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Why Jerry Jones haters need to chill
PUBLISHED 19 hours and 48 minutes ago LAST UPDATED 19 hours and 39 minutes ago
Ross Tucker Sporting News
I have a ton of respect for Jerry Jones.
I know that's not the popular opinion right now and it's easy to understand why. His Dallas Cowboys have been the epitome of mediocrity for quite some time now and this year's disappointing 7-7 season thus far falls right in line with that.
As such, a lot of people are taking shots at him. Frankly, he's an easy target. He's highly visible in the media and as the de facto general manager he has made a lot of poor decisions that have left the Cowboys devoid of depth.
There's no middle class in Dallas. They basically have highly paid stars and a bunch of guys making the minimum that most people have never heard of. Heck, I haven't heard of some of the rookies that are playing and that almost never happens.
Still, Jones deserves a lot more respect than he is currently receiving. Not because he's a world class businessman, which he is. Not because he's done a ton of great things for the NFL, which he has. Not even because he has won three Super Bowls, which only a select few of his fellow owners have done.
I respect the heck out of Jones because the buck stops with him. He makes no bones about that and takes all of the heat that comes along with it.
It's not like that for the vast majority of teams. I've seen during my time in the league and heard of a number of other situations with other organizations where a team owner very quietly makes a decision behind the scenes and then it is up to the general manager or head coach to fall on the sword and take the blame when the move blows up in the franchise's face.
You probably haven't heard about those moves, right? That's because no head coach or general manager would ever let that get out, at least not publicly, for fear that they would never get another job in the NFL. The other owners would never forget any coach or executive who talked out of school in that way but make no mistake about it, it happens much more than people realize.
That's why I like Jerry Jones. He doesn't hide behind a general manager. He makes the decisions and he tells you he makes the decisions. Any failure by the Dallas Cowboys is his failure and he owns it.
Should he step aside and hire a general manager? Perhaps but that is a separate question and his decision and his decision only to make. Would you totally stay out of the football decisions if you bought an NFL team?
Didn't think so but that's beside the point.
People want him to hire a "football" guy and I know what they think that means but if you've been a general manager and running the show for 25 years don't you become a "football" guy? So a guy in his mid to late 30s who's been a scout and been in the NFL for 10-15 years is much more qualified to run an organization than Jerry Jones is at this point? I don't think so.
The problem is that he's made a lot of poor decisions like firing Rob Ryan in favor of Monte Kiffin. The problem is that he's done a terrible job with player contracts and as a result his team is perpetually in salary cap purgatory.
The problem is that he isn't very good at his job as general manager but at least he takes full responsibility for everything that happens.
That's more than you can say for a lot of owners that meddle more than we will ever know.
PUBLISHED 19 hours and 48 minutes ago LAST UPDATED 19 hours and 39 minutes ago
Ross Tucker Sporting News
I have a ton of respect for Jerry Jones.
I know that's not the popular opinion right now and it's easy to understand why. His Dallas Cowboys have been the epitome of mediocrity for quite some time now and this year's disappointing 7-7 season thus far falls right in line with that.
As such, a lot of people are taking shots at him. Frankly, he's an easy target. He's highly visible in the media and as the de facto general manager he has made a lot of poor decisions that have left the Cowboys devoid of depth.
There's no middle class in Dallas. They basically have highly paid stars and a bunch of guys making the minimum that most people have never heard of. Heck, I haven't heard of some of the rookies that are playing and that almost never happens.
Still, Jones deserves a lot more respect than he is currently receiving. Not because he's a world class businessman, which he is. Not because he's done a ton of great things for the NFL, which he has. Not even because he has won three Super Bowls, which only a select few of his fellow owners have done.
I respect the heck out of Jones because the buck stops with him. He makes no bones about that and takes all of the heat that comes along with it.
It's not like that for the vast majority of teams. I've seen during my time in the league and heard of a number of other situations with other organizations where a team owner very quietly makes a decision behind the scenes and then it is up to the general manager or head coach to fall on the sword and take the blame when the move blows up in the franchise's face.
You probably haven't heard about those moves, right? That's because no head coach or general manager would ever let that get out, at least not publicly, for fear that they would never get another job in the NFL. The other owners would never forget any coach or executive who talked out of school in that way but make no mistake about it, it happens much more than people realize.
That's why I like Jerry Jones. He doesn't hide behind a general manager. He makes the decisions and he tells you he makes the decisions. Any failure by the Dallas Cowboys is his failure and he owns it.
Should he step aside and hire a general manager? Perhaps but that is a separate question and his decision and his decision only to make. Would you totally stay out of the football decisions if you bought an NFL team?
Didn't think so but that's beside the point.
People want him to hire a "football" guy and I know what they think that means but if you've been a general manager and running the show for 25 years don't you become a "football" guy? So a guy in his mid to late 30s who's been a scout and been in the NFL for 10-15 years is much more qualified to run an organization than Jerry Jones is at this point? I don't think so.
The problem is that he's made a lot of poor decisions like firing Rob Ryan in favor of Monte Kiffin. The problem is that he's done a terrible job with player contracts and as a result his team is perpetually in salary cap purgatory.
The problem is that he isn't very good at his job as general manager but at least he takes full responsibility for everything that happens.
That's more than you can say for a lot of owners that meddle more than we will ever know.
