Jerry: I hope T.O.'s release was an 'eye-opener'
Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
In his most revealing interview since last week's release of Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talked about his decision-making process and where he sees this team heading. As we predicted, Jones is refusing to acknowledge that locker-room chemistry had anything to do with T.O.'s release. And that's fine.
In this situation, the "whys" aren't all that important because Jones arrived at the correct decision. On Tuesday, he joined the "Three Wide" program on 105.3 in Dallas and said T.O.'s release "was not about chemistry" and added that the player was a "great role model."
Whatever. For now, the controversial wide receiver has been banished to football Siberia, aka Buffalo, never to be heard from again -- except on the next 300 episodes of SportsCenter.
During Tuesday's interview, Jones sounded a lot less defensive than he's been throughout this ordeal. Though he might not admit it, he seems like a man who's had a huge burden lifted from his shoulders. Now he can focus on that $1.3 billion burden in Arlington.
A few local writers had wondered if T.O.'s release would cause resentment in the locker room from his loyalists/suckups. Agent to the stars Drew Rosenhaus expressed regret Tuesday over the fact that he'd advised another client, running back Marion Barber, not to worry about intervening on the receiver's behalf because he was convinced the Cowboys would retain him. But Jones insisted that he's been pleasantly surprised by his players' reaction to the news when he asked whether he anticipated any negative fallout.
"Actually it's been kind of opposite of that. The idea is, 'boy, if someone with the substance of T.O. can go on down the line, then it's for sure I need to be taking care of my business.'
"I think maybe it's an eye opener or motivational thing in a positive way ... at the end of the day, hard decisions, real tough decisions should mean that you're commited to winning. I think this really does say that. 'Anybody got a suggestion how to win, fine?' Otherwise let''s not talk about it, let's get on with the work."
Jones admitted that he may have been "naive" in thinking that Roy Williams and Terrell Owens could flourish together. He thinks T.O.'s departure will allow young receivers such as Miles Austin to continue their development and hopes that quarterback Tony Romo will be able to utilize the pass-catching skills of running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Jerry said he's excited to see Williams spending extra time in the weight room this offseason, which is something the receiver "has never done," according to the owner.
But the main reason Jones released T.O. is because he thought it would make Tony Romo a better quarterback. I know that sounds ludicrous to many of you, but it's safe to say the quarterback was hoping for this outcome. Has anyone read a quote from Romo wishing T.O. well yet? Didn't think so. So will this offense be more "Romo friendly?"
"Well, I had people tell me that one of the best ways that you could help Tony Romo be everything he could be is on the other side of Terrell, another great receiver," said Jones. "Then you'd have defenses compromised and you would've made it more Romo friendly than any other way. That was [the advice] before we got Roy Williams. Again, there's all kind of input and ways to look at this thing. I do believe that where we are at, Tony's options of where to get the ball, where to go, I do think this is going in the direction of Romo friendly."
When "Around the Horn" regular Tim Cowlishaw asked whether cutting T.O. was a risk, Jones answered, "No, I don't because it's all risky You're not buying bonds here. This is a risky deal. We all know [that when we] started this season, we had 13 Pro Bowlers back and our personnel was being lauded as the best team to go to the Super Bowl. There are human frailties that go with performance, veterans tailing off, injury -- all those things come into play in the end. And you can't write it up on paper. I don't view it was a real risky decision. It has everything to do with Roy Williams, Miles Austin and the other places we've got to go with the ball."
Jones also shared the best piece of advice he ever received from Walmart founder Sam Walton when he was asked whether he was spread too thin as owner and general manager of the Cowboys.
"Always be understaffed," the late Walton told Jones. "If you're not, you're overmanned and you'll never see who your heroes are.
Added Jones: "The facts are that the way we operate does have many pluses to it. Right now, you can certainly get real quick to all of the things we haven't done since I've owned the team and been the general manager. One thing we've done is have five coaches [lead us to the] playoffs, two different coaches have 13 wins apiece. We've had two -- we've actually had three -- Super Bowl winning coaches, although one coach, Bill Parcells, won it with another team, 23 Pro Bowl players and hopefully four of five of those will end up being Hall of Famers. We've had ups and downs.
"But I understand the criticisms but I've never wavered from this from the time I bought the team. I know first-hand in dealing with other clubs that what you do when you have an ownership, a general manager and you have coach is that you have another moving piece, another political piece, another piece that has to possibly come and go. And that's just not efficient if the owner, who ultimately bears the responsibility period, is sitting there 40 feet away every day and he's sitting in 90 percent of the meetings and it really is not a necessary piece of the puzzle and that's why we're structured that way, right or wrong.
As long as he's still with us (alive), Jones will never hire a general manager. That's why it's futile for fans and writers to demand he do so. The positive news out of all this is that Jones was seeking advice from all corners of the NFL. That's actually a very healthy sign for this organization. OK, digest all of this and let's meet in the "comments" section later.
