In Jerry Jones' 20th season, Cowboys are looking good
Source: The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Jerry Jones loves to tell the story of the night he bought the Cowboys.
How he and Bum Bright had nothing officially written down, "almost just on a paper napkin."
How he and Bright drove to a hotel to pick up Jones' wife, Gene. How Bright extended her his hand saying, "I just want to shake the hand of the new owner of the Dallas Cowboys."
But the last part is what Jones loves talking about most - walking into Texas Stadium for the first time as the Cowboys' owner. He had the stadium lit up like a game night. He walked around, stared at the names in the Ring of Honor, made his way to the star at midfield and laid down.
As Jones looked skyward, he was filled with optimism and angst.
"(Former Cowboys player personnel director) Gil Brandt, later when I told him we would be making a change with him, he stepped out of the office and said, 'I believe he's in over his head.' He was right, and I felt that way that night."
This will be Jones' 20th year as the Cowboys owner.
He has gone from Arkansas outsider in 1989 to one of the pre-eminent owners in the NFL. He has been a part of three Super Bowl wins, seven NFC East titles and 11 playoff appearances. He's been sued by the league for sponsorship agreements and is mostly responsible for the NFL's billion dollar deals with the television networks. He turned Texas Stadium into a moneymaker and is set to move into a new, $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington next summer.
"He's been involved in so many different aspects of the Cowboys' organization, but also the league level, that he's seen very much as a leader among the owners," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "He has a very strong working knowledge and direct experience in almost every aspect of the league. I can't think of any (aspect) that he's not been involved in - from the competition committee to the way we manage our media businesses to the way we manage our for-profit business and the selection of commissioners. He's involved."
But what if Jones had not paid $65 million to purchase the team and another $75 million for the stadium?
"I really would have never - in my professional life - been happy if I passed on the Cowboys," Jones said of his franchise, whose value is estimated at $1.5 billion. "I would've regretted it for the rest of my life."
When he was in the middle of talks with Bright, Jones traveled to Georgia to go quail hunting with Jack Stephens, chairman of Stephens Group Inc., in Little Rock. Stephens later became head of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters.
"I've got you Mr. Stephens, and I'm going to ask your advice," Jones remembered saying.
Stephens told Jones that he passed on a chance to buy the New York Yankees and regretted it, but when Stephens found out Jones would run the Cowboys' day-to-day operation, he told him to go for it, even as the Cowboys lost money.
"He said, 'You can throw all (the financial numbers) away. If you're going to run it, somehow, some way, you'll make it work,'" Jones said, pausing. "I'm getting a little emotional here. There was a case where I really was probably searching for some sound, logical advice and looking at the numbers for someone to say, 'Boy, Jerry, I don't believe you ought to do that.' But I never got that."
When Jones purchased the Cowboys, the local economy was struggling. Banks were failing. The oil industry was in a depression. Loans were sold cheaply.
Jones finds himself feeling the same uneasiness with the sparkling stadium in Arlington. The taxpayers' contribution is capped at $325 million. The Cowboys are on the hook for $775 million.
When Jones and former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson went through their messy breakup after back-to-back Super Bowl wins, Jones' wife had a message for her husband: "She looked over at me and said, 'You just can't let it be, can you? You just have to make it hard, don't you?' I'll never forget that."
When the new stadium opens, you can bet Jones will have the lights on and lie down on the midfield star and look skyward like he did the night he bought the Cowboys.
"This is a great chance, in fact a must, that we have to reinvent our approach and reinvent our thinking," Jones said. "That was one of the real positive things I had on the list of why we should do the new stadium, because it will cause us the anxieties, cause us the ambiguity, cause us to act and think and look for new answers.
"One thing I said it will cause us to extend our commitment to the franchise, and it has done that from a financial aspect alone. It's certainly been a time where a lot of people have said to me, 'Boy, Jerry, this is a time you could have taken it a little bit easier way and stayed at Texas Stadium, and things might not be on edge as they are now.' But just from my standpoint, it's caused me to get on the ball."
Almost 20 years and so much has changed, but so much has stayed the same.
"I've never," Jones said, "had anything go by so fast."
Ring Toss
The Herschel Trade
The Cowboys' future changed when they traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota on Oct. 12, 1989, for five players, six conditional draft picks and a first-round pick in 1992. Among the players the Cowboys landed: Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson.
JERRY SAYS:
"I'd say the most fortuitous thing was Troy Aikman being there, and we had the No. 1 pick. Right off the bat, if you want to come in and buy the Dallas Cowboys and just happen to have the No. 1 pick, and Troy Aikman is sitting there, that's fortunate.
"The trade basically gave us - in a system that only allows expansion teams to do it - another team's draft. It gave us the No. 1 pick two years in a row and a reasonably low pick in that third year. If you make a good judgment on the quarterback and surround him with other good players when you're down, then that's how you turn it around. That's really the expansion process.
"It's like going to Las Vegas with your rent money in your pocket and being a good gambler. It's almost impossible to freewheel the way you need to do to win. But if you've got extra money, unless you're a fool, then you can basically do something that might cause you to win.
"When we had all those extra picks, we could put it all together."
No Regrets
(on not drafting Randy Moss in 1998)
JERRY SAYS:
"Greg Ellis has been an outstanding player for us. We haven't won a Super Bowl since he's been here, but I didn't have - during the time Moss would've been here - the quarterback (although Aikman did not retire until after the 2000 season). And Moss was better than we thought he was - and better than many thought he was for him to fall like that. If anyone knew he'd make that kind of impact, he would've been the first pick."
