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The problem for the 2024 Cowboys was not really that there was too much change. The problem was that the Cowboys did not change enough, especially where it was most needed–in the front office, where owner Jerry Jones and his son, Stephen Jones, rule the roost.
Increasingly, it has become clear that the 82-year-old Jerry Jones has lost his fastball, that he has not kept up with the changing times in the NFL. The team was embarrassingly inactive during last year’s critical free-agent period, and showed zero acumen when it came to the modern game of manipulating the salary cap to maximize value and flexibility.
Rather than signing stars CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott early in the process and creating an opportunity to add pieces quickly, the Cowboys stuck with their hard-nosed negotiation approach, missed the chance to create room to sign new players, then cried poverty when they were asked why no free agents were added.
It was a frustrating bit of kabuki theater for Cowboys fans to watch unfold. And now there’s some bad news: Jones has no intention of changing anything.
Jerry Jones: ‘I Bought It for Me’
After the miserable 7-10 season the Cowboys put forth, there was a glimmer of hope that maybe Jones would change his stance and expand his front office–and maybe even, finally, step down as the team’s general manager. The prospect of a shrewd, modern young executive taking the reins of a team already with Prescott, Lamb and Micah Parsons in place is a promising one.
Alas. Jones was asked about stepping down on Sunday.
His response, via The Athletic: “No. Just, no. I bought the team, I think the first thing to come out of my mouth … somebody asked, ‘Did you buy this for your kids?’ I said, ‘Hell no. I bought it for me.’ And I didn’t buy an investment. I bought an occupation, and I bought something I was going to do.
“I was 46 (years old). I bought something I was going to do for the rest of my life. That’s what I’m doing. So, no. The facts are, since I have to decide where the money is spent, then you might as well cut all of the bull—- out. That’s who’s making the call anyways.”
Cowboys Fans’ Frustration Just Continues
Basically, Jones’ stance is that he bought this toy, therefore he has the right to play with it any way he wants. And he’s right. No one will or can stop him.
Expect more frustration, then. Expect more odd comments, like a year ago when Jones noted that the Cowboys would be, “All in,” on the 2024 season, then proceeded to make virtually no free-agent moves. Or like the bizarre old-man-yells-at-cloud radio interviews he does weekly.
While Jones has a decision to make on coach Mike McCarthy, the fact is, whether McCarthy stays or goes will have a lot less to do with the success of the team than what happens above McCarthy’s pay grade.
That’s Jerry Jones, owner. And general manager, still.
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