Cowboys owner Jerry Jones still learning to get grip on team
Jones still learning to get grip on team
17 years after buying Cowboys, he believes team can win soon
08:51 PM CST on Sunday, February 26, 2006
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
INDIANAPOLIS – Seventeen years ago Saturday, Jerry Jones shook up the NFL world and bought the Dallas Cowboys.
Since Feb. 25, 1989, Jones' place in the NFL has been cemented with three Super Bowl victories and, in some way, a change in how the league does its business.
"I will say this, I thought I knew more about what I was doing then than I do now. I thought I had my hands around it," Jones said. "I thought this is pretty simple, you get somebody that's an outstanding coach and you basically get in and try to outfigure everything you can and try to outhustle and you'll win those football games. I just assumed you'd win those football games, always had, without being trite. And we started off the way we thought we could do it and had success, but it's been a little harder getting my arms around the last few years."
Sitting on his bus outside the Indiana Convention Center on Sunday during a break in the NFL Scouting Combine, Jones talked for nearly an hour on a variety of subjects:
On the decision to extend Bill Parcells' contract:
"The alternative to that wasn't even close as far as us having a chance to win and win big in the immediate future. Not even close. And I have placed a big priority on winning in the immediate, like this year, next year and maybe beyond."
On giving him a raise of $1 million per season:
"I thought when Bill came to the Cowboys he was very reasonable, relative to where coaches were and that was meaningful because it was just an indication that he wanted to come in and coach the team. Certainly it recognizes where he is to other coaches but it's also an, 'attaboy,' about the way we've worked together the last three years."
On how close the Cowboys are from contending for a Super Bowl:
"We've got our needs that we've handicapped. We'll weigh the odds of how much we can take of those needs. I think that if we can reasonably take care of those needs we can be a better team than where we were at our best last year. If we can be better than that, then we've got a chance to really have some fun."
On addressing the offensive line in free agency:
"We've got three big contracts, relatively big, with three players [Flozell Adams, Larry Allen, Marco Rivera]. How many contracts can you afford? You might be able to fit another top pick, the economics of a top pick. You probably wouldn't see me go after the top paid linemen in free agency. Those are older players and that's kind of piling it on in a direction I don't want to go."
On addressing the offensive line in the first round of the draft:
"There's a couple players where if they were there we'd have to look at them if you're keeping in mind we think Flozell will be there long term at left tackle. If you're sitting there looking at a player that is a left tackle and would be a waste to play at right tackle, then we probably wouldn't spend that kind of money."
On addressing offense in general in the draft:
"If I had a chance to improve with an outstanding player on offense or defense, just that factor was there, I would go offense. ... But if an outstanding defensive player is there and a good to real good player offensive player is there we'll take that defensive player even though we did load up on defense last year."
On getting younger at receiver:
"I'm not going to put that onus on the draft that we've got to get younger at receiver and better, too. It might not fall that way for us."
On Terrell Owens:
"I want to say this so we don't get something going here: There's so many issues that I can't today put that into the equation. ... We've not gone down those issues. We haven't sat down and said, 'How do we do something like that?'"
On signing a veteran kicker:
"We'll get a veteran kicker. I think our situation is that I don't know that we're the best place right now for a rookie kicker with Bill staring at him every time he walks off the field."
On signing a big-money kicker:
"Not to that degree. I don't think we'd look to do that. We'll have a kicker with experience."
On La'Roi Glover's future:
"The timing hasn't been where we had to address it. With the quality of player La'Roi is and the job he's done for us, the job of sitting down with him or him sitting down with us and seeing how fits, it was going to be so difficult that we put it off till a better day, to be realistic about it."
17 years after buying Cowboys, he believes team can win soon
08:51 PM CST on Sunday, February 26, 2006
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
INDIANAPOLIS – Seventeen years ago Saturday, Jerry Jones shook up the NFL world and bought the Dallas Cowboys.
Since Feb. 25, 1989, Jones' place in the NFL has been cemented with three Super Bowl victories and, in some way, a change in how the league does its business.
"I will say this, I thought I knew more about what I was doing then than I do now. I thought I had my hands around it," Jones said. "I thought this is pretty simple, you get somebody that's an outstanding coach and you basically get in and try to outfigure everything you can and try to outhustle and you'll win those football games. I just assumed you'd win those football games, always had, without being trite. And we started off the way we thought we could do it and had success, but it's been a little harder getting my arms around the last few years."
Sitting on his bus outside the Indiana Convention Center on Sunday during a break in the NFL Scouting Combine, Jones talked for nearly an hour on a variety of subjects:
On the decision to extend Bill Parcells' contract:
"The alternative to that wasn't even close as far as us having a chance to win and win big in the immediate future. Not even close. And I have placed a big priority on winning in the immediate, like this year, next year and maybe beyond."
On giving him a raise of $1 million per season:
"I thought when Bill came to the Cowboys he was very reasonable, relative to where coaches were and that was meaningful because it was just an indication that he wanted to come in and coach the team. Certainly it recognizes where he is to other coaches but it's also an, 'attaboy,' about the way we've worked together the last three years."
On how close the Cowboys are from contending for a Super Bowl:
"We've got our needs that we've handicapped. We'll weigh the odds of how much we can take of those needs. I think that if we can reasonably take care of those needs we can be a better team than where we were at our best last year. If we can be better than that, then we've got a chance to really have some fun."
On addressing the offensive line in free agency:
"We've got three big contracts, relatively big, with three players [Flozell Adams, Larry Allen, Marco Rivera]. How many contracts can you afford? You might be able to fit another top pick, the economics of a top pick. You probably wouldn't see me go after the top paid linemen in free agency. Those are older players and that's kind of piling it on in a direction I don't want to go."
On addressing the offensive line in the first round of the draft:
"There's a couple players where if they were there we'd have to look at them if you're keeping in mind we think Flozell will be there long term at left tackle. If you're sitting there looking at a player that is a left tackle and would be a waste to play at right tackle, then we probably wouldn't spend that kind of money."
On addressing offense in general in the draft:
"If I had a chance to improve with an outstanding player on offense or defense, just that factor was there, I would go offense. ... But if an outstanding defensive player is there and a good to real good player offensive player is there we'll take that defensive player even though we did load up on defense last year."
On getting younger at receiver:
"I'm not going to put that onus on the draft that we've got to get younger at receiver and better, too. It might not fall that way for us."
On Terrell Owens:
"I want to say this so we don't get something going here: There's so many issues that I can't today put that into the equation. ... We've not gone down those issues. We haven't sat down and said, 'How do we do something like that?'"
On signing a veteran kicker:
"We'll get a veteran kicker. I think our situation is that I don't know that we're the best place right now for a rookie kicker with Bill staring at him every time he walks off the field."
On signing a big-money kicker:
"Not to that degree. I don't think we'd look to do that. We'll have a kicker with experience."
On La'Roi Glover's future:
"The timing hasn't been where we had to address it. With the quality of player La'Roi is and the job he's done for us, the job of sitting down with him or him sitting down with us and seeing how fits, it was going to be so difficult that we put it off till a better day, to be realistic about it."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:40 PM
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