After a 19-13 loss to Atlanta that considerably dimmed his team’s playoff hopes, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones amplified on comments he made to NBC about firing himself as the team’s general manager because of the team’s extended mediocrity over the past 16 seasons.
Sunday’s loss dropped the Cowboys to 3-5 for the season. Since the end of the 1996 season, the Cowboys have a 123-126 record in regular-season games and a 125-133 mark overall (including 2-7 in playoff games). Dallas has won just one playoff game in the last 16 seasons.
In a pre-game interview, Jones told NBC’s Bob Costas that he would have fired the team’s general manager by now if he did not hold the job himself. After the loss to the Falcons, Jones explained his thought process in attempt to clarify what he said to Costas.
“What I really meant was that one of the things you do is, if you’ve got a GM and, in this particular case, he owns the team, you go in and work on (the man in) the mirror,” Jones said. “I don’t know if that came out on the interview. We talked about it quite a bit.”
During the NBC interview, Jones acknowledged he would have fired a GM with the type of record Dallas has produced over the last 16 seasons “because he was there to dismiss.”
Jones also told NBC: “I’ve always worked for myself and you can’t do that. You basically have to straighten that guy out in the mirror when you work for yourself. But certainly, if I’d had the discretion, I’ve done it with coaches and certainly I would have changed a general manager.”
Asked Sunday night about whether the man in the mirror is the right GM for the Cowboys, Jones said: “When I bought the team, the night I bought it, I said I would be doing what I’m doing and that’s GM of the team and making the final decisions on our personnel. That’s the way it’s always been done (in the Jones era). We won three Super Bowls doing that … I know the best way to make decisions for us and that’s the best way. I know that’s what motivates me as an owner and causes me to basically do the best job that I can.”
Sunday’s loss dropped the Cowboys to 3-5 for the season. Since the end of the 1996 season, the Cowboys have a 123-126 record in regular-season games and a 125-133 mark overall (including 2-7 in playoff games). Dallas has won just one playoff game in the last 16 seasons.
In a pre-game interview, Jones told NBC’s Bob Costas that he would have fired the team’s general manager by now if he did not hold the job himself. After the loss to the Falcons, Jones explained his thought process in attempt to clarify what he said to Costas.
“What I really meant was that one of the things you do is, if you’ve got a GM and, in this particular case, he owns the team, you go in and work on (the man in) the mirror,” Jones said. “I don’t know if that came out on the interview. We talked about it quite a bit.”
During the NBC interview, Jones acknowledged he would have fired a GM with the type of record Dallas has produced over the last 16 seasons “because he was there to dismiss.”
Jones also told NBC: “I’ve always worked for myself and you can’t do that. You basically have to straighten that guy out in the mirror when you work for yourself. But certainly, if I’d had the discretion, I’ve done it with coaches and certainly I would have changed a general manager.”
Asked Sunday night about whether the man in the mirror is the right GM for the Cowboys, Jones said: “When I bought the team, the night I bought it, I said I would be doing what I’m doing and that’s GM of the team and making the final decisions on our personnel. That’s the way it’s always been done (in the Jones era). We won three Super Bowls doing that … I know the best way to make decisions for us and that’s the best way. I know that’s what motivates me as an owner and causes me to basically do the best job that I can.”