In his most revealing interview since last week's release of Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talked about his decision-making process and where he sees this team heading. As we predicted, Jones is refusing to acknowledge that locker-room chemistry had anything to do with T.O.'s release. And that's fine.
In this situation, the "whys" aren't all that important because Jones arrived at the correct decision. On Tuesday, he joined the "Three Wide" program on 105.3 in Dallas and said T.O.'s release "was not about chemistry" and added that the player was a "great role model."
Whatever. For now, the controversial wide receiver has been banished to football Siberia, aka Buffalo, never to be heard from again -- except on the next 300 episodes of SportsCenter.
During Tuesday's interview, Jones sounded a lot less defensive than he's been throughout this ordeal. Though he might not admit it, he seems like a man who's had a huge burden lifted from his shoulders. Now he can focus on that $1.3 billion burden in Arlington.
A few local writers had wondered if T.O.'s release would cause resentment in the locker room from his loyalists/suckups. Agent to the stars Drew Rosenhaus expressed regret Tuesday over the fact that he'd advised another client, running back Marion Barber, not to worry about intervening on the receiver's behalf because he was convinced the Cowboys would retain him. But Jones insisted that he's been pleasantly surprised by his players' reaction to the news when he asked whether he anticipated any negative fallout.
"Actually it's been kind of opposite of that. The idea is, 'boy, if someone with the substance of T.O. can go on down the line, then it's for sure I need to be taking care of my business.'
"I think maybe it's an eye opener or motivational thing in a positive way ... at the end of the day, hard decisions, real tough decisions should mean that you're commited to winning. I think this really does say that. 'Anybody got a suggestion how to win, fine?' Otherwise let''s not talk about it, let's get on with the work."
Jones admitted that he may have been "naive" in thinking that Roy Williams and Terrell Owens could flourish together. He thinks T.O.'s departure will allow young receivers such as Miles Austin to continue their development and hopes that quarterback Tony Romo will be able to utilize the pass-catching skills of running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Jerry said he's excited to see Williams spending extra time in the weight room this offseason, which is something the receiver "has never done," according to the owner.
But the main reason Jones released T.O. is because he thought it would make Tony Romo a better quarterback. I know that sounds ludicrous to many of you, but it's safe to say the quarterback was hoping for this outcome. Has anyone read a quote from Romo wishing T.O. well yet? Didn't think so. So will this offense be more "Romo friendly?"
"Well, I had people tell me that one of the best ways that you could help Tony Romo be everything he could be is on the other side of Terrell, another great receiver," said Jones. "Then you'd have defenses compromised and you would've made it more Romo friendly than any other way. That was [the advice] before we got Roy Williams. Again, there's all kind of input and ways to look at this thing. I do believe that where we are at, Tony's options of where to get the ball, where to go, I do think this is going in the direction of Romo friendly."
When "Around the Horn" regular Tim Cowlishaw asked whether cutting T.O. was a risk, Jones answered, "No, I don't because it's all risky You're not buying bonds here. This is a risky deal. We all know [that when we] started this season, we had 13 Pro Bowlers back and our personnel was being lauded as the best team to go to the Super Bowl. There are human frailties that go with performance, veterans tailing off, injury -- all those things come into play in the end. And you can't write it up on paper. I don't view it was a real risky decision. It has everything to do with Roy Williams, Miles Austin and the other places we've got to go with the ball."
Jones also shared the best piece of advice he ever received from Walmart founder Sam Walton when he was asked whether he was spread too thin as owner and general manager of the Cowboys.
"Always be understaffed," the late Walton told Jones. "If you're not, you're overmanned and you'll never see who your heroes are.
Added Jones: "The facts are that the way we operate does have many pluses to it. Right now, you can certainly get real quick to all of the things we haven't done since I've owned the team and been the general manager. One thing we've done is have five coaches [lead us to the] playoffs, two different coaches have 13 wins apiece. We've had two -- we've actually had three -- Super Bowl winning coaches, although one coach, Bill Parcells, won it with another team, 23 Pro Bowl players and hopefully four of five of those will end up being Hall of Famers. We've had ups and downs.
"But I understand the criticisms but I've never wavered from this from the time I bought the team. I know first-hand in dealing with other clubs that what you do when you have an ownership, a general manager and you have coach is that you have another moving piece, another political piece, another piece that has to possibly come and go. And that's just not efficient if the owner, who ultimately bears the responsibility period, is sitting there 40 feet away every day and he's sitting in 90 percent of the meetings and it really is not a necessary piece of the puzzle and that's why we're structured that way, right or wrong.
As long as he's still with us (alive), Jones will never hire a general manager. That's why it's futile for fans and writers to demand he do so. The positive news out of all this is that Jones was seeking advice from all corners of the NFL. That's actually a very healthy sign for this organization. OK, digest all of this and let's meet in the "comments" section later.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:45 PM
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