News: Why Dallas Cowboys’ family business prevents winning titles

[gjkoeppen]

It doesn't matter what the numbers are. They were able to land a top player in FA despite apparently being in some sort of cap hell once the cap was instituted like you claimed.

And 20 years is more than enough time to get out of this so called cap hell. In fact, if they were in cap hell for 20 years, that's another strike against Jones and his management of the team. A team that has cap problems for 20 years has a GM that isn't very good at his job.

All you have is hatred for Jones and fail to see a very simple fact that grade schoolers can see. I'll try once again but I doubt you'll get it this time either. The Super Bowl team Jones built BEFORE the cap started with backups getting starting pay was so far over the cap when it started that from the getgo. This caused the Cowboys to release those backups with starting pay and a couple of actual starters AND had to restructure several contracts thus adding dead money to the cap down the road just to keep their core starters. This cycle continued year after year after year after year all the time Jones trying to keep a competitive team that could win. EVERY year contracts got restructured that added more dead money down the road just to keep some players and possible sign a couple cheap free agents. But every year when the new year started and the cap was set, some years only rising 3 - 5 mil from the previous season, the Cowboys had this huge pool of dead money that some years more than wiped out any rise in the cap yet had players to sign.. This vicious circle has gone on since the start and it's only been the past 2 or three years since Stephen has taken more control of the contracts that he has been reluctant to restructure contracts unless that is the only way to be able to sign a player they list as a priority.

At some point you have to let your hatred for Jones go and look at what has actually been going on for over 2 decades. Just spouting your hatred of Jones doesn't change the facts of what has gone on.
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[Sydla]

All you have is hatred for Jones and fail to see a very simple fact that grade schoolers can see. I'll try once again but I doubt you'll get it this time either. The Super Bowl team Jones built BEFORE the cap started with backups getting starting pay was so far over the cap when it started that from the getgo. This caused the Cowboys to release those backups with starting pay and a couple of actual starters AND had to restructure several contracts thus adding dead money to the cap down the road just to keep their core starters. This cycle continued year after year after year after year all the time Jones trying to keep a competitive team that could win. EVERY year contracts got restructured that added more dead money down the road just to keep some players and possible sign a couple cheap free agents. But every year when the new year started and the cap was set, some years only rising 3 - 5 mil from the previous season, the Cowboys had this huge pool of dead money that some years more than wiped out any rise in the cap yet had players to sign.. This vicious circle has gone on since the start and it's only been the past 2 or three years since Stephen has taken more control of the contracts that he has been reluctant to restructure contracts unless that is the only way to be able to sing a player they list as a priority.

At some point you have to let your hatred for Jones go and look at what has actually been going on for over 2 decades. Just spouting your hatred of Jones doesn't change the facts of what has gone on.
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Hatred for Jones?

LOL. I've actually defended him multiple times.

But anyone who is honest and rational would admit that a GM who has presided over a 22 year stretch where there have been only 3 total playoff wins hasn't done a very good job. Your argument that he's had the unfortunate luck of being handicapped by the salary cap doesn't help your case, it actually kills your case. Because 20 years is way more than enough time for a good to great GM to make the decision to fix the cap by making some tough decisions and bite the bullet for a few years. If Jones has made the decisions over the last 22 years that have resulted in the cap continually being tough on us, especially in light of the fact that we have no postseason success to speak of over that period other than a few early round wins, that's not good GMing on his part.

The only person lacking facts and objectivity here is you. The notion that he couldn't "fix" his cap in 20 years might be the dumbest thing anyone has ever uttered on this board.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Hatred for Jones?

LOL. I've actually defended him multiple times.

But anyone who is honest and rational would admit that a GM who has presided over a 22 year stretch where there have been only 3 total playoff wins hasn't done a very good job. Your argument that he's had the unfortunate luck of being handicapped by the salary cap doesn't help your case, it actually kills your case. Because 20 years is way more than enough time for a good to great GM to make the decision to fix the cap by making some tough decisions and bite the bullet for a few years. If Jones has made the decisions over the last 22 years that have resulted in the cap continually being tough on us, especially in light of the fact that we have no postseason success to speak of over that period other than a few early round wins, that's not good GMing on his part.

