Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys: A Legacy of Mediocrity?

Segment Spotlight: Quick Hits From Outspoken With Dan Sileo

Dallas Cowboys’ Latest Loss Puts Jerry Jones and Team Accountability Under Fire

Here we go again with the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones began the year by pushing his chips all in, saying this would be one of the best teams he had constructed. He also put the Micah Parsons trade in the same conversation as the Herschel Walker trade made by Jimmy Johnson years ago.

After beating the Eagles, the Cowboys faced the Arizona Cardinals with an opportunity to take control of the NFC East. Instead, Dallas laid an egg against an organization that has regularly struggled and frequently drafts in the top 10.

Following the loss, Jones said a lot of people let Brian Schottenheimer down. He described the result as a total team effort and said the Cowboys must be better when they have their hands on a win.

Player accountability matters, but Jones must also be accountable for believing he has hired the right coaches. Tom Landry was the Cowboys’ only head coach for 29 years before Jimmy Johnson was hired. Since Johnson’s departure, Dallas has gone through a conveyor belt of mediocre coaching hires.

Jones does not invest in coaches with the authority to command his locker room. How can Schottenheimer demand accountability when the players know Jones has complete control? How many owners have two radio shows each week in their team’s city?

Jones has been the PT Barnum of the NFL. He has expanded awareness of the league and built the Cowboys into the richest franchise in the world. As a businessman, he will always be the greatest in NFL history. As a football executive, however, he has been the worst general manager for 30 years.

The Jets and Cardinals have more playoff wins than the Cowboys since 2000. The constant factor in Dallas’ lack of success is the owner. Jones is not a football man, and the results have made that evident.

Barry Switzer benefited from the team Johnson built. The coaches and players on that Super Bowl roster were put together by Johnson. Since then, what has Jones done to create comparable success?

Jones and his family have done remarkable things for the Cowboys brand, but no coach taking that job can believe he will truly control the locker room. It is not a desirable position because the coach is not allowed to coach with autonomy.

The most important element in a locker room is player accountability. Johnson kept everyone on the edge of their seats and created a sense of urgency throughout the building. After this loss, Dak Prescott called the performance embarrassing, but that reaction does not solve the larger problem.

As long as Jerry Jones controls the Cowboys this way, they will never win.