He could’ve pulled the trigger last year. After head coach Mike McCarthy failed to prepare his team against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Game (48-32 loss), he could’ve switched coaches and chosen amongst many outstanding candidates: Dan Quinn, Sean Payton, Bill Belichick, DeMeco Ryans, and more.
Dan Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys’ ex-defensive coordinator, is now the head coach of the Washington Redskins Whatevers. They’re one game away from reaching the Super Bowl. In his first season with Washington, Quinn’s team has already matched the same number of playoff victories as the Cowboys have had… over the last decade!
DeMeco Ryans joined the Houston Texans. They’ve made the playoffs twice in the last two years, winning a pair of games. Like Quinn, Ryan has already equaled the same number of playoff victories as his cross-state rivals have had… over the last decade!
Sean Payton became the head coach of the Denver Broncos. They won 10 games and reached the playoffs last year, but they’re still a rebuilding franchise. So, they’ll probably need another year to equal the Cowboys’ decade-long playoff total.
Bill Belichick is in college with his great-granddaughter girlfriend. But he’s an all-time great coach; presumably, he’ll figure it out, too. Just like he stole the 2017 Rams’ signals (allegedly), Belichick will steal Nick Saban’s spot on those Aflac commercials.
As for the Dallas Cowboys?
They’re the worst franchise in the National Football Conference. Every other team in their conference has made at least one NFC Championship Game appearance since 2011. Which shows how volatile the NFL is year-to-year: Over the past 15 years, every single NFC team has advanced in the playoffs and reached the NFC Championship Game.
Every team but one. The Cowboys haven’t made it since 1996!
We’re closing in on a 30-year drought.
That’s despite all the Dallas Cowboys’ institutional advantages — and make no mistake, they’re considerable: Texas doesn’t have a state income tax. Players don’t just become famous; they become superstars. Being an ex-Cowboy makes it turnkey to join the media after you retire. Without question, it’s the best team in all of sports for building your brand!
Just ask Jerry Jones.
He’s used the Dallas Cowboys to build and monetize his own brand. Now, he’s the most famous sports owner in the world, and his team is the most valuable franchise on the planet. No matter what’s going on elsewhere, people are still yammering about the Dallas Cowboys.
The team is a marketing agency that occasionally plays football.
When Jones purchased the franchise in 1989, it was a dilapidated, deteriorating asset. But he made all the right personnel moves: He hired his old college teammate, Jimmy Johnson, to be his head coach (and de facto general manager). Within just a couple of years, they returned to the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys made four NFC Championship Games in a row, making (and winning) the Super Bowl three times.
It was dramatic. Exciting. Jerry Jones delivered! And because of those great teams, Jerry Jones earned goodwill that lasted 20 years.
Trouble is, that was 30 years ago.
Today, the Dallas Cowboys are in unchartered territory: For the first time, there is no more hope.
Before, Jerry Jones was always able to gin-up enough “hope-ium” to satiate his football fans. Maybe he’d swing a blockbuster trade and land a Joey Galloway, Roy Williams, or Amari Cooper. Or sign a big-name free agent like a Terrell Owens or a Deion Sanders. Or lure a coach like Bill Parcells out of retirement.
There was always… something.
But 2024 was the year where the Jerry Jones’ brand underwent a tipping point: He’s now known as a loser.
And his team a punchline.
Two of his NFC East rivals, Washington and Philadelphia, will be playing against each other this Sunday, battling for a Super Bowl berth. Philly’s offensive coordinator used to be the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator; Washington’s head coach used to be Dallas’ defensive coordinator. Both men did much better when they got the hell away from Jerry Jones.
That’s because the problem with the Cowboys isn’t the coaching staff. And it’s not the roster, either. Over the last 30 years, the team has gone through dozens of coaches, hundreds of drafts picks, and thousands of players.
The one and only constant has been ownership: Jerry Jones.
So, in the next few weeks, Jerry Jones will select a new head coach. And a few months after that, the Cowboys will have a new first round draft pick. Jerry will do what he’s always done: Hype it up, tell everyone he’ll do anything to win the Super Bowl, and expect his fans to fall into line.
I don’t think they will anymore. They’re done with the Jerry Jones Show.
Because they know he doesn’t mean it: Winning isn’t his priority. He’d rather lose doing it his way than win doing it anyone else’s, and you can’t build a championship culture in that kind of environment.
He’s tried for 30 years and failed each time.
His top priority is making money and getting attention. In fact, he’d be tickled pink by this article, because it means his team is still being talked about. In Jerry’s mind, that makes him a winner.
But in the fans’ minds, he’s now the biggest loser in football.
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