It’s another disappointing Dallas Cowboys season in the books, and no one in Big D is surprised. Honestly, I don’t know that many Cowboys fans who are even bummed about it. I guess 18 years of mediocrity will create that kind of apathy in a fan base. But this wasn’t always the case. There was a time when the Boys were the marquee franchise in the NFL, regarded as a legitimate title contender every year; much like the New England Patriots now.
Those were the Cowboys of the 90’s. From 1990-1999, the Boys had only two losing seasons and thus two seasons where they missed the playoffs. They went to the postseason 8 of 10 years, winning at least one game in 6 of those 8 trips, claiming 3 conference championships in 4 appearances, and hoisting up 3 Lombardis in as many Super Bowls. All under the leadership of one Jerry Jones. That’s a far cry from the .500 culture that’s become the norm around here. Since those “glory days”, they’ve only managed 7 winning seasons out of 14, with 4 playoff berths and 1 playoff win. It’s a tale of two teams. Two Jerry Joneses.
The story begins on February 25, 1989, when Jerral “Jerry” Jones purchased the franchise from H.R. Bright for $180 million. The team was coming off of three consecutive losing seasons, and new boss Jones wanted to shakeup the organization. Tom Landry was the only coach the Cowboys had known in their 29 year existence, and despite Landry’s past successes, including 7 conference championships and 2 Super Bowls, Jerry unceremoniously fired the legendary head coach and replaced him with former Arkansas teammate Jimmy Johnson. Many believe Landry’s firing was less about football and more about rebranding the Cowboys, as the fedora, worn by the coach on the sidelines, had become the de facto team symbol rather than the star. Jerry himself admitted later on that he could have handled the situation better, but felt it was something he had to do.
A few months after firing Landry, Jones went ahead and completely moved out the old guard, releasing long time general manager Tex Schramm, and assumed complete control of football matters. As you can imagine, these moves were very unpopular with many Cowboys fans, and it looked like it was going to backfire on Jerry right out of the gate as the Boys went 1-15 in his first year. The following year, 1990, was not great either, although they improved to 7-9. It wasn’t until the third year that the young talent Jerry and Jimmy had brought in was able to put it together, going 11-5 and winning the club’s first playoff game in 8 years. Talent like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Leon Lett, Charles Haley, and Darren Woodson, who joined the likes of Michael Irvin, Nate Newton, and Ken Norton Jr. to become the foundation of the success that was to come.
In 1992, Jerry Jones’ Cowboys won their first of 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, with Jimmy Johnson coaching the ’92 and ’93 squads, and Barry Switzer on the sidelines for the ’95 championship. It was a golden time to be a Cowboys fan! With those 3 championships, we pulled ahead of the Steelers and 49ers as the most decorated champions in NFL history. But little did we know there was poison mixed in the sweet cup of victory. With the Cowboys’ historic success, Jerry Jones believed he was the one with the football Midas touch. He had, after all, won 3 Super Bowls as general manager with two different coaches. He was the common denominator, and therefore, in his mind, the primary reason for their success. It would have been hard to argue against that on January 29, 1996, a day after Jones’ Boys won their third title. But what none of us knew back then is that Super Bowl 30 was a high-water mark for Jerry’s Boys, and a long, hard drought lay ahead.
The-team-that-Jerry-owns-and-runs hasn’t come anywhere near to that kind of success again. What has followed is a carousel of coaches, coordinators, quarterbacks, schemes, and personnel. To try and recapture the old magic, the team has gone through 6 different head coaches, 17 different starting quarterbacks, and even added the position of Director of Player Personnel, currently filled by Jerry’s son Stephen Jones, since 1996–all to no avail. The only football related position that hasn’t had any turnover: general manager. The same guy who marvelously helped assemble the greatest collection of players in the franchise’s history has also been the only constant in 18 years of postseason futility, save one game.
Early on in his career as owner, Jerry was forced to make a hard decision– to remove a stalwart of the organization, an icon with a great track record, who had helped the Cowboys become who they were but was now standing in the way of their progress. Going into his 26th year of ownership, Jones finds himself in the same spot again, except the legend doesn’t stand on the sidelines, famously profiled in a fedora and overcoat; he sits in the owner’s box and dons the title “general manager.”
I’m not one who believes that the Cowboys would be better off without Jerry Jones. I’m not sure the dynasty teams of the 90’s would have happened without him, and I’m almost certain the Dallas Cowboys would not be the most valuable team in the NFL at $2.1 billion without him. He is the best owner in sports, a genius marketer and promoter; but a below average general manager. Lucky for us fans, the two positions are not inextricably bound. The team is 146-142 since their last championship, slightly above .500, and that is not the team that we more seasoned Cowboys fans are accustomed to. I know it’s not the team Jerral Jones dreamed off when he purchased the franchise. One thing remains to be changed in order to make an honest effort at making this team a winner again, one common denominator; and the solution, Jerry, lies entirely within you.
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