Column: The Real Problem In Dallas

By J. SCOTT HELTON
My schedule at work has me working from home this week, which allows me a little time during the day to catch up on sports, especially the national scene. This week all the sports networks seem stuck on whether Jason Garrett should be fired as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys after last Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. Do not get me wrong, I think Garrett is a mediocre coach at best and would have been fired years ago if he had worked for another owner other than Jerry Jones, but I do not think Garrett is the problem, I think the problem is Jerry Jones.
There was one owner in the league that called a press conference to openly talk about his disgust with his team losing, despite half the teams in the league losing last week, and that was Jones. His complaints about the team being too talented to have their record (6-5) are somewhat valid, but what he is not doing is accepting his responsibility in their losses because, after all, he is the general manager. Any other GM would be under intense scrutiny or fired if the team they had assembled could go no farther than the first round of the playoffs during the last several years, but since Jones is the owner and he is not going to fire himself, he has the luxury of pointing the finger at someone else.
These theatrics are nothing new for the brash owner. Remember, Jones is the reason that Jimmy Johnson left a highly successful job as the head coach to escape the ego of the owner who wanted to run the team, as opposed to placing that responsibility of people that know the sport. Bill Parcells, one of the most successful coaches of all time, also jumped ship after he could no longer tolerate the interference of Jones, and since Parcells’s departure, things have only gotten worse for the Cowboys.
I get it, Jones owns the team so he can do what he wants, but obviously, the decisions he is making are not working, and it is time for him to take a step back, hire a competent General Manager and get out of the way if wants his team to contend for a championship. Jones has created an environment where he is more important than the team, and his love of the spotlight will only continue to damage the organization at all levels.
Go home Jerry, and on your way, stop by and get Arthur Blank off the Falcons sideline.