The only person lacking facts and objectivity here is you. The notion that he couldn't "fix" his cap in 20 years might be the dumbest thing anyone has ever uttered on this board.

I told you that you probably wouldn't get that extremely simple concept and I was right. As I've said before Jones ALWAYS tried to put a competitive team out there to try to win it all and I've also said there have been a couple owners that although they didn't have the same severe cap problems the Cowboys had from the beginning, they chose to dump all of their high price talent and were losers for a decade. Now if Jones took that route instead of trying to field a competitive team to win people like you would still be whining that the Cowboys don't need a GM who purposely fielded a team of cheap talent that couldn't win. Now those other teams that dumped their high price talent and went on losing for years, all of those GM's got FIRED because they couldn't build a winning team and let the talent they had go.

So again you can continue to claim to have been a Jones supporter but your constant whining about him says something different.
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[TheHerd]

Same as the Eagles had before they won it this year

For 10 years, maybe, but going back to 1997, we have those 2 lone playoff wins, both home games in the Wild Card round.

Before this year the Eagles had 10 over the same time period, including a Super Bowl appearance and 5 NFC championship game appearances.

Outside of Cleveland and Detroit, this franchise has become the bottom of the league except in sizzle and value.

 

[Sydla]

I told you that you probably wouldn't get that extremely simple concept and I was right. As I've said before Jones ALWAYS tried to put a competitive team out there to try to win it all and I've also said there have been a couple owners that although they didn't have the same severe cap problems the Cowboys had from the beginning, they chose to dump all of their high price talent and were losers for a decade. Now if Jones took that route instead of trying to field a competitive team to win people like you would still be whining that the Cowboys don't need a GM who purposely fielded a team of cheap talent that couldn't win. Now those other teams that dumped their high price talent and went on losing for years, all of those GM's got FIRED because they couldn't build a winning team and let the talent they had go.

So again you can continue to claim to have been a Jones supporter but your constant whining about him says something different.
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You don't get points for "trying" to put a competitive team out there every year. You get points when you actually put a winning team on the field.

That's a concept you seem to fail to grasp. If Jones, as GM, constantly used up all his cap space every year to field a competitive team every year for the last 20 years and all they have to show for it is 3 total playoff wins, then that's not a job well done. That's a GM who mismanaged the roster and the cap over that period.

If anyone is struggling with a simple concept it's you. We've won squat in 22 years since our last SB. Jones employed a strategy of using up his cap space and pushing cap commitments forward into future years in order to try to put a competitive team on the field each year. The results are what I stated - 3 playoff wins in 22 years. Explain to me how that was a sound strategy?

You'd have a good argument if somewhere along the line during this 20 year run we actually won something - a SB, maybe a conference title, etc. But we've won nothing. So how anyone can defend his stewardship and decision making as sound and right is laughable.

 

[Blake]

All you have is hatred for Jones and fail to see a very simple fact that grade schoolers can see. I'll try once again but I doubt you'll get it this time either. The Super Bowl team Jones built BEFORE the cap started with backups getting starting pay was so far over the cap when it started that from the getgo. This caused the Cowboys to release those backups with starting pay and a couple of actual starters AND had to restructure several contracts thus adding dead money to the cap down the road just to keep their core starters. This cycle continued year after year after year after year all the time Jones trying to keep a competitive team that could win. EVERY year contracts got restructured that added more dead money down the road just to keep some players and possible sign a couple cheap free agents. But every year when the new year started and the cap was set, some years only rising 3 - 5 mil from the previous season, the Cowboys had this huge pool of dead money that some years more than wiped out any rise in the cap yet had players to sign.. This vicious circle has gone on since the start and it's only been the past 2 or three years since Stephen has taken more control of the contracts that he has been reluctant to restructure contracts unless that is the only way to be able to sign a player they list as a priority.

