Skip Bayless’ Rips ‘Daddy’ Jerry Jones Cowboys for ‘Culture’; Media Critic Flaw
FRISCO - The criticism of the Dallas Cowboys’ “culture” here inside The Star has become a national cause celebre/punching bag that everybody and their mother now has an “inside” opinion on it.
And of course the obvious problem with the critic stationed in Bristol or New York or Los Angeles is that while the “blind squirrel might find a nut” - that is to say, a Shannon Sharpe or a Dan Orlovsky might be correct in opining that Jerry Jones’ franchise is too marketing-minded for its own good - they are only guessing.
And why? Because they are talking about what’s occuring inside a building in which they’ve never stepped foot.
We’ve addressed our “#53Brands” theory over the years that the concept has become an oft-borrowed meme. (Learn more below.)
Indeed, we feel so strongly about it that it bothers us a bit when Dak Prescott and others defend the “culture” without addressing this specific theory.
“Yeah, the culture is high, honestly, and the culture is great from my standpoint," Prescott recently said. “My point is that’s something I’ve bragged on and took pride in. So if there’s questions of that or concerns on that, I feel attacked."
Dak’s take is totally understandable because he’s defending the players’ work ethic and devotion to the cause. Furthermore, he’s right to do so.
But again, “work ethic” isn’t our thesis-statement issue; the franchise-to-player osmosis that might result from the Jerry Jones-led commitment to marketing and publicity and sales is our issue.
So, yes, at the risk of oversimplification, the problem is Jerry.
Enter Skip Bayless of FS1's Undisputed, who purports to have a Cowboys connection even though he’s hasn’t entered the Dallas locker room in literally 30 years.
"Jerry Jones at the very top, is way too close to too many players as ‘Daddy Jerry’ and so, the point is, that it’s too easy to be a Dallas Cowboy because you don’t fear for your job," Bayless said, conning his audience by repeatedly referring to the team as “my Cowboys.”
Bayless went on to say that Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells wouldn't put up with any of this.
Where is Bayless steering his (steadily shrinking) audience wrong here?
In two ways,
First, Johnson and Parcells literally DID “put up with this.” Both legendary coaches signed on to work with Jetry knowing full-well his management style.
In Johnson’s case, he tired of the setup, though it took him five years to do so. And he’s so turned off by Jones’ style that he just accepted Jerry’s invitation to come “back in the fold” as an informal Cowboys advisor to the owner.
In Parcells’ case, he has expressed regret at deciding to retire prematurely from his time in Dallas and more recently has privately advised pal Bill Belichick about the positives of working with Jerry.
And second, regarding “Daddy” Jerry: We can list hundreds of Cowboys players over the years who’ve viewed Jones’ familial approach as a plus, hundreds of guys who rave about Jerry as a role model and a mentor and a friend, and yes, as “almost family.”
That’s been a Cowboys fact for so long that it’s become “trite” ( to use one of Jerry’s go-to words). Indeed, it’s been in play for 35 years, and to demonstrate how out-of-touch the “Cowboys-connected” Bayless is …
The Cowboys of today do not view Jerry Jones as a “daddy.” He is at 81 seen as “grandfatherly.” So the next time the exposed-as-fraud Bayless pretends to possess Cowboys insight here, he might want to turn the clock forward 30 years or so.
