Yesterday, Jerry Jones delivered what will be a fatal blow to some Dallas Cowboys fans. Whether you are with that crowd or vehemently against them, people are going to leave this fanbase because of the Micah Parsons to Green Bay trade.
Some will say those fans were never “real” Cowboys fans; that a true supporter would never ditch the star. That, my friends, is wrong.
There is one person to blame for fans dropping out, and that person is Jones.
The 82-year-old owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys is the man behind the curtain of every team failure and fanbase departure.
Yesterday’s blockbuster deal with their most bitter non-divisional rival, and the rambling, blame-throwing, excuses-filled press conference that followed, was all the proof you needed of that statement.
After being asked one question, Jerry Jones talked for 11 minutes and 5 seconds straight
no one loves a press conference more than this man pic.twitter.com/8zuqLlLjIQ
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 28, 2025
Jones, a once-revered business and football mind who brought Dallas to a dynasty, has delivered the death of that same franchise nearly three decades later.
Let me explain how and why.
Indictment 1: If You’ve Lost Your Appetite, Stop Hoarding The Table
The boxing legend, Marvin Hagler, once famously said, “It’s tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5 a.m. when you’ve been sleeping in silk pajamas.”
It is human nature to lose the hunger for something you’ve already achieved time and time again.
We see it across professional sports: dynasties fade, champions grow complacent. The rare individuals who push that comfort aside—the Tom Bradys, the Michael Jordans—become the true greats. They refuse to let success dull their edge.
Jerry Jones allowed the ’90s Cowboys’ dynasty to steal his hunger for success.
When Dallas hoisted three Lombardi trophies in four years, the pressure on Jones subsided. Nobody was saying he was just some rich oilman from Arkansas; nobody questioned the firings of Tom Landry and Tex Schramm, or the trading of Herschel Walker; he had proven his worth.
The second that happened, Jones lost the plot. It was no longer about championships; it was about ego.
Ego ruined his relationship with Jimmy Johnson, which cut the dynasty short. Ego pushed winning to the side in favor of media attention. Ego pushed for ratings as decades of mediocrity ensued. Ego traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.
Jones lost his hunger to win on the field and held on to his seat at the table anyway.
Indictment 2: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
Nobody is quicker to pull a small, unnecessary, petty fib than Jerry Jones. These are “the lies.”
For example, saying this offseason they’d conduct a true head coaching search; saying just a week ago that he wouldn’t trade Parsons; saying yesterday that this team gives them their best chance to win in years.
How did the “search” go? Well, he first caused a media frenzy with fake interest in Deion Sanders, Jason Witten, and “Rooney Rule” candidates Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier.
Then, he interviewed Kellen Moore and Brian Schottenheimer (whom he ultimately promoted from within), two career assistants with close ties to the organization.
How did his insistence on not moving Parsons go? He shipped him off to an inner-conference team that has terrorized the Dallas Cowboys since 2014.
Jerry Jones said he was lying when he said he didn’t want to trade Micah Parsons for leverage on the market pic.twitter.com/X9vIE87nkZ
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) August 29, 2025
Well, how about his claim that this gives them their best chances in years? The team’s win total over/under and spread against Philadelphia in Week 1 both dropped after the news. Everybody knows that is a lie.
What about the really frustrating ones? The damn lies? That is Jones “crying” in his new Netflix documentary while watching the Packers’ playoff annihilation of the Cowboys in 2023. Say, Jerry, did that hatred for the Green and Gold disappear yesterday?
It is the yearly “all-in” for a Super Bowl win claims, just to sign low-cost talent and delay contract extensions until it drains your cap space.
The statistics? That’s the proof in the pudding that Cowboys fans cannot stomach any longer. 29 years since the last divisional round win, conference championship, and Super Bowl appearance. Eight head coaches since that time. Hall of Fame talent wasted.
Jones’s faults don’t just end with the ego; every owner in professional sports has one. It’s the lying to players, coaches, and fans.
Indictment 3: America’s Team Turns Into America’s Laughing Stock
There was a time when Dallas embodied greatness. The Star was feared, respected, and envied. Five Lombardi Trophies, countless on-field legends, and dynasties that defined football.
The Cowboys were the standard; they were “America’s Team.”
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment they lost the backbone in that title, but boy, have they lost it.
If you want to claim that they are still America’s Team because of the attention, the viewership, and the sheer magnitude of this global fanbase, I won’t argue with you; I’d ask you to consider something.
Is it really America’s Team if the defining emotion of that fanbase is embarrassment? If the brand is bigger than the product? If three decades of big promises and even bigger defeats have made them a national punchline?
Across all sports, there is no team used more as a joke than the Dallas Cowboys. They are not just the laughing stock of the NFL, but of the entire sports world.
In fact, they have never been deeper into that than they are today. One day after trading away a 26-year-old superstar for an aging defensive tackle and two late first-rounders, every sports fan is going into work or school laughing about Dallas.
The Bottom Line: Don’t Blame The Victims, Blame Jerry Jones
What’s the point in saying all this, you might ask?