At some point you have to let your hatred for Jones go and look at what has actually been going on for over 2 decades. Just spouting your hatred of Jones doesn't change the facts of what has gone on.
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Speaking of hatred. You should stop projecting yours onto others. Quit worshing Jerrah's ego. Rich or not he's an absolutely terrible human being, morally and ethically bankrupt. This is an objective fact proven by decades of his incessant meddling and just stand alone observation of his demeanor. Guy is a con-artist that hi-jacked America's team. I hope someone on his staff reads this and has a coronary.

 

[gjkoeppen]

You don't get points for "trying" to put a competitive team out there every year. You get points when you actually put a winning team on the field.

That's a concept you seem to fail to grasp. If Jones, as GM, constantly used up all his cap space every year to field a competitive team every year for the last 20 years and all they have to show for it is 3 total playoff wins, then that's not a job well done. That's a GM who mismanaged the roster and the cap over that period.

If anyone is struggling with a simple concept it's you. We've won squat in 22 years since our last SB. Jones employed a strategy of using up his cap space and pushing cap commitments forward into future years in order to try to put a competitive team on the field each year. The results are what I stated - 3 playoff wins in 22 years. Explain to me how that was a sound strategy?

You'd have a good argument if somewhere along the line during this 20 year run we actually won something - a SB, maybe a conference title, etc. But we've won nothing. So how anyone can defend his stewardship and decision making as sound and right is laughable.

So except for the actual Super Bowl winner every year the other teams that TRIED to put a winning team on the field don't count. Every year Jones tried to put that winning team on the field even though he was severely handicapped by a cap that started when he did build a Super Bowl team BEFORE there was a cap. As I've said several times now Jones could have dumped his high price talent and fielded a team of cheap castoffs from other teams and set in motion a long losing period where people like you would point to that and say Jones shouldn't be GM because he purposely put out teams that had no chance of winning anything. Jones tried to do what he could with that handicap, he fired coaches and got new ones and that didn't change things. Why - because Jones kept trying to put out winning teams but had that cap handicap to work with. A perfect example of your idea that Jones should have just dumped his cap and started over is recently Mark Cuban got a big fine for saying the Mav's can't win anything this year so they should tank it for the rest of the year to get a high draft pick. That's what you're saying when you whine about it's been over 20 years of cap problems and Jones didn't just dump the cap and field a subpar team.
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[cern]

I told you that you probably wouldn't get that extremely simple concept and I was right. As I've said before Jones ALWAYS tried to put a competitive team out there to try to win it all and I've also said there have been a couple owners that although they didn't have the same severe cap problems the Cowboys had from the beginning, they chose to dump all of their high price talent and were losers for a decade. Now if Jones took that route instead of trying to field a competitive team to win people like you would still be whining that the Cowboys don't need a GM who purposely fielded a team of cheap talent that couldn't win. Now those other teams that dumped their high price talent and went on losing for years, all of those GM's got FIRED because they couldn't build a winning team and let the talent they had go.

So again you can continue to claim to have been a Jones supporter but your constant whining about him says something different.
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I think you're missing the biggest point of all. it is only because of his hubris that jerry is the gm of the team. and in that role he fails dramatically. he has made some of the worst personnel moves in the history of the nfl starting with his first draft of shante carver. he fell in love with "splash" players instead of embracing the team concept. he's made horrible financial moves requiring him to renegotiate deals with deferred payments putting us in dead money hell. and yet he refuses to hire an effective gm and continues to screw things up year after year. he runs things in a perpetual state of crisis management. he brings in players with troubled histories because they might play well here. (pacman, hardy, et. al.) I could go on, but why.

 

[Sydla]

So except for the actual Super Bowl winner every year the other teams that TRIED to put a winning team on the field don't count. Every year Jones tried to put that winning team on the field even though he was severely handicapped by a cap that started when he did build a Super Bowl team BEFORE there was a cap. As I've said several times now Jones could have dumped his high price talent and fielded a team of cheap castoffs from other teams and set in motion a long losing period where people like you would point to that and say Jones shouldn't be GM because he purposely put out teams that had no chance of winning anything. Jones tried to do what he could with that handicap, he fired coaches and got new ones and that didn't change things. Why - because Jones kept trying to put out winning teams but had that cap handicap to work with. A perfect example of your idea that Jones should have just dumped his cap and started over is recently Mark Cuban got a big fine for saying the Mav's can't win anything this year so they should tank it for the rest of the year to get a high draft pick. That's what you're saying when you whine about it's been over 20 years of cap problems and Jones didn't just dump the cap and field a subpar team.
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Blah blah blah.

