Dallas Cowboys: The death of a great franchise

The Dallas Cowboys became America’s Team because it won divisional titles, were perennial playoff contenders, and won 5 Super Bowls. Now, the Cowboys are a substandard franchise mired in mediocrity.

The first football game I ever watched as a child was a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams. The Cowboys whipped the Rams in that game and I was hooked.

First, I became a fan because the Cowboys had a star on their helmet and the coolest colors and I had ever seen. My goodness, that metallic blue and silver is an awesome match to behold. Plus, I liked a running back named Tony Dorsett, who had blazing and scored touchdowns with ease. Since that day in the late 70’s, I’ve been a loyal Cowboys fan for life.

In those days, the Cowboys won on a regular basis. In fact, the Cowboys appeared in five Super Bowls in the 1970’s, winning two and losing three. Tom Landry was the face of the franchise. Best yet, everyone hated the Cowboys because of their success. The moniker, “America’s Team”, was soon coined by Bob Ryan of NFL films.

The fact that someone not affiliated with the Cowboys would label them “America’s Team” speaks volumes of this great franchise success and storied history.

Times Have Changed

But in 2017, that’s all the Cowboys can do is lean on its proud history, because as of right now, it’s as dead as roadkill on a Texas highway.

What was once a winning franchise is now a substandard organization where the owner appears before the camera like a super model for Glamour magazine. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones is so ego-driven he’s more concerned about receiving the glory for the Cowboys success than doing what it takes to get that success.

So until Jerry wakes up from his egotistical dream, Dallas will roam in the wilderness like the Israelites of the Old Testament.

It’s the reason why he fired Super Bowl winning head coach Jimmy Johnson. — Jerry wanted to get credit for those Super Bowl wins.

All I can say is “dude, you’re the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, the most valued sports franchise in the entire world! How much more credit do you need?”

And after watching the Cowboys lose to the Seattle Seahawks in a pathetic and lackluster fashion, I came to the realization this franchise is beyond fixable with Jerry at the helm.

Forget Jason Garrett‘s inability to coach, Jerry is the root of all the Cowboys’ problems. Heck, Jerry is the reason why Garrett is STILL the head coach after so many below disappointing seasons.

Losing to the Seahawks is not the main reason Cowboys Nation is upset. It’s the manner in how and why they lost the game. If the coaching staff had this team better prepared and played with passion and a sense of urgency, the loss would’ve been more digestible. Or if the Cowboys had been playing good football throughout the season, this would be just an unfortunate loss. Period.

But the loss highlighted all of the mind blowing losses we’ve witnessed since Garrett has been the head coach. The disappointment I felt in the Seahawks loss is worse than the pain I felt as a child when the Cowboys lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII (I still hate the Steelers).

Back then, the Cowboys had a bright future because it had legendary head coach in Landry leading the way and a great general manager in Texx Schramm, a marketing genius. Therefore, you knew winning Super Bowls was the ultimate goal every year.

That’s not the case with Jerry. We all recognize this franchise is stuck in neutral, occasionally driving forward with a few wins, only to go back in reverse the next season.

This organization will never see the glory days, let alone another Super Bowl victory because of Jerry’s Texas sized ego. Jerry will never go out and get a legitimate head coach and give him complete control over roster moves, player personnel or having the real final say in the 53-man roster.

If you didn’t know, Garrett doesn’t have control in any of the above decisions. Because of that, Dallas is stuck with a below average coach and an owner who believes in what he’s doing is best for Dallas.

What Jerry has done to this organization is equivalent to driving a brand new Ferrari off a cliff. Crash and burn!

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Sure, Dallas is the most valued sports franchise in the world, but who cares when there are no Super Bowl rings to go with it in over 20 years.

What Jerry needs to do is follow the examples of three historic sports franchises: the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and the New York Yankees. These storied franchises have great owners who set the standard high. For them, it’s all about winning NBA championships or World Series rings.

Combined, those franchises have 60 championships.

The Yankees didn’t retain former manager Joe Girardi because he wasn’t living up to the Yankees’ standards of winning, that’s after Giradrdi winning at least one World series and constantly taking the Yankees to the MLB playoffs.