Should Jerry Jones Give Up Control of the Cowboys?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones can’t sleep. Why? Because he’s so excited for the 2013 season. I know the feeling, Jerry. Unfortunately, I think our cases of insomnia are for different reasons, but that’s a discussion for another day. Jerry Jones will turn 71 in October, but claims to have the brain of a 40-year old. While the Cowboys are coming off of back-to-back 8-8 seasons most fans have been patiently waiting for Jerry to relinquish control over the team. But Jerry just isn’t backing down.

At the end of last season, when the Cowboys repeated their 2011 disappointment where they had the chance to clinch the division in the final game and lost, Jerry Jones reiterated that he has no plans to let go of his GM duties over the team. On his twice-weekly radio show this week Jones admitted that he couldn’t sleep and was up at “4:30 this morning” excited about the season starting. Either that or he’s up that early because he goes to bed right after Wheel of Fortune like every other 71 year old. Now he claims he has the brain of a 40-year-old man and that’s just reinforced to him that he won’t have to step down anytime soon.

"“I’ve been told that I have, by CAT Scans, that it’s like the brain of a 40-year-old. The guy really did not know it was me. I was there anonymously. He said ‘And so I just wanted to come down. I saw your chart. I know how old you are. That part is really impressive.’” – Jerry Jones"

First off, I wouldn’t believe for a minute that Jerry Jones goes anywhere anonymously. Have you seen his stadium? It’s like a shrine to the man. The idea that he’s sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room for 40 minutes after his appointment time waiting for test results like the rest of us is just a scooch tough to believe. I wouldn’t be surprised if that doctor who told him that is now sailing around the Pacific in his new yacht called, The Jerry.

Jerry Jones is a gozillionaire who has a staff of people around him (comprised of some family members, naturally) who, like all gozillionaire staffs, do not say “No” to their boss. Who is going to say No to Jerry Jones?  Who is going to tell him that at 71, he might want to think about naming a successor at least for the meat-and-potatoes part of running a football team?

The Cowboys made some moves in the offseason, replacing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan with Monte Kiffin and relinquishing head coach Jason Garrett of his play-calling duties. They’ve also signed quarterback Tony Romo to a $108 million contract extension. The Cowboys are working with a pretty unstable offensive line, which could be trouble for both Romo and running back DeMarco Murray.

Things aren’t getting any easier for the Cowboys with Washington stepping up as the division front-runner and the Giants still undefeated in the Cowboys’ stadium. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. If the Cowboys want different results than the 8-8 seasons they’ve been putting out; they might want to try some different approaches. That could involve someone within the organization being able to say “no” to Jerry Jones.