Dallas Cowboys: Five outsider misconceptions of the franchise
By Reid Hanson
Jerry Jones is pulling all of the strings
Jerry Jones may be the meddling owner but the idea he’s pulling all of the strings is lazy and misguided. Yes, Jerry is the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. With all of those titles comes a greater-than-average level of responsibility.
But to think he’s calling all of the shots in unequivocally wrong. As many of us in Cowboys Nation know, Jerry isn’t making the personnel decisions. Son Stephen and Will McClay are doing the heavy lifting there – and have been for quite some time. Remember, it was Jerry that wanted Johnny Manziel in the infamous 2014 NFL Draft. He was overruled.
As GM, Jerry Jones has influence, but he’s far from being the most influential when building a roster.
As GM, Jerry Jones has influence, but he’s far from being the most influential when building a roster. All of us know this. Yet we see time and time again, references to Jerry Jones being “crazy enough” to do something. Or that he’s “eager to make a splash”. Outsiders are sticking to what they heard about Jerry 15 years ago and no amount of information will let them think differently.
Outsiders also like to call Jerry the real head coach. That he oversteps and fosters an impossible work environment. They say he wants a puppet. This is also not true. Jerry talks a lot and steps on a lot of toes but he’s not calling the shots for his coaches.
He sure as hell makes things difficult for them (by his closeness to some players and candid media sessions), but he’s not pulling the strings. Tough proven coaches (with the exception of Bill Parcells) aren’t attracted to this post because it’s simply harder than most head coaching gigs. Jerry makes it tough. The media attention makes it tough.
And outsiders’ misconceptions make it tough.