Did Jerry Jones Just Take A Super Slap At Fellow Cowboys HOF’er Jimmy Johnson?
Did Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones just issue a Super Bowl slap intended to demean his soon-to-be fellow Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Johnson? Or is Jerry trying to be coy about his true plans to induct his Super Bowl-winning coach into the team's Ring of Honor?
As Jones and family partied into the night Thursday in Miami, site of Super Bowl LIV, TMZ found the owner and asked if he's planning to put Johnson in the Ring of Honor, a sensible and orderly idea.
Jerry's on-video response: “Aren’t we proud of him in the Hall of Fame!''
That vague reply - a shortened version of Jones Word Salad, but Word Salad nevertheless - triggered TMZ to write that the deep-down meaning of his response should be taken as, "Don't bet on it.''
Me? I'll take that bet. I believe Johnson will eventually be inducted into the Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium, and maybe soon, for a number of reasons. The simplest? Sources tell me the Jones family already "came close'' to such an induction twice in the last seven years.
Like children of divorce wishing their parents would re-marry, Cowboys Nation would like some of the quarter-of-a-century wounds to heel. There have been brief moments of healing, namely the Troy Aikman-captained 25th Anniversary Party for the Super Bowl winners, and then Jones' induction into Canton. And, most recently, Jerry's statement regarding the Hall of Fame now tabbing Jimmy to join him there.
"To Jimmy I say, ‘The stars were aligned and our dreams came true when we joined the Dallas Cowboys,'' Jerry said in a statement shortly after Johnson was surprised with the news live on the FOX Sports set. "And on behalf of the Cowboys, and our fans all over the world, I say congratulations Jimmy. We're proud of you."
I'm told that Jerry's family tapped the brakes on the idea of a 2017 induction of Johnson because they wanted that season (when Jones went into Canton) to be "Jerry's year,'' unshared.
I also recall what Jerry that summer about Jimmy, right after his Canton induction: "Just so we're clear, you know me: I want to make anything we do in that Ring of Honor ... I want to make it have its own special attention ... But I hope it was obvious up there (in Jones' HOF speech in which he praised Johnson) how much I appreciated what Jimmy has contributed to the Cowboys [and] his, frankly, lifelong friendship.
"Our differences, while they were certainly visible .. if you really look at our friendship over the years, there's just not that much to fuss about. And so, it was pretty easy to reflect back on his contribution and what he meant."
The differences are still visible. This week, Jimmy made a point to tell the Super Bowl media that Jerry still hasn't called to congratulated his associate of 60 years on this latest honor. And Jerry? He could've simply answered TMZ with a still-coy-but-much-clearer "Stay tuned.''
But Jones Word Salad is the way things work around here, and so it the fact that these "parents'' of the '90's Cowboys are never going to wed again ... Which is different from believing they'll never co-exist forever in both the Hall of Fame and the Ring of Honor.
Because I'm betting they will.
