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Jerry Jones: I probably should have had a little more tolerance with Jimmy Johnson
By SportsDayDFW.com
Is Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones turning over a new leaf when it comes to his relationship with Jimmy Johnson?
While on KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket recently Jones was asked if he ever thought he'd have the kind of influential power he has today in the NFL. He started off answering about when he bought the franchise. Then Johnson's name made somewhat of a surprising appearance.
"As much as anything the times of buying the team, if I was trying to hold this glass of water -- I was 45 when I bought [the Cowboys] -- I would be spilling it even though I was holding it with both hands," Jones said on the radio show. "Now I was scared to death. I thought I was going to go broke for sure plus I knew I didn't know what I was doing about getting involved. On the other hand it was a traumatic time. I tear up sometime when I'm talking about it, even on a speech.
"I lost my tolerance for a lot of things for a lot of things I probably should have tolerated. I probably should have had a little more tolerance with Jimmy Johnson. Seriously."
The Cowboys, of course, won two Super Bowls when Johnson was the head coach in the '90s, and won a third soon after he was let go. His and Jones' relationship hit a boiling point when Jones said he "should have fired [Johnson] and brought in Barry Switzer. There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team."
Since Johnson's departure he hasn't been afraid to speak his mind about his time in Dallas. On the 20-year anniversary of his departure he told SportsDay's Tim Cowlishaw the following:
"What anniversary is this one?'' he said, laughing. "They're always having some kind of anniversaries down there ... I guess because they don't go to Super Bowls anymore.''
Mic drop. Didn't stop there, either. Below is what he told NBC Sports about Jones claiming to be the Cowboys' GM when the team won its Super Bowls.
"That is completely a bunch of crock," he said. "Jerry started putting all those titles on himself after I left. He didn't call himself general manager and president and all that stuff when I was there. He was just the owner. Because it was in my contract that I had total responsibility for all football decisions. It was in my contract, and he didn't allow anybody to have that in their contract after I left. I was the personnel director there with the Cowboys. My pride was collecting the talent and putting together the team that won the Super Bowls."
Switzer, who took over for Johnson, said that Johnson was the only one at fault for getting fired.
"Why do you think that they got a divorce? Jimmy is the one that cheated on him," Switzer said. "If you want to talk about a marriage here, you go back and look at all the negative things that [Johnson] said...the things he did and the way he treated Jerry, and he's the owner. What are you talking about?"
Switzer added: "Jimmy and Jerry had a poor relationship and Jerry finally got fed up with it, sucked up his guts, and fired his ass, simple as that. A bunch of coaches won't even speak to Jerry because they're worried about Jimmy getting on their ass or firing their ass. Hey, I'm telling you, that's how it was. [Jones] got tired of living in that world."
SportsDay's Rick Gosselin recently said he's not sure if Jones will ever induct Johnson into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
"Should he? Yes. Will he? Only Jerry Jones can answer that," Gosselin said. "There is still some lingering animosity between the two men. Over time, both will realize they were good for each other. Jimmy wouldn't be on television today if he didn't have that five-year stint as coach of the Cowboys -- and Jerry wouldn't have the most valuable sporting franchise in the world without those three Lombardis in his trophy case. Over time, I think Jerry will soften his stance and put Jimmy in the Ring of Honor. But I don't expect that moment any time soon."
By SportsDayDFW.com
Is Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones turning over a new leaf when it comes to his relationship with Jimmy Johnson?
While on KTCK-AM 1310 The Ticket recently Jones was asked if he ever thought he'd have the kind of influential power he has today in the NFL. He started off answering about when he bought the franchise. Then Johnson's name made somewhat of a surprising appearance.
"As much as anything the times of buying the team, if I was trying to hold this glass of water -- I was 45 when I bought [the Cowboys] -- I would be spilling it even though I was holding it with both hands," Jones said on the radio show. "Now I was scared to death. I thought I was going to go broke for sure plus I knew I didn't know what I was doing about getting involved. On the other hand it was a traumatic time. I tear up sometime when I'm talking about it, even on a speech.
"I lost my tolerance for a lot of things for a lot of things I probably should have tolerated. I probably should have had a little more tolerance with Jimmy Johnson. Seriously."
The Cowboys, of course, won two Super Bowls when Johnson was the head coach in the '90s, and won a third soon after he was let go. His and Jones' relationship hit a boiling point when Jones said he "should have fired [Johnson] and brought in Barry Switzer. There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team."
Since Johnson's departure he hasn't been afraid to speak his mind about his time in Dallas. On the 20-year anniversary of his departure he told SportsDay's Tim Cowlishaw the following:
"What anniversary is this one?'' he said, laughing. "They're always having some kind of anniversaries down there ... I guess because they don't go to Super Bowls anymore.''
Mic drop. Didn't stop there, either. Below is what he told NBC Sports about Jones claiming to be the Cowboys' GM when the team won its Super Bowls.
"That is completely a bunch of crock," he said. "Jerry started putting all those titles on himself after I left. He didn't call himself general manager and president and all that stuff when I was there. He was just the owner. Because it was in my contract that I had total responsibility for all football decisions. It was in my contract, and he didn't allow anybody to have that in their contract after I left. I was the personnel director there with the Cowboys. My pride was collecting the talent and putting together the team that won the Super Bowls."
Switzer, who took over for Johnson, said that Johnson was the only one at fault for getting fired.
"Why do you think that they got a divorce? Jimmy is the one that cheated on him," Switzer said. "If you want to talk about a marriage here, you go back and look at all the negative things that [Johnson] said...the things he did and the way he treated Jerry, and he's the owner. What are you talking about?"
Switzer added: "Jimmy and Jerry had a poor relationship and Jerry finally got fed up with it, sucked up his guts, and fired his ass, simple as that. A bunch of coaches won't even speak to Jerry because they're worried about Jimmy getting on their ass or firing their ass. Hey, I'm telling you, that's how it was. [Jones] got tired of living in that world."
SportsDay's Rick Gosselin recently said he's not sure if Jones will ever induct Johnson into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
"Should he? Yes. Will he? Only Jerry Jones can answer that," Gosselin said. "There is still some lingering animosity between the two men. Over time, both will realize they were good for each other. Jimmy wouldn't be on television today if he didn't have that five-year stint as coach of the Cowboys -- and Jerry wouldn't have the most valuable sporting franchise in the world without those three Lombardis in his trophy case. Over time, I think Jerry will soften his stance and put Jimmy in the Ring of Honor. But I don't expect that moment any time soon."