It's simple. Has a GM of a team done a good job if after 22 years of running the team, he has no SBs, not even any conference title game appearances, only 3 total playoff wins all the while using up all his cap space and actually hurting future cap years?

Forget what his intentions were. No one doubts what Jones intentions were. In the end intentions matter little, results are all that matters. So again, has a GM done a good job when all he has to show for of 22 years of using every single dollar of cap space the team had that year (and in future years) is 3 playoff wins.

The answer for anyone who isn't a total moron or homer is no. That's not a job well done.

 

[cern]

So except for the actual Super Bowl winner every year the other teams that TRIED to put a winning team on the field don't count. Every year Jones tried to put that winning team on the field even though he was severely handicapped by a cap that started when he did build a Super Bowl team BEFORE there was a cap. As I've said several times now Jones could have dumped his high price talent and fielded a team of cheap castoffs from other teams and set in motion a long losing period where people like you would point to that and say Jones shouldn't be GM because he purposely put out teams that had no chance of winning anything. Jones tried to do what he could with that handicap, he fired coaches and got new ones and that didn't change things. Why - because Jones kept trying to put out winning teams but had that cap handicap to work with. A perfect example of your idea that Jones should have just dumped his cap and started over is recently Mark Cuban got a big fine for saying the Mav's can't win anything this year so they should tank it for the rest of the year to get a high draft pick. That's what you're saying when you whine about it's been over 20 years of cap problems and Jones didn't just dump the cap and field a subpar team.
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every cap problem jones had to work with was a product of his own doing. his mismanagement of the cap was atrocious. other gm's were saying 20 years ago he was digging a hole the cowboys wouldn't be able to climb out of for years. seems they were all right. you generally present a well reasoned argument, but not this time.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Blah blah blah.

It's simple. Has a GM of a team done a good job if after 22 years of running the team, he has no SBs, not even any conference title game appearances, only 3 total playoff wins all the while using up all his cap space and actually hurting future cap years?

Forget what his intentions were. No one doubts what Jones intentions were. In the end intentions matter little, results are all that matters. So again, has a GM done a good job when all he has to show for of 22 years of using every single dollar of cap space the team had that year (and in future years) is 3 playoff wins.

The answer for anyone who isn't a total moron or homer is no. That's not a job well done.

We are just going to have to agree to disagree. I understand why Jones record is what it is and you don't. All you see are wins and losses and not why those records are. It's funny that when there was no cap and Jones built the team of the 90's the only flack Jones took was (and I agree) how he handled Landry. Everyone was just excited and happy as hell when the precap team was winning Super Bowls and just don't connect the dots that that team has had a very direct and cap harmful impact even today, but not nearly as bad this year as the previous couple of decades.

I'm done trying to get you to see the correlation between the super Bowl teams and the past 22 years.

For the record I wouldn't be opposed to a real football man as GM but I also know that Jones being the owner it's his purgative and a new GM isn't going to magically fix the cap in a single season. The other problem is finding one that is good that will work for Jones. I've been encourage by the way Stephen has been handling the contracts the past 2 or 3 years and at this rate I can see an end to the big cap problems in 2 or 3 more years.
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[Sydla]

We are just going to have to agree to disagree. I understand why Jones record is what it is and you don't. All you see are wins and losses and not why those records are. It's funny that when there was no cap and Jones built the team of the 90's the only flack Jones took was (and I agree) how he handled Landry. Everyone was just excited and happy as hell when the precap team was winning Super Bowls and just don't connect the dots that that team has had a very direct and cap harmful impact even today, but not nearly as bad this year as the previous couple of decades.

I'm done trying to get you to see the correlation between the super Bowl teams and the past 22 years.

For the record I wouldn't be opposed to a real football man as GM but I also know that Jones being the owner it's his purgative and a new GM isn't going to magically fix the cap in a single season. The other problem is finding one that is good that will work for Jones. I've been encourage by the way Stephen has been handling the contracts the past 2 or 3 years and at this rate I can see an end to the big cap problems in 2 or 3 more years.
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I understand why Jones' record is what it is. It's because of decisions he made as the GM. cern says it perfectly above. Any and all cap problems over the last 20 years are tied directly to Jones. There is no one else to blame.

And if the plan was to use up all the cap space and possibly mortgage future cap years to win something, he clearly failed because in using up all our cap space and leveraging future caps in order to win at that particular time, it didn't work. Because we didn't win anything.

It's amazing that you can't see this and can't admit this. The team could have gotten itself out of cap hell any time it wanted to at any point in the last 22 years if Jones had simply said one day, this isn't working, let's reset. He could have cleared his cap out in 2 seasons, max. But he chose not to. He continued to use up all his space, leverage future years, etc. with the goal in mind of putting a team on the field that would contend for and win a SB.

Except, we now have the results of that plan by Jones and it is largely a failure. For all the years he ignored the cap problems and continued to leverage future caps in the hopes of winning a championship, all he has to show for it is a few playoff wins. That's it.

By no measure is that a success. By no rationale can one excuse that and suggest poor Jerry just had a bad hand dealt to him. The last 22 years are a classic case of a guy who simply didn't do a good enough job as steward of the Cowboys. It's really that simple.

Hopefully, his son is much better at this than he is.

 

[Hadenough]

That is a pile of BS. First by you saying Jones hasn't provided the culture to win. What that means is you're saying that Jones ran around stating he wanted the team to lose or it's not if you win or lose but how you play the game. We all know that's not true. Everyone that's worked for Jones has said there's not a person on or around this team that wants to win more than Jones. As far as your assertions that Parcells told Jones to butt out you are making the same assumption many did about Johnson and his power until the pregame of Super Bowl XLV when he admitted he didn't have all the power many outside of the organization thought he had. Also there were many things coaches did years ago that wouldn't fly today with these prima donnas and the CBA they have. There was a time that if coaches thought a practice was bad to keep them out there for 2-3 hours longer going over and over the same plays but they can't do that anymore. Coaches used to make out their training camp schedules that included many many 2 a days and now there isn't even a single 2 a day during the entire camp.

Two words that too many people talk about is Country Club. Jones being way too involved has hurt this team. You can say want but the results speak for themselves. Technically parcells didn't tell him to butt out but by seizing more control that's what he was saying. So it's not BS!

 

[Big_D]

Some will defend anything. Jones is pure crap. His decisions have been horrendous. He didn't field a competitive team. He actually put them in the hole every year. His pre Parcells drafts, his trades, his coaching decisions... nothing good in there. Before Parcells his team was a sinking ship all because of the GM/owners poor decisions. I think Stephen obviously has some sway and a much better grasp on what needs to be done, cause it would be more of the same if it was just Jerry running the show. The guy has been a horrible GM... there really is no debate.

 

[Big_D]

Even after Parcells, the coaching hires, the RW trade, the drafts. Moronic decisions started right up again.

 

[OmerV]

Why Dallas Cowboys’ family business prevents winning titles
https://thelandryhat.com/2018/02/22/dallas-cowboys-family-business-prevents-winning-titles/



Because owner and general manager Jerry Jones treats the Dallas Cowboys as a family business, that fact limits the team’s chances for success.
The Dallas Cowboys biggest obstacle to a championship is ownership by the Jones’ family. In a recent article, I discussed how Jerry Jones’ multiple roles as owner, president and general manager makes him inefficient at doing each job.

Jerry Jones’ son, John Stephen Jones, is the executive vice president, chief executive officer (CEO) and director of player personnel. Jerry Jones Jr. and Charlotte Jones Anderson are also listed as executive vice presidents. Unfortunately, being family doesn’t make you the right person for the job.

The Cowboys aren’t the only family owned NFL team and as a family man, I understand giving your children prominent roles in the business. If I owned a business, I would want my immediate family heavily involved. After all, we’re talking about establishing our legacy and taking care of future generations.

