yimyammer
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Nothing really earth shattering her that we didn't already know, but FYI nonetheless:
Jason Garrett was not the leader the Cowboys needed, but he is not the nucleus of the Cowboy's problems. Jerry Jones is. A players perspective.
In my short time playing in Dallas, I learned a lot about the circus environment that is the world of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry World as we have come to know it, is the ever present dark cloud that will keep this franchise from reaching the levels of success they attained when they WERE America's team in the 1990s.
The Dallas Cowboys fail because they have an owner who has interjected himself in the daily operations of a professional sports franchise. True enough it is his team, but there is a certain level of trust that an owner needs to have in the abilities of his coaching staff to do the job he has paid them to do. Jerry is the final say on all personnel decisions. He is the spokesperson for the cowboys. The biggest fan of the Cowboys. And in the end, his decree is passed down as if he was the head coach of the Cowboys himself. His influence over the entire narrative for the Cowboys is undisputed, both in the media, and the locker room.
When I first walked into the Cowboy's facility as a free agent signing after leaving Jacksonville, I was filled with excitement, yet that would soon turn to annoyance, as I was constantly reminded of the privilege it was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Posters, and signage plastered all around the facility pushed a message of prestige and inflated arrogance. And as a player who came from a small market team in the Jaguars, I could sense that arrogance a mile away. This was a narrative that was constantly shouted from the mountain tops while at Valley Ranch, not by the players, whom I got along with fine and had immense respect for, but from Jason Garrett and his staff. This was the moniker that no player could escape whether they liked it or not. It was as if we were in some alternate universe in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs. Except it was a falsehood.
This was a franchise that at the time (2014) had not seen a conference championship game since 1995, much less a Super Bowl championship. This was a franchise that had less playoff wins than the Jaguars franchise I came from over the course of the previous 19 years. It was quite mind boggling to me that the staff, headed by Garrett, was promoting a false culture around a mystique that had long since faded in the mind of those who lived outside the cultural bubble of the silver and blue. There is no doubt that the market of the Cowboys brand is the most powerful in sports. That market is based on an image that was built on the back of champions. That image is maintained by a hype machine that works in overdrive 24/7 and usually is more to the detriment of those on the roster than a benefit.
In the end, for better AND for worse, Jerry Jones is responsible for the constant failings of the Dallas Cowboys. The locker room in Dallas buckles under the immense pressure, and hype created by long past success. Long past success and nostalgia that Jerry himself is chasing. Until he decides to let go of that past glory and undisputed control/influence over the narrative of his team, changing coaches will not amount to the success he seeks. Until he steps back and lets go of the power he has embellished himself in, nothing will change. Until he allows himself to see the Dallas Cowboys for what they truly are, they will never be what he so desperately wants them to be. The Dallas Cowboys are a mediocre football franchise. A mediocre franchise with an extraordinary amount of talent. And that is solely the fault of the very man who long ago turned the silver and blue into a way of life. Jerry Jones.
-The Observant Lineman
Uche Nwaneri
link to thread
other response:
Jason Garrett was not the leader the Cowboys needed, but he is not the nucleus of the Cowboy's problems. Jerry Jones is. A players perspective.
In my short time playing in Dallas, I learned a lot about the circus environment that is the world of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry World as we have come to know it, is the ever present dark cloud that will keep this franchise from reaching the levels of success they attained when they WERE America's team in the 1990s.
The Dallas Cowboys fail because they have an owner who has interjected himself in the daily operations of a professional sports franchise. True enough it is his team, but there is a certain level of trust that an owner needs to have in the abilities of his coaching staff to do the job he has paid them to do. Jerry is the final say on all personnel decisions. He is the spokesperson for the cowboys. The biggest fan of the Cowboys. And in the end, his decree is passed down as if he was the head coach of the Cowboys himself. His influence over the entire narrative for the Cowboys is undisputed, both in the media, and the locker room.
When I first walked into the Cowboy's facility as a free agent signing after leaving Jacksonville, I was filled with excitement, yet that would soon turn to annoyance, as I was constantly reminded of the privilege it was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Posters, and signage plastered all around the facility pushed a message of prestige and inflated arrogance. And as a player who came from a small market team in the Jaguars, I could sense that arrogance a mile away. This was a narrative that was constantly shouted from the mountain tops while at Valley Ranch, not by the players, whom I got along with fine and had immense respect for, but from Jason Garrett and his staff. This was the moniker that no player could escape whether they liked it or not. It was as if we were in some alternate universe in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs. Except it was a falsehood.
This was a franchise that at the time (2014) had not seen a conference championship game since 1995, much less a Super Bowl championship. This was a franchise that had less playoff wins than the Jaguars franchise I came from over the course of the previous 19 years. It was quite mind boggling to me that the staff, headed by Garrett, was promoting a false culture around a mystique that had long since faded in the mind of those who lived outside the cultural bubble of the silver and blue. There is no doubt that the market of the Cowboys brand is the most powerful in sports. That market is based on an image that was built on the back of champions. That image is maintained by a hype machine that works in overdrive 24/7 and usually is more to the detriment of those on the roster than a benefit.
In the end, for better AND for worse, Jerry Jones is responsible for the constant failings of the Dallas Cowboys. The locker room in Dallas buckles under the immense pressure, and hype created by long past success. Long past success and nostalgia that Jerry himself is chasing. Until he decides to let go of that past glory and undisputed control/influence over the narrative of his team, changing coaches will not amount to the success he seeks. Until he steps back and lets go of the power he has embellished himself in, nothing will change. Until he allows himself to see the Dallas Cowboys for what they truly are, they will never be what he so desperately wants them to be. The Dallas Cowboys are a mediocre football franchise. A mediocre franchise with an extraordinary amount of talent. And that is solely the fault of the very man who long ago turned the silver and blue into a way of life. Jerry Jones.
-The Observant Lineman
Uche Nwaneri
link to thread
other response:
