DALLAS — If you're new around here, or simply a Cowboys casual, you might wonder why Jerry Jones is always at the forefront of press conferences and discussions on every possible transaction.
In one sense, that's just Jerry. He's the owner writing the checks. And while most team owners stay along the edge of the spotlight, Jones jumps in the middle of it.
But it's also his job to be involved.
Like, his everyday role with the team.
The Cowboys have never had a general manager under Jones' ownership, other than Jones himself. Of all the coaching and front office changes over the years, one thing has remained a constant (whether fans like it or not): The general manager.
It was a promise Jones delivered on Day 1 in Dallas.
"I intend to have an understanding of the cleat situation," he told reporters on Feb. 25, 1989. "I intend to have an understanding of the player situation. I intend to have an understanding of jocks and socks."
That last line – "jocks and socks" – is part of Cowboys lore under Jones. You can't say he lied.
Jones' hands-on approach as an owner gave birth to the sports radio cliché, now simply said in jest because everyone knows it would never happen: "It's time for Jerry the owner ... to fire Jerry the general manager."
In all fairness, the Cowboys haven't exactly been basement dwellers under Jones. They've notched three straight 12-win seasons, and seven winning seasons over the last 10 years.
We won't talk much about the 2000s, but the Cowboys did win three Super Bowls in the 1990s. The cynical Cowboys fan will tell you the 90s dynasty was built by Jimmy Johnson, and Jimmy Johnson alone. The Cowboys' success in the playoffs since that era might also tell you the same.
But in the nearly 30 years since Johnson quit, whether the Cowboys won or lost, one man has been responsible.
General manager Jerry Jones.
