), a lot of Cowboys fans don't want to believe that's the way it happened.

Jimmy was ready to move on, but it wasn't going to be that year. All this ruckus happened in late March of that year at the owner's meetings. If Jimmy truly was going to leave, he would have done it soon after the season, not when he had that spat with Jerry.

Jimmy would have stayed at least one more year, perhaps longer.

 

[Floatyworm]

Look at you, trying to get some attention. You're adorable.

why is stating the obvious... attention whoring????

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Putting things aside and working to convince Jimmy to stay 3 more years. Could have had 4 Super Bowls in a row. Historic.

I can't forgive Jimmy for saying his dream job was to coach the Dolphins, particularly after Jerry hired him when he was considered a 'high school coach' and kept him around after a 1-15 season. But, had Jerry been the bigger man and put that aside, he could have had history.







YR

 

[gimmesix]

Jimmy was ready to move on, but it wasn't going to be that year. All this ruckus happened in late March of that year at the owner's meetings. If Jimmy truly was going to leave, he would have done it soon after the season, not when he had that spat with Jerry.

Jimmy would have stayed at least one more year, perhaps longer.

I don't know. A lot of stuff I've read on it says Jimmy wanted out then. He wasn't looking to stay another year.

Would he have? Again, I don't know. He was burnt out on the job and ready to move on, but maybe Jerry might have been able to talk him into staying another year if he so desired.

Not sure he would have fared any better than Barry did that year if his heart wasn't into it. Then again, not sure Jimmy could have dialed back his competitiveness if he committed to another year.

Too much assumption in reading anything into it other than what Jerry and Jimmy say about the situation, and that is that Jimmy wanted out.

 

[Fansince64]

Jimmy was ready to move on, but it wasn't going to be that year. All this ruckus happened in late March of that year at the owner's meetings. If Jimmy truly was going to leave, he would have done it soon after the season, not when he had that spat with Jerry.

Jimmy would have stayed at least one more year, perhaps longer.

One story that I heard a former Cowboy scout mention on a radio interview a couple of years after Jimmy left said that Jerry told Jimmy immediately after they had won their 2nd Superbowl that he wanted to resign Jimmy (remember 1993 was Jimmy's 5th season as HC) but Jimmy would no longer be responsible for "all football related decisions". I remember Jimmy saying in several interviews after leaving the Cowboys that he had that power written into his contract when Jerry first hired him or else he would not have accepted the Cowboy job. He had several other nibbles from NFL teams at the time after winning a National Championship at Miami. Jimmy said he believed that Jerry would never again allow anyone to have that power except Jerry himself.

If it is true Jerry told Jimmy that immediately after the 2nd Superbowl, that could explain why Jimmy chose that time to force the arguments that led to the break up. Jimmy knew he could not work in a situation where he did not have control of all football related decisions. Especially if the person that did have that control was Jerry who Jimmy knew did not have the knowledge or experience to run a football team. We have now had 19 years (03/29/94 to present) of verification of Jimmy's assessment.

Not saying all of this is correct - after all it is hearsay from the scout. I do know that Jimmy has mentioned in several interviews that he had the "power to make all football related decisions" written into his contract as a condition to accepting the Cowboy HC job. I think that is why Jerry has never said specifically that he was making all decisions regarding trades, coaches, rosters, etc. during Jimmy's tenure here. I think if he said that he believes Jimmy would whip out his contract and show everyone that Jimmy controlled the football side of things. Instead, you have Jerry saying things like "I have always been GM since I have owned the team." This is true on paper but not in actuality if Jimmy is to be believed - which I do.


Monte Sliger

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

His 2000 has to be one of the worst GM performances in the history of the sport.

 

[CoCo]

Jimmy was ready to move on, but it wasn't going to be that year. All this ruckus happened in late March of that year at the owner's meetings. If Jimmy truly was going to leave, he would have done it soon after the season, not when he had that spat with Jerry.

Jimmy would have stayed at least one more year, perhaps longer.

Well that settles it then. Despite what Jimmy himself has said. Really good discussion. :laugh2:

 

[Red Dragon]

Well that settles it then. Despite what Jimmy himself has said. Really good discussion. :laugh2:

Yes. Sometimes people will believe what they want to believe. :starspin :laugh1:

 

[17yearsandcounting]

Rather keep Wade Phillips?

Talk down on Wade all you want. He went 13-3. He won a playoff game. Still waiting on Jason.

 

[ManicDepressiveMan]

This is like the easiest question ever.

Jerry thinking he can be GM of a football team is like the biggest mistake in sports history. The results speak for themselves.

You could have put "Risen Star" in at GM after Jimmy left and I guarantee we'd have at least doubled our playoff wins since 1996.

 

[Dodger12]

Jimmy was ready to move on, but it wasn't going to be that year. All this ruckus happened in late March of that year at the owner's meetings. If Jimmy truly was going to leave, he would have done it soon after the season, not when he had that spat with Jerry.

Jimmy would have stayed at least one more year, perhaps longer.

It's so obvious but if people pointed to that fact, it would fly int he face of their pro-Jerry agenda. Jerry also wanted Johnson to change the clause in his contract that gave Johnson control over football/personnel decisions and Jimmy balked; Jimmy was thinking of staying one more year but it became obvious that wasn't going to happen after the meeting with Jerry. In the end, leaving with a nice pay day and control of his own football destiny was the best option.

Well that settles it then. Despite what Jimmy himself has said. Really good discussion. :laugh2:

Nice. I like how Jimmy recently told everyone he was the football guy and it was written into his contract and it's completely dismissed by many here and debated for pages on end. Or how Jerry himself tells people he's the decision maker and that's also dismissed.

 

[Soth]

Here's my take:

1. Letting Jimmy go - He should have done everything in his power to keep Jimmy.
2. Not hiring a real GM.
3. The Galloway trade - Giving up 2 firsts was devastating for our team. Galloway was not that bad.. but we did not have a QB, so what was the point?
4. Roy Williams trade - The lions were pretty happy to see him go. Did our scouts even do any research on this? We gave up a LOT for a below average player. What a waste...

 

[TNCowboy]

Weird that *this* thread wasn't immediately taken seriously.

Over the years, he's made enough mistakes for everybody to have a favorite. Not drafting Moss appears to have been a huge one, but Irvin played more than a little role in that decision, and it's hard to say Jerry was necessarily wrong under the circumstances.

I think the Galloway trade, personally, was a disaster. I understand the rationale for it, but we just gave up way, way too much for that player. And then it worked out in about the worst way imaginable from there.

Roy Williams was a really bad trade, too, but we gave up less for worse reasons.

I think hiring Wade Phillips (a man I respect) was a significant mistake that's going to get overlooked. He did an adequate job, but was never a good enough coach to get the team over the hump. The right hire of a good young coach at that point might have paid huge dividends. I do have to acknowledge, though, that the timing was just awful as we were in a tight spot.

I'm probably missing a few doozies, but other than these obvious examples, there are a lot of risks that Jerry's taken over the years that just didn't pan out. He gets blamed for these, as he should, but when you take big risks they're not all going to work out, so dinging him for the ones that don't is only fair if you also give him huge props for the risks that pay huge dividents (eg, Charles Haley, TO, whatever).

In other words, ignore the real issues and focus on small incidental matters.

 

[ghst187]

not bowing to Jimmy J's ego and letting him go ahead and win 4 straight SBs.