Historically, I've never been a big Jerry Jones fan. Of course, he did fire Tom Landry, so we got off on the wrong foot. Jerry always seemed to be meddlesome, and I wasn't too sure how much true knowledge he had to do his job. Sure he's a great owner, but it was the general manager-type position that was suspect. The ego fight he had with Jimmy Johnson, followed by the downward spiral of the franchise, didn't exactly put me in his corner either. Bad draft choices, bad coaching choices, etc... Then a couple years ago, Jerry all but said 'I was wrong' when he decided to hire Bill Parcells. He realized that he was lacking some skills needed to bring the franchise back to glory, and he made the decision to take corrective action. There are many franchises in sports that have owners that take money and could care less about the success of the team. I will say that I am happy to have an owner that is at least as committed towards winning as he is, even though he may not have always known how to get there. For the last few years, it is interesting to notice the change in Jerry. For a high-profile owner, its been rather quite. He's let Bill do some of the talking too. But, more importantly, I've heard many humanitarian-type stories about the change that has come over Jerry. I have to wonder if the media tends to portray people like Jones, Al Davis, George Steinbrenner, etc. in a different light than they should be. Here is one I ran across today: JERRY LINK <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The thing I love most about my job is the people we meet. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was in town Tuesday night. He was the guest speaker at the Salvation Army dinner. Jones had great things to say about their first round draft pick DeMarcus Ware of Troy. He complimented his old friend Tommy Tuberville on the coaching job he's doing at Auburn. My whole image of Jones changed after listening to his interview. He's involved with the Salvation Army because he gets tired of all the negative in his business. It keeps him grounded, and that's a good thing. He let NBC 13 sports anchor Rob Carlin wear his Super Bowl ring. Not look at it. Not hold it. Rob wore it for 5 or so minutes. Jones only wears one ring, the first Super Bowl ring the Cowboys won with him as the owner. I always thought Jerry Jones was a pompous owner who stuck his nose into places it did not belong in the day to day football operations. I was wrong. Jerry Jones is a good guy.</div>
I used to HATE Jerry Jones more than anyone or anything on Earth... However...in the past few years, I've seen a bunch of interviews with him and I've learned about his philosophy about winning and wanting his team to be the best it can be...even if that means admitting when he's wrong. Now, I respect Jerry Jones. I may not send him a Christmas card, but he does have my respect.
I'm w/ PA & Cowboy about their thoughts on Jerry Jones. Its highly unlikely that George Steinbrenner will ever have my respect.
