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Jerry Jones 'damn mad' about missing Johnny Manziel

By Chris Wesseling
Around the NFL Writer
Published: Sept. 2, 2014 at 03:10 p.m.
Updated: Sept. 2, 2014 at 08:24 p.m.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemed at peace with his decision to pass on Johnny Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft when he acknowledged to NFL Media's Rich Eisen and Michael Irvin in July that he "took the right pick" in offensive lineman Zack Martin.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

In a recent eye-opening, in-depth profile by ESPN.com's Don Van Natta Jr., Jones emphasized his ongoing regrets about seeing Manziel in another uniform.

During the draft, Jones argued with his son, executive vice president Stephen Jones, that Manziel would have guaranteed the Cowboys' relevance for the next decade.

"I'm still so damn mad at Stephen," Jones exclaimed. "... I get madder, every day, about missin' (Manziel)."

When the Cowboys were on the clock, Jones told his war room that drafting any player other than Manziel would have been a "ticket to parity, more 8-8 seasons."

Jones was on an island, however. Coach Jason Garrett, his staff and the team's scouts all strongly advised against selecting Manziel, pointing to Tony Romo's seven-year, $119.5 million contract with $55 million in guarantees.

Among NFL fans and talking heads, it doesn't get more polarizing than Manziel and Romo. Pitting the two against each other in an inevitable quarterback competition would have turned Dallas into a three-ring circus.

Larry Lacewell, former Cowboys' head of scouting from 1992 until 2004, compared the draft decision to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus turning down the opportunity to bring in the "biggest elephant" of them all.

"I listened to everybody," Jones said, "... and I'm ... not ... happy ..."

As Martin was handed a Cowboys baseball cap on the Radio City Music Hall stage, Jones was blowing off steam in the war room.

"There's only one thing I wanna say -- I'd have never bought the Cowboys had I made the kinda decision that I just made right now," Jones explained to Stephen. "You need to drive across the water rather than lay up. And we laid up for this one. ... We just didn't get here makin' this kind of decision."

Jones has since downplayed his conversations with Van Natta as embellishing for effect.

"Well, that was a little tongue in cheek with it, but I'm still mad at (Stephen)," Jones said late last week, via the team's official website. "I think I'm proud of that decision right now, and I'm proud I was a good listener."

That doesn't mean Jones is any less bullish on Manziel's future after a disappointing preseason landed the Browns rookie on the bench.

"I don't think anybody has to back into the fact that this guy is a winner," Jones said of Manziel. "He's a proven winner (against) high competition."

Because he listened to his brain trust, Jones will always view Manziel as the one that got away.

The latest "Around The NFL Podcast" predicts our Super Bowl champions and the major winners of the regular-season awards.
 
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He actually says he's glad he listened, which is the first smart thing he's said in forever.
 
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"We just didn't get here makin' this kind of decision."
Here? 8-8, 8-8, 8-8, 8-8 with one playoff win in 17 years. Well that shit is right.

Or is he still claiming the decision to buy the Cowboys was such a huge gamble? Buying America's Team who had two super bowl wins and three other appearances for $140 million doesn't seem like a gamble, even with hindsight.
 

ThoughtExperiment

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But pep, it was losing a million dollars a month!

No, he still is claiming it was a huge gamble, and he still wants extra props because it was such a huge percentage of his net worth (over 100%?) at the time.

Like we give a shit.
 
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Jerry's romantic vision of self = The gambling wildcatter who struck black gold.
 
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Speaking of gambling.

Jerry in Austin today for a press conference about the Cowboys scratch off game.
 

Mr Cowboy

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Speaking of gambling.

Jerry in Austin today for a press conference about the Cowboys scratch off game.

My sister in law bought one of those scratch offs, and mailed in a losing ticket and won season tickets for this year. A value of something like $9000. The money hungry bimbo sold them all but the Thanksgiving game for $5000. She did offer to sell me the Denver Broncos pre-season game at face value......
 
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Actually she may be dumb. Might've been able to get more by selling each game individually.
 
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