The Dallas Cowboys’ season has not gone as planned. I’m about a seven-hour drive away from The Star, but I imagine that the tension could be cut with a knife. The main source of that tension comes from the general manager’s office.
Jerry Jones is not a happy camper, and that was obvious when he went off on the radio hosts during his weekly phone-in interview on the Cowboys’ flagship radio station, 105.3 The Fan.
Jerry had some choice words for Shan Shariff and RJ Choppy, accusing them of asking questions they had no business asking. The thing is, they have every right to ask those questions as the flagship radio station and the mouthpiece for Cowboys Nation.
The disgruntled owner/general manager has had his ego bruised by the Cowboys’ 3-3 start to the season. Dallas might as well be 0-6 with the criticism that the team is currently receiving after losing all three home games by a combined score of 110-53.
Dallas has suffered a rash of injuries, but the way they have been losing games cannot be blamed on injuries. The team has glaring needs at several positions, and fans are placing blame in the right place: at GM Jerry Jones‘ feet.
Fans have a right to be worried about the rest of the season, even when all the injured players return, and also have an entire bye week to stew with a 3-3 record. The bye week is also being used to push an interesting social media movement led by Cowboys fans and content creators pushing for immediate change in the organization.
#FireTheGM
If you utilize Twitter/X at all, you have likely come across at least one post with the hashtag #FireTheGM. This is a movement specifically referring to Cowboys’ Owner/GM Jerry Jones.
Some of Twitter/X’s top Cowboys content creators, backed by fans, have banded together behind this hashtag to stand in solidarity against Jerry Jones. The movement is meant to show that fans are fed up with Jones’ ineptitude as a general manager.
We haven’t seen the Cowboys go further than the divisional round of the playoffs, much less a Super Bowl, since the 1995 season. Coincidentally, that season was the last time they made it to a Super Bowl, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17.
The movement was started by one man, Stephen Gonzalez, who wrote the message on a poster board and stood outside of The Star in a manner of peaceful protest to get his message across.
Gonzalez, a life-long Cowboys fan, does give credit to Jones for building the brand of the Dallas Cowboys, but points out that the general manager side of Jones needs to “let go” and “Let somebody else take over.”
His sentiments are being validated across social media, and picked up steam once big names in the Cowboys Twitter community took hold and helped spread the word. Do Cowboys fans have the right to get behind this movement? The proof is in the pudding.
We Like Our Guys
The main reason fans are so adamant that the main problem with the Cowboys is GM Jerry Jones is because the team’s main flaws this offseason were glaring enough for non-professional football people on social media to recognize before the 2024 NFL Draft and after free agency.
Everyone with a pulse knew the Cowboys had depth issues. The Cowboys knew it, too, but they chose to solely address those needs through the draft. Dallas was famously the absolute last team to sign an outside free agent, and also ranks dead last in the NFL when it comes to cash spending.
Despite being the most valuable franchise in the world, the Cowboys spend less in free agency than any other team in the league. It’s a sad fact, really. Especially considering that every Super Bowl winner over the past decade has one thing in common: they were aggressive in free agency.
I’ll give credit where credit is due. The Cowboys are one of the better drafting teams in the league, hitting on nearly every first round pick over the last decade, and also hitting on several late round picks or undrafted free agents.
It’s not enough. There are three ways to build a team. Through the draft, free agency, and trades. How can a team be balanced and successful when all the weight is being placed on one aspect of that trio?
Egomaniac
Aside from Jones’ deficiencies as a general manager, his attitude towards that job is what makes fans think he isn’t the man who should hold all that power. Jones has a very strong ego, and he truly believes he is the best general manager on the planet.
He said so himself. When asked by AllDLLS.com beat reporter Clarence Hill if anyone could do the job better than him (Jones), Jerry responded with “…hell no, there’s nobody that could fu**ing come in here and do all the contracts… and be a better GM than I can.”
All that tells me is that the 82-year-old Jones has no plans of ceding power to someone else. It also tells me that he believes the way he has been operating the Cowboys since 1996 is the right way, and he’s not changing for anybody.
Personally, I believe Jones has been on a mission to prove that he can win a Super Bowl without Jimmy Johnson, whom he fired after consecutive Super Bowl wins because he let pride and ego get in the way of a good thing.
Yes, he won with Barry Switzer as head coach, but those were the remnants of Johnson’s team. The best way to silence the doubters is for the Cowboys to finally win a Super Bowl nearly 30 years removed from that, and Jones gets more desperate with each passing season.
Cowboys fans, maybe this social media movement is enough to get him to change the way he operates. Even if he is too proud to admit it publicly, maybe the constant pressure will cause him to make some changes behind the scenes.
One thing you can count on: Jones will NEVER admit that someone else, not even his own son (Stephen Jones) or his outstanding VP of Player Personnel (Will McClay) can do the job better than him.
Buckle up, Cowboys fans. This ride is far from over. Based on Jones’ recent temperament and outbursts, he is digging in his heels, and this ride is just getting started.