Dallas Cowboys: The legacy of Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones will go into the Hall of Fame as the owner/general manager of Dallas Cowboys. He rejuvenated America’s Team and changed the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys prepare for their Hall of Fame game against the Arizona Cardinals tonight and the only thing bigger than the annual game is the induction of owner/general manager Jerry Jones into the Hall of Fame.

There is no owner in all of professional sports who is as interesting, energetic, and as polarizing as Jones. The magnetic owner keeps the Cowboys in the spotlight like reality television star Kim Kardashian. He’s always giving the media something to talk about and driving Cowboys Nation crazy in the process.

But regardless of how you feel about ole Jerral (his birth name), the charismatic owner made the Cowboys the most valued sports franchise in the world ($4.2 billion), and helped change the NFL for the better.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane with Jerral Wayne Jones:

Arkansas oilman buys Cowboys for $140 million

In 1989, the Cowboys were not considered an elite NFL team. They were no longer a winning franchise built by legendary head coach Tom Landry and General Manager Tex Schramm. The Cowboys were coming off of a disappointing 3-13 season, losing $1 million a month and lacked talent throughout its roster.

Further, it was the first time anyone had paid more than $100 million for a sports franchise, so Jones paid a lot of money for a struggling franchise.

To make matters worse, Jerry had the audacity to fire Landry, the iconic coach who had won two Super Bowls, coached in five of them, and was one of the winningest head coaches in NFL history.

Jerry didn’t stop there, either. He went on to hire Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate at the Arkansas.

Not only had Dallas fallen off as one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, it had rookies as an owner and a head coach, too. Dallas’ best player was former Heisman trophy winner Herschel Walker.

That season, Dallas would suffer its worse record since its inception in 1960 when it went winless.

The Herschel Walker trade-building the future

If anyone thought Jerry was crazy for spending $140 million for the Cowboys, then fans and experts alike thought he was a complete, clueless fool when he and Johnson orchestrated the trade of the century, when they traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a boatload of first round picks and players.

At the time, it was easy to criticize Jerry and Johnson because it appeared they were incompetent and over their head. And after trading Walker, Dallas finished the season 1-15, making them the most pathetic team in the league.

Once again, it appeared the blind was leading the blind.

The best thing that happened that year was that Dallas had drafted future Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. However, the Walker trade was just the beginning of good things to come, and it showed how much faith Jerry had in Johnson.

With the all of the draft picks from the Vikings, Jerry and Jimmy selected a combination of cornerstones and future Hall of Famers over the next three years.

Dallas selected the likes of Emmitt Smith, Jimmie Jones, Kenneth Gant, Larry Brown, Russell Maryland, Alvin Harper, Dixon Edwards, Kelvin Pritchett, Godfrey Myles, Erik Williams, Leon Lett, Kevin Smith, Darren Woodson, Jimmy Jones, Brock Marion, and Robert Jones.

All of those players laid down the foundation for Dallas’ success over the next few years.

Over the next few seasons, Dallas went 7-9, 11-5, and in 1992, all of the young talent reached it full potential.

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From laughingstock to Super Bowl Champions

After Jones gambled and bought a losing team in 1989, it paid off in January of 1993. Dallas upset the San Francisco 49ers for the right to play the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.

Dallas would go on to destroy the Bills 52-17 in one of the most lopsided Super Bowl victories in NFL history.

The victory over the Bills would be the first of three Super Bowl victories for Dallas in a four year span, then an NFL record.

Jerry had put Dallas back on the map as America’s Team and made it relevant again. Jerry promoted the team, its superstars, and the drama that surrounded it.

However, it didn’t matter what legal troubles superstar wideout Michael Irving were involved in or the flashiness of talented corner Deion Sanders, the Dallas Cowboys were back like a family dog that ran away and came home.

Cowboys Nation loved it, and so did the networks, as Dallas has had some of the highest rated games in NFL history. And that’s with Dallas only winning two playoff games in two decades.

That credit goes to Jerry for keeping the Boys relevant, either with self-created quarterback controversies or just signing bad players to the team, like Greg Hardy.

Jerry’s impact on the NFL

Although Jerry won three Super Bowls as the owner of the Cowboys, Jerry is going into the Hall of Fame as a contributor, mainly because of his business acumen.

Jerry helped with the NFL salary cap, showed owners how to make money with sponsorships, new stadiums, and training camps. Also, Jerry played a significant role in the then St. Louis Rams relocating back to Los Angeles, and the Oakland Raiders moving to Las Vegas.

Remember the belief that no team in any of the four major sports leagues would ever have a team in Vegas because of its gambling?

Well, thanks to ole Jerral, the NFL planted one of its most visible teams there. Jerry is the man.

After making millions on his own team, Jerry showed other owners how to make hundred of millions, and helped Roger Goodell and the NFL make billions more every year.

I’ve criticized Jerry over the years because of his meddling ways, but I’ll give credit when its due, too. Jerry bought a franchise that was operating in the red and had lost the luster on its brand.

But the oilman with the country accent won three Super Bowls with America’s Team and has them back on track to win it again.

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And with the contributions he’s made to America’s favorite sport, Jerry deserves his gold jacket.

Welcome to the Hall of Fame Jerry. You deserve it.

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