Just because my little sister made a few hundred flyers for a bake sale, that doesn’t mean that she should be in charge of my marketing department. If my cousin knows a guy with a truck, it doesn’t mean he should be in charge of logistics. It might be necessary in the beginning to give roles to family. As the business grows, you should hire more qualified people...

The marketing and financing parts don't seem to be negatively affected by being handled by the family. It's only the GM part that seems to be the problem. If Jerry could somehow agree to hire a quality GM and let him do his job without too much meddling, the rest would be fine. Unfortunately there is no sign that Jerry is going to do that. Our only hope for this to happen is whenever Jerry is out of the picture (death? senility?) Stephen will see things differently.

 

[CCBoy]

Some will defend anything. Jones is pure crap. His decisions have been horrendous. He didn't field a competitive team. He actually put them in the hole every year. His pre Parcells drafts, his trades, his coaching decisions... nothing good in there. Before Parcells his team was a sinking ship all because of the GM/owners poor decisions. I think Stephen obviously has some sway and a much better grasp on what needs to be done, cause it would be more of the same if it was just Jerry running the show. The guy has been a horrible GM... there really is no debate.

Being Western was once considered low class...until it became 'cool.' Go Cowboy!

 

[Chrispierce]

I'll tell you why. Because they're a corporation,and are about throwing the biggest and best parties,and selling the Cowboys brand. That's really it. They do it better than anyone too,expect when it comes to the actual football branch of their corporate division. But hey,we got the best cheerleaders,best facilities,fan tours,and stripper buses anywhere you'll find. Plus NO ONE cause more men to go bald and become alcoholics before their time than Dallas. NO ONE. Top that sporting world.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Two words that too many people talk about is Country Club. Jones being way too involved has hurt this team. You can say want but the results speak for themselves. Technically parcells didn't tell him to butt out but by seizing more control that's what he was saying. So it's not BS!

Maybe if you actually listen and used less of what you THINK things are/were like you would have heard at the presser when Garrett became the permanent head coach that Jones said that Garrett is the first coach he's ever given the final say on players and coaches and he then said "it's in his contract". When he said this he said Garrett has more authority than Johnson or Parcells did. You're just like the people that thought Johnson ran everything until the pregame of Super Bowl XLV when during a round table discussion with Emmitt, Aikman, Irvin,The Moose, Johnson and Jones, Johnson admitted in front of millions of people that he didn't have all the power and authority many outside of the organization thought he had.

Second no coach can "seize" contr4ol from an owner. It's not like a hostile stock take over. Coaches don't order owners, it's the other way around. Lastly I don't know what you're talking about as far as country club? I've never heard any creditable person refer to the Cowboys as a Country club environment. Oh there may have been a couple of fans who have less than zero actual first hand knowledge of what goes on, but not a single sportswriter, announcer, analyst or former player or coach have I ever heard say the .Cowboys were some kind of country club.
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[Sydla]

Maybe if you actually listen and used less of what you THINK things are/were like you would have heard at the presser when Garrett became the permanent head coach that Jones said that Garrett is the first coach he's ever given the final say on players and coaches and he then said "it's in his contract". When he said this he said Garrett has more authority than Johnson or Parcells did. You're just like the people that thought Johnson ran everything until the pregame of Super Bowl XLV when during a round table discussion with Emmitt, Aikman, Irvin,The Moose, Johnson and Jones, Johnson admitted in front of millions of people that he didn't have all the power and authority many outside of the organization thought he had.

Second no coach can "seize" contr4ol from an owner. It's not like a hostile stock take over. Coaches don't order owners, it's the other way around. Lastly I don't know what you're talking about as far as country club? I've never heard any creditable person refer to the Cowboys as a Country club environment. Oh there may have been a couple of fans who have less than zero actual first hand knowledge of what goes on, but not a single sportswriter, announcer, analyst or former player or coach have I ever heard say the .Cowboys were some kind of country club.
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And yet Jones still has final say on who is drafted along with his son and when Garrett was hired, it was Jerry who hired his DC.