Front Office: The Dallas Cowboys’ Achilles Heel

As we have pointed out ad nauseam here, it’s been nearly 30 years since the Cowboys have done any of the following:

Won, or even played in, a Super Bowl.

Won, or even played in, an NFC title game.

Won a divisional round playoff game.

The main reason for this lengthy drought? The organization’s front office.

All one has to do to confirm this is to compare the top two positions in Dallas’ front office with the rest of the division:

DALLAS

Owner/GM: Jerry Jones

NEW YORK

Owner: John K. Mara

GM: Joe Schoen

PHILADELPHIA

Owner: Jeffrey Lurie

GM: Howie Roseman

WASHINGTON

Owner: Josh Harris (Managing Partner) – Magic Johnson & 13 other Limited Partners

GM: Adam Peters

What’s the first thing that stands out to you?

The Cowboys have one man filling both roles. None of their three division rivals are thus handicapped.

Dallas Doomed From Within

Dallas is an organization run by Jerry Jones and filled with nothing but yes men/women throughout the building at The Star.

With no one in the building with the absolute power and/or authority to counter Jones’ worst impulses nothing will change.

He’ll continue to make errors in personnel and in contracts. He’ll continue to run to the nearest microphone and share information best kept in house.

Jones will also keep roaming the field and the sidelines, meddling with players in ways counterproductive to his coaches.

In short, Jerry Jones is the reason why the Dallas Cowboys have the worst front office in the NFC East.

The only question is this: Which ends up lasting longer? The Cowboys postseason drought?

Or the 40 years that the people of Israel wandered the Sinai before entering the Promised Land?

My money is on the Cowboys not making it to even an NFC title game before 2036 as long as the Jones family owns the team.

Commanding Front Office

Right now, the best front office might be found in Washington, D.C.

After suffering through the Dan Snyder years – their stay in purgatory lasted just 24 years – Commanders’ fans rejoiced when the team was sold.

A partnership group of 15 bought the team. Josh Harris is the managing partner.

Harris is also a managing partner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. So he knows how to run a sports franchise.

But the biggest name in that group is Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

While Harris is a longtime fan of the franchise, Johnson is a proven winner. Both on the field of play and as an owner.

Johnson was a driving force behind a partnership that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers. They went on to win a World Series shortly after he became an owner.

When Magic walks in and starts talking to the players – despite being a basketball player – they are going to listen.

With a competent owner – and a proven champion in place – the Commanders went out and landed a GM who knows how to win.

Adam Peters is in his first year as a GM in the NFL. But he’s been in the front offices of both the New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers when they played in Super Bowls.

So Peters knows a little bit about what it takes to build a winner.

Look for the Commanders to be a force in the division for the next few years. Mainly because their front office now knows what it’s doing.

Eagles Solid At The Office

Howie Roseman gets it.

That’s why the Eagles have played in two NFC Championship games in the last seven seasons. Roseman’s time as GM is a big reason why.

He looks at his roster and makes moves to try to improve it all the time.

Not every move he makes pays off. But at least he makes them.

And he doesn’t compound his errors by doubling down on them either.

Player A isn’t getting it done? Bye.

And somehow, Roseman does all of this and manages to avoid salary cap hell.

Credit is also due to owner Jeffrey Lurie. You don’t see him out hogging the limelight like a certain owner does.

Lurie writes the checks and stays out of Roseman’s way.

It’s the way he has always run the team. He bought the Eagles in 1994.

In the time span since the 1995 season that Dallas has failed to win a Divisional round game, the Eagles have played in seven NFC Title games and three Super Bowls.

They have one Lombardi Trophy. One more than Dallas can claim over the same span since the 1996 season kicked off.

Lukewarm Giants

The Mara family has owned the New York Giants since the franchise’s first year in 1925.

That ownership was 100% within the family until 1991. Then a feud within the family broke out and half of the franchise was sold to the Tisch family.

The split ownership didn’t prevent the Giants from continuing to play for championships – they’ve won two of the three Super Bowls they played in since.

But John K. Mara remains as the managing partner of the team. His presence has provided a sense of stability in the front office.

But since the Giants last title in 2011, they have only made the postseason twice.

A wild card loss in 2016, followed by a wild card win in 2022 and a divisional round loss the following week.

Joe Schoen was brought in as the new GM before the 2022 season. Initially it looked like a great hire.

Schoen’s first move was to bring in Brian Daboll, leading to a 9-7-1 finish with the aforementioned playoff games.

The 2023 season went off the rails. It will be up to Schoen to right the ship.

But at the very least, the Giants’ front office appears competent enough to do so.

Which is more than can be said of Dallas. And just enough to make New York the third-best front office in the division over the Cowboys.