Jerry Jones has built an empire in a most remarkable manner. Yes, he is reminded constantly that the Cowboys have not made an appearance in the Super Bowl or the NFC championship game since 1995. Cowboys fans are acutely aware of the 24-year drought, and Jones has received the majority of criticism.
But consider what he has done off the field during that time. In 1995, Forbes valued the Cowboys at $238 million. Earlier this month, the same magazine claimed the team was now worth $5.5 billion, which is 23 times its worth after that last Super Bowl victory.
So it’s been 24 years since the last championship – but the franchise value is 23 times greater than its 1995 value. There is no particular significance in the respective numbers other than to conclude that Jerry does not need a championship to increase value.
His accomplishments off the field are impressive, but this is the year where Jones’ greatest on-field achievement could occur. If the Cowboys of Regular Season Game 1 (18-point victory over the Giants) are the Cowboys of the 2019 season, Jones – along with his football staff – may have actually Garrett-proofed the team.
The Cowboys may be so talented that even Jason Garrett can’t mess them up. And that would make Jerry very happy because his patience with Garrett’s mediocrity has been unlimited.
Garrett is 78-59 as a head coach but that is, in part, because of two great seasons by quarterbacks and running backs.
In 2014, Tony Romo passed for 34 touchdowns, had only nine interceptions and his 113.2 quarterback rating was the best in the NFL. With DeMarco Murray leading the league with 1,845 yards rushing, the Cowboys finished 12-4.
In 2016, rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott filled the Romo/Murray roles impressively. Prescott threw for 23 touchdowns and had only four interceptions. His QB rating of 104.9 was third in the NFL behind only the starting Super bowl quarterbacks Tom Brady and Matt Ryan. Elliot led the NFL with 1,631 yards rushing and the Cowboys were 13-3.
So in those two seasons when the Cowboys star players were healthy, the Cowboys were 25-7. But take away those two years and in six full seasons as head coach and half season as interim head coach after Wade Phillips was fired, Garrett is 53-52. So for six of his eight seasons, the Cowboys have been mediocre – a reflection of Garrett’s first three seasons when Dallas was 8-8, 8-8 and 8-8.
Even when the two great years are added, Garrett is very average. There have been eight head coaches in Cowboys history. Only Tom Landry coached more games than Garrett, yet Garrett’s winning percentage of .569 is only fourth best, trailing Barry Switzer (.625), Landry (.607) and Wade Phillips (.607). And with only a small losing streak, he could easily drop lower than Chan Gailey (.563), Jimmy Johnson (.550) and maybe even Bill Parcells (.531).
The playoffs are no better. In eight full seasons under Garrett, the Cowboys have made the postseason three times and played a total of five playoff games. That is fewer than the eight playoff games coached by Johnson in five years and the seven coached by Switzer in four years. Garrett’s 2-3 record is uninspiring and, by the way, after those two great years of 12-4 and 13-3, Garrett’s teams lost their opening playoff games.
Despite the criticism he has weathered, it is obvious that Jones has built an excellent team. When the Cowboys were not drafting well, Jones was ripped because he is not a traditional general manager. He has, however, assembled a personnel staff that has produced a roster that has Pro Bowl-caliber players on the offense line, in the offensive backfield, at wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker and the defensive backfield. They should be good, if not great this year.
As with all contenders, health could be a factor and it’s probably even more important in Dallas than in other cities because Garrett does not function well when there is an injury.
After that 2014 season, Romo was injured much of the 2015 season and the Cowboys went 4-12.
When Elliott was suspended for six games in 2017, the Cowboys lost the first three by a combined score of 92-22 to drop to 5-6 and they did not make the playoffs.
Meanwhile in 2017 in his first year as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Doug Peterson – less than 10 years removed from coaching a Louisiana high school team – lost an injured Carson Wentz for the final three games of the season. The Eagles won two of those and their only loss was because they had clinched the playoffs and they rested their regulars. They went on to win three consecutive playoff games, including the Super Bowl.
So Garrett loses a key player and the Cowboys go 4-12 and Pederson loses a key player . . . and wins the Super Bowl.
Still, Jerry believes in Garrett, although Jones declined to give Garrett an extension in the off-season. That move was cheered by fans, who for several years have been in an awkward situation. There has been a large group of fans and media who believe they only way for the Cowboys to get better is to change head coaches. But the only way that can happen is if the Cowboys are unsuccessful.
So many fans, maybe even a majority, are conflicted. They want the Cowboys to win but they believe the only way for the franchise to get better is to lose. So they root for the home team to win, but in the big picture, there is the bright side that losses will get rid of Garrett.
You don’t find this situation in very many cities.
But the dislike or disrespect for the head coach becomes insignificant when the team has a roster that appears good enough to win the Super Bowl. And after the easy win over the Giants, Super Bowl fever has exploded.
Jerry Jones has created the most valuable franchise in sports history and it no doubt will grow in value whether it wins or loses. But as long as the Cowboys can stay healthy, they should be able to compete with the elite teams in the league. Jerry and the staff have done a great job. Time will tell but they may have even built a team that is Garrett-proof.