IRVING, Texas - Jerry Jones loves to tell the story of the night he bought the Cowboys.
How he and Bum Bright had nothing officially written down, "almost just on a paper napkin."
How he and Bright drove to a hotel to pick up Jones' wife, Gene. How Bright extended her his hand saying, "I just want to shake the hand of the new owner of the Dallas Cowboys."
But the last part is what Jones loves talking about most - walking into Texas Stadium for the first time as the Cowboys' owner. He had the stadium lit up like a game night. He walked around, stared at the names in the Ring of Honor, made his way to the star at midfield and laid down.
As Jones looked skyward, he was filled with optimism and angst.
"(Former Cowboys player personnel director) Gil Brandt, later when I told him we would be making a change with him, he stepped out of the office and said, 'I believe he's in over his head.' He was right, and I felt that way that night."
This will be Jones' 20th year as the Cowboys owner.
He has gone from Arkansas outsider in 1989 to one of the pre-eminent owners in the NFL. He has been a part of three Super Bowl wins, seven NFC East titles and 11 playoff appearances. He's been sued by the league for sponsorship agreements and is mostly responsible for the NFL's billion dollar deals with the television networks. He turned Texas Stadium into a moneymaker and is set to move into a new, $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington next summer.
"He's been involved in so many different aspects of the Cowboys' organization, but also the league level, that he's seen very much as a leader among the owners," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "He has a very strong working knowledge and direct experience in almost every aspect of the league. I can't think of any (aspect) that he's not been involved in - from the competition committee to the way we manage our media businesses to the way we manage our for-profit business and the selection of commissioners. He's involved."
But what if Jones had not paid $65 million to purchase the team and another $75 million for the stadium?
"I really would have never - in my professional life - been happy if I passed on the Cowboys," Jones said of his franchise, whose value is estimated at $1.5 billion. "I would've regretted it for the rest of my life."
When he was in the middle of talks with Bright, Jones traveled to Georgia to go quail hunting with Jack Stephens, chairman of Stephens Group Inc., in Little Rock. Stephens later became head of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters.
"I've got you Mr. Stephens, and I'm going to ask your advice," Jones remembered saying.
Stephens told Jones that he passed on a chance to buy the New York Yankees and regretted it, but when Stephens found out Jones would run the Cowboys' day-to-day operation, he told him to go for it, even as the Cowboys lost money.
"He said, 'You can throw all (the financial numbers) away. If you're going to run it, somehow, some way, you'll make it work,'" Jones said, pausing. "I'm getting a little emotional here. There was a case where I really was probably searching for some sound, logical advice and looking at the numbers for someone to say, 'Boy, Jerry, I don't believe you ought to do that.' But I never got that."
When Jones purchased the Cowboys, the local economy was struggling. Banks were failing. The oil industry was in a depression. Loans were sold cheaply.
Jones finds himself feeling the same uneasiness with the sparkling stadium in Arlington. The taxpayers' contribution is capped at $325 million. The Cowboys are on the hook for $775 million.
When Jones and former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson went through their messy breakup after back-to-back Super Bowl wins, Jones' wife had a message for her husband: "She looked over at me and said, 'You just can't let it be, can you? You just have to make it hard, don't you?' I'll never forget that."
When the new stadium opens, you can bet Jones will have the lights on and lie down on the midfield star and look skyward like he did the night he bought the Cowboys.
"This is a great chance, in fact a must, that we have to reinvent our approach and reinvent our thinking," Jones said. "That was one of the real positive things I had on the list of why we should do the new stadium, because it will cause us the anxieties, cause us the ambiguity, cause us to act and think and look for new answers.
"One thing I said it will cause us to extend our commitment to the franchise, and it has done that from a financial aspect alone. It's certainly been a time where a lot of people have said to me, 'Boy, Jerry, this is a time you could have taken it a little bit easier way and stayed at Texas Stadium, and things might not be on edge as they are now.' But just from my standpoint, it's caused me to get on the ball."
Almost 20 years and so much has changed, but so much has stayed the same.
"I've never," Jones said, "had anything go by so fast."
Ring Toss
The Herschel Trade
The Cowboys' future changed when they traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota on Oct. 12, 1989, for five players, six conditional draft picks and a first-round pick in 1992. Among the players the Cowboys landed: Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson.
JERRY SAYS:
"I'd say the most fortuitous thing was Troy Aikman being there, and we had the No. 1 pick. Right off the bat, if you want to come in and buy the Dallas Cowboys and just happen to have the No. 1 pick, and Troy Aikman is sitting there, that's fortunate.
"The trade basically gave us - in a system that only allows expansion teams to do it - another team's draft. It gave us the No. 1 pick two years in a row and a reasonably low pick in that third year. If you make a good judgment on the quarterback and surround him with other good players when you're down, then that's how you turn it around. That's really the expansion process.
"It's like going to Las Vegas with your rent money in your pocket and being a good gambler. It's almost impossible to freewheel the way you need to do to win. But if you've got extra money, unless you're a fool, then you can basically do something that might cause you to win.
"When we had all those extra picks, we could put it all together."
No Regrets
(on not drafting Randy Moss in 1998)
JERRY SAYS:
"Greg Ellis has been an outstanding player for us. We haven't won a Super Bowl since he's been here, but I didn't have - during the time Moss would've been here - the quarterback (although Aikman did not retire until after the 2000 season). And Moss was better than we thought he was - and better than many thought he was for him to fall like that. If anyone knew he'd make that kind of impact, he would've been the first pick."
posted by The Gryphon at 10:48 AM
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