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'Hungry Vultures': Do Jerry Jones and Coach McCarthy Agree on What a Cowboys 'We' Means?

Are the New Dallas Cowboys 'Vultures on a Cliff,' Or Do Jerry and McCarthy Agree on What The Front Office's 'We' Means?
Mike Fisher|
'Hungry Vultures': Do Jerry Jones and Coach McCarthy Agree on What a Cowboys 'We' Means?
'Hungry Vultures': Do Jerry Jones and Coach McCarthy Agree on What a Cowboys 'We' Means?

FRISCO - It really is true: For the longest time, atop Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' desk at Valley Ranch sat a wooden plaque engraved with a slogan: 'If you're willing to give others the credit, you'll conquer the world.''

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Jones mentioned the plaque at coach Mike McCarthy's introductory news conference, noting that he's bothered by the perception that there is twisted irony in that plaque being in that office, that the owner sits atop his silver-and-blue tower making unilateral decisions.

"Somehow,'' Jerry said, almost pleading with the audience to understand, "this thing (his 30-year reign) has turned me into something perceived that I don't like ... Because (running the Cowboys) is a 'we' deal."

McCarthy, the ninth coach in team history, echoed that sentiment, making it clear that over the course of his two-day interview process, the same concept was as etched into the conversation as those words were etched into that wooden plaque.

"The best statement that was said over and over in the interview,'' McCarthy said, "is we're going to make 'we' decisions.''

We've written in this space often that while Jones felt "burned'' by the way Jimmy Johnson orchestrated his departure a quarter of a century ago, and has as a result since made many hires reflective of his desire for "loyalty,'' Jerry also has "big ears.'' He takes pride in the fact that while he's ultimately "The Decider'' (and always has been), he also a listener, a collector of information. 

The Cowboys of today have a fairly sensible organizational chart, with Jerry atop it, son and COO Stephen Jones below him (acting in what a traditionalist might call a "day-to-day GM manner'' and then with personnel VP Will McClay and the head coach (Jason Garrett before McCarthy) reporting to him.

Does the organization chart allow for "crossing of responsibilities''? Or even "interference and meddling''? The three categories will tell the tale ...

1) FOOTBALL OPS: It's been made clear that McCarthy is in charge of selecting his own assistants. 

"I have absolute control of choosing my staff,'' he declared, and when we analyze moves that include McCarthy vetoing suggests from the Joneses (Marc Colombo and Sanjay Lal being gone among the top examples), he's obviously telling the truth.

What about choosing the roster? That's always been done "by consensus,'' as Garrett used to say, and that will remain in place, because it's about talent and affordability, and more than just coaching goes into that.

But back in Green Bay, McCarthy would occasionally express frustration that he was not often enough allowed to "pick the groceries.'' (An old Bill Parcells complaint about being the "cook'' with the same limitations.)

Garrett was deeply involved in the groceries here. So will McCarthy be.

And the playbook and game-planning? Owners always have certain desires, in all 32 NFL cities. But that's all up to the coaching staff.

The only wild-card here: There will be an integration of some of what McCarthy has famously learned about analytics married into Dallas' existing program. Is that "football ops''? Is McCarthy the overseer of that department? How will the info be disseminated and ultimately used?

It's a gray area ... but figuring it out is a good "problem'' to have.

2) PERSONNEL AND CAP MANAGEMENT: Coaches are not scouts. Nor are they salary-cap experts. McClay has done a masterful job as a "unifier'' in this organization, but a check of this team's recent work in drafting, say, defensive linemen, suggests that maybe coaches have had too much power in the draft room.

The Cowboys could certainly use do-overs on high picks Randy Gregory, Taco Charlton and Trysten Hill, right?

McClay needs to run the draft, with recommendations from the coaching staff. McClay needs to built the board, with little variance from it come NFL Draft Weekend. (Leave the tall tale of "Jerry Almost Drafted Manziel'' for "Casual-Fan Story Time.'' Reality and clarity are important here.)

Same with free agency: Dallas' "sign-our-own'' focus has worked, with McClay's staff doing fine work in digging up productive bargains.

The McClay proof is in the pudding in terms of the overall roster here, which the Joneses believe is a title-contending one. 

"The job that's been done to this point (with) the personnel is very impressive,'' McCarthy said. "That was a big attraction for me," 

And cap management? This is a department overseen by Stephen Jones, occupied by people who are masterful at their craft but who prefer to remain in the background. "Cap Hell'? You don't really hear that term much around here anymore.

An example of how this works in practice:

*At some point, it was McCarthy's job to endorse (or not) Dak Prescott; that thumbs-up came during interview weekend. But mostly, McCarthy's job is to coach him up.

*Meanwhile, it's the job of Stephen (and associates) to figure out how to pay Dak as part of a complicated financial puzzle. 

*And all along, it's the job of McClay and staff to find more Daks.

The "we's'' here are pretty simple: Three departments that dovetail under the Jones family.

3) PUBLIC PERCEPTION: "Public perception'' is a "thing''? Yes, and not just because Jerry is so public or seems to feel "misunderstood.''

Privately, back in Green Bay, McCarthy was bothered by having to be the "front man'' for Packers moves that he didn't make. Then-GM Ted Thompson was "The Decider'' there, but preferred his privacy - so McCarthy was pushed out to the front of the stage to be "the face'' of the front office.

"I'm excited as a head coach to probably have more input than I've had in the past,'' McCarthy said.

And if McCarthy wants to have a behind-the-scenes voice while somebody else is to be "the public face of Cowboys management,' the coach won't have a difficult time locating a volunteer right down the hall.

Is Jerry Jones, relative to most owners, hands-on in terms of football ops, the salary cap, and personnel procurement? Yes. But Jones' truly unique role in Dallas has to do with serving gleefully as the aforementioned "front man.''

Jerry does not, for instance, unilaterally decide the Cowboys are going to conduct a kicking competition. He is, however, the guy who wants to announce the competition on live radio. That's part of the "business'' of the Cowboys. That's part of the "branding'' of the Cowboys. It's part of the fun.

If the Cowboys as an organization can somehow prevent the lines from blurring - the "Business Circus'' occupying its space without too often bleeding over into "Football Ops'' - the Joneses' "we'' partnership with Mike McCarthy, so calm, so cool, so reasonable, can work.

But Jerry Jones is the owner, with all the rights and obligations that go with that, and with his "Ain't Got Time For A Bad Time'' credo driving him. So, as we think back and put ourselves back into Jerry's office at Valley Ranch, we recall another slogan on another plaque sitting near the "credit-and-conquer'' piece.

The other plaque with the other slogan featured two vultures, perched on a cliff overlooking their prey, one of them finally squawking to the other:

"Patience, my ass. I'm gonna go kill something.''

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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