Jones style reminiscent of iconic NFL owner

By David Mullen

One may uncover the inspiration behind Dallas Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones’ management style by revisiting October 8, 2011. That was the day that Al Davis died.

As captured by ESPN.com staff writer Todd Archer back in 2011, Jones spoke out about the former Oakland, Los Angeles and again Oakland Raiders owner and managing partner and NFL Hall of Famer Davis after his death.

“You might go as far as to say I loved him,” Jones told Archer. “He was a great friend. He was someone that I admired. He was very loyal and very passionate about football.”

Davis was a football man. He was obsessed with all aspects of the game. He was a football savant but earned his way to that status. He scouted and coached through the 1950’s before leading Oakland to their first winning season as head coach in 1963. He leveraged his way into the managing partner position, which gave him complete control of the team, without paying for the right.

The Raiders and the American Football League (AFL) needed Davis. He briefly became AFL Commissioner in 1966 and was involved with the eventual AFL/NFL merger, which helped build the NFL into the sports steamroller that it is today. He sued the NFL to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles and then moved them back to Oakland 12 years later. Davis ran on instinct. He never had a plan.

When Jones bought the Cowboys from owner Bum Bright, the Cowboys were a mess. The 1988 Dallas Cowboys went 3-13, finishing fifth in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Phoenix Cardinals, their first year removed from St. Louis. The 1988 season was the Cowboys’ worst since 1960. They missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Jones promised the media that he was — to use one of his favorite expressions — “all in.” “My entire office and my entire business will be at the (Cowboys) complex,” Jones told the media in 1989. 

“I want to know everything there is to know, from player contracts to socks and jocks and television contracts. This is my company, and I will be making all the decisions. The Cowboys will be my life!”

He kept his promise. 

Jones’ first move as owner and GM in 1989 was to fire head coach Tom Landry, the only coach the Cowboys had ever had, and hire Jimmy Johnson. 

The Cowboys had shrewdly drafted Troy Aikman as quarterback in the 1989 draft and inherited a young WR Michael Irvin and All-Pro RB Herschel Walker from the previous regime.

Jones reportedly was going to trade Irvin to the Raiders, but Davis talked him out of it. Davis said: “Are you sure you want to do that? Who is going to catch passes for you?”

Instead, four games into the 1989 season, Jones traded Walker to Minnesota for a slew of draft picks that eventually garnered Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland. The 1989 season was even worse than 1988. They finished 1-15. Davis called Jones and told him: “Don’t get down. You’re going about this thing the right way. Good things will happen.’“

With the Triplets (Aikman, Irvin and Smith) and other key players in place, Jones acquired DE Charles Haley from San Francisco in August 1992. Jones said: “Al [Davis]called me and said, ‘You just won the Super Bowl. He said, ‘That’s your piece right there that you don’t have. You’ve got it now with the pressure player.’” Jones was running the team like Davis would and Davis was proud.

Davis led the Raiders to three Super Bowl championships (XI, XV and XVIII). He hired John Madden, Tom Flores and Art Shell as head coaches. But he never had a plan. He wanted to “Just Win, Baby.” And as he aged, he became more delusional. 

When he brought the Raiders back to their original fan base in Oakland, he charged a licensing fee and sold the most loyal fans the worst seats first, because he could. 

He forced out head coach Jon Gruden when his personality and success took the spotlight off Davis. He humiliated coaches Mike Shanahan and Lane Kiffin before they went on to stardom. He made awful draft decisions. Davis died at 82, leaving the team to son Mark Davis.

Under Mark’s direction, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, lost all of the prestige earned over decades, just fired their head coach and GM after one year and are becoming the NFL’s laughingstock. 

With Jones, now 82, as owner, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII and XXX). They have not appeared in the NFC Championship game since 1996. And now Jones broke ties with head coach Mike McCarthy, apparently without a plan on who the next coach will be. The names Kellen Moore, Kliff Kingsbury and former players Jason Whitten and Deion Sanders are being bandied about. 

The 2025 Cowboys, like the team Jones purchased, are a mess.

Jones has kept his promise. He runs the Cowboys the way Davis ran the Raiders. Davis built the Raiders into a powerhouse and then ran them into the ground. Just like Jones appears to be doing with the Dallas Cowboys.