Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hard to believe it's been 20 years since Jerry bough the Cowboys

by Aaron Chimbel

Where have the past 20 years gone?

And what a 20 years it has been.

A lot of people were skeptical when some Arkansas oilman bought the Dallas Cowboys for $150 million from Bum Bright. It was Feb. 25, 1989.

A lot of people are still skeptical.

But, and it's a big but, Jerry Jones has left his mark on the Dallas Cowboys, both good and bad.

The success in the 90s is undeniable. Three Super Bowls in four years puts those teams among the best in the history of the NFL.

But what happened first and what has happened since are why so many people don't like Jerry Jones.

The first thing he did was fire Tom Landry and, for the most part, since he fired Jimmy Johnson the team hasn't done much, save for the remaining Johnson-era players and coaches who won a Super Bowl under Barry Switzer.

The team hasn't won a Super Bowl in 13-years or a playoff game in 12-years. The head coach changes just about every three years and the cast of characters is, at times, questionable.

All that said, I've always liked Jerry Jones. I like his passion. I like that he will do whatever it takes to try to win. I like that he takes chances.

But, and it's another big one, what I don't like is him being so involved in the football operations.

The best thing about Jones is his business sense. He's a marketing genius and has increased the Cowboys value nearly 10-fold.

Probably the best example of all this is when the WFAA sports team was discussing the most memorable moments in the Jones-era Monday afternoon.

They all came while Johnson was head coach and running the football operations.