The Dallas Cowboys' defense has been an utter travesty eight weeks into the season. Fans are fed up, and earlier this week, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones added salt to the wound. In an interview with Benoît Morenne of the Wall Street Journal, Jones gave merit to fans’ claims that he doesn’t prioritize winning, but instead does what’s best for his business and the team’s value.
“There’s $100 billion present value with gas out there,” Jones said during the interview. “That’s why I’m talking to you on the telephone rather than trying to fix our defense with the Dallas Cowboys.”
Jones’ willingness to do anything to position the team to be in contention for a Super Bowl has been in doubt for quite some time. The self-proclaimed “soap opera” has proven to be good business for Jones from a financial perspective. The team is the most valuable sports franchise in the world, and Jones has more to do with that than anyone. However, it has also been almost 30 years since the team’s last Super Bowl victory.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer came to the defense of Jones, but fans shouldn’t fall for hearing the same things over and over again.
Schottenheimer Playing Up Jerry Jones' Desire to Win Is Getting Old
Schottenheimer attempted to reassure fans by “promising” no one wants to win more than Jones does during a conversation with 105.3 The Fan.
“We sit down every Monday (90 minutes to 2 hours) and every Friday (45 minutes to an hour), myself, the coordinators, Jerry, Stephen, Jerry Jr., and we have such lengthy conversations," Schottenheimer said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. "Jerry, Stephen, and I talk almost every day by phone as well.”
Enough has to be enough. If Jones prioritizes winning, his actions would speak louder than what he is literally telling fans. There is nothing wrong with putting the value of the team and his individual worth over winning, if that is what is most important to him at this stage of his life, but why continue lying to the fan base?
Those around Jones can say he wants to win all they want. The truth is that fans of the Cowboys have seen it themselves for quite some time. Jones continuously harps on wanting to build in the draft to avoid having to spend heavily in free agency, in addition to just admitting he’s focused on the money-making opportunities in the natural gas industry instead of building a competent defense. To put it plainly, this is troublesome.
With that being said, Jones isn’t the only one at fault here; the team's fans are at fault, too. Regardless of the Cowboys' struggles and shortcomings, AT&T Stadium is almost always sold out. Jones has taken advantage of the loyalty of Dallas fans by continuing to put a mediocre product on the field, yet fans show up and support the team regardless.
Things must change quickly if the Cowboys truly want to compete this season. Fixing their defensive issues needs to be at the top of that to-do list. Unfortunately, Jones’ current stance is cause for concern for the future outlook of the franchise under his leadership.