It’s to ensure the blame doesn’t get misdirected. If you see a Cowboys fan on social media or in your life, say they just can’t follow them anymore, blame Jerry Jones. The fans are the victims here, not the perpetrators.
Jones has taken the love out of this team for many, and for that, he has ruined the once golden legacy he created.
He has shown us that the ’90s Cowboys didn’t stem from his genius football acumen, but from the talents of Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Larry Allen, and more.
The shame of it all is out of everything I’ve said, that is what would irk Jones the most.
He wants the credit for the good, the media attention for the bad, the blame for nothing, and the legacy of America’s Team, even though he’s the one who destroyed it.
Totally agree with this assessment. I have been a fan since I was 8 I saw the catch, the demise of my team and the renewal to greatness and potential Top greatness like the Patriots had but the 90´s would have been ours for the taking. Jerry Jones ruined it all and for what and ego and more money. That just tells me that you don’t care about the team it is all about the money and not greatness. I can’t hate Jerry any more than I do now, but I bleed blue more. If it was not for that, I would change teams. But the whole Jones clan must go. I am praying to see greatness from my team again before I die and I am 55.
You’ll die first. The Joneses are all about greed!
Please Stop calling the Cowboys “America’s Team,” Just stop.
It was a made-up name from an episode buy NFL Films. Landry and Tex hated it…so did I, and still do. After 61 years as a fan, Im no going anywhere.
Jones? He’s a joke.
Still America’s team.
Let me preface this by saying I have been critical of the Cowboy front office in the past here, BUT Mark step away from that ledge, b/c that was kind of over the top. The “know it all” sport MSM will mock and denigrate, BUT 99% of the REAL Cowboys aren’t going anywhere.
From what I hear, Jones thinks this trade will benefit his team in the short and long run, AND OVERPAYING for MP would be detrimental to the TEAM in terms of cap space, etc.
And speaking of “lying”, did not MP say early on, he would take less MONEY if it meant playing for a championship. I guess that little birdy agent flew in his ear and that went out the window as the greediness kicked in, and then he eventually asked to be traded and was accommodated. Enjoy the frozen tundra. We will see how the trade will work out, but they did get a very good player to fill a big need IMMEDIATELY and those picks hopefully will turn into great additions. Three players for one at least and maybe more. And let’s not forget MP poor PLAYOFF stat of just ONE sack in FOUR games. They had him for four years and fell well short of very meaningful games, right. FO decided on a different approach, and as a longtime fan, I hope it works.
BTW, who HIRED Jimmy Jones? That would be Jerry Jones. And who DRAFTED Troy, Emmitt, Michel, Allen, etc. That would be Jerry Jones. Result 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.
Just to put some things in perspective, what do the Falcons, Bill, Panthers, Bengals, Browns, Lions, Texans, Jaguars, Chargers, Vikings, Cardinals, Titans have in common? Right, ZERO SBs.
Jets haven’t won one since 1968, Dolphins since 1973, Raiders since 1983, Bears since 1985, Wash since 1991, SF since 1994.
So, lets pump the brakes a little on this hysteria, please. The sky is not falling.
Excellent points
Mr.Heany,
How in the Sam Hill can you claim that Jerry Jones is a victim of complacency? He may not always pull the right strings but it’s certainly not that he’s not hungry for another title. The 1st paragraph of this column tells me all I need to know about your stance with the Cowboys. Just another hater flailing at low hanging fruit and piling on.
The saddest thing about this is that even when JJ’s gone – nothing will change. The deep-rooted Jones’s family is in control and Steven is just as culpable as Jerry, just younger. This spiral will go on for decades.
This was a stupid move by JJ, but take out last season and the Cowboys have the best record in the NFl the prior three years combined. Hardly worthy of being called the laughing stock. Keep trolling.
a Dallas cowboys fan, since the 70’s with Jerry Jones as the Cowboys owner and G.M. the Cowboys won’t get any better this proves my point
Stop buying tickets,stay out of his palace.Stop buying merchandise,because a King in a palace alone is no King.Jerry here’s two fingers for you,for embarrassing us LOYAL FANS.I hope you like clapping by yourself.Sick of this S×××.All we have as of fans that you gave us in 30years is older age….SHAME ON YOU!!!!,YOU ARROGANT DONKEY.
im a diehard cowboy fan since i was 9 years old and i am glad they traded micah , you cant give every free agent a contract that resets the market , i liked him as a player and i understand he was in a contract dispute , but laying on the table was it for me, it showed disrespect to his team mates and then the back issue was total crap and then trying to find a doctor that would come up with some kind of problem so he could keep missing games and still get paid as a ply to get that new contract was BS , he still had a year left on his contract, remember when everybody hated leon bell when he did the same thing to pittsburg and everybody hated him from fans to gms , well becuz its jerry its a whole new fiasco , time to move on it helps the cap , hopefully we will get two long term players with the two first rounders and in my opinion micah was not all that great too me. go cowboys
He showed his true colors when he laid on that table. He is NOT a team player. It’s all about the money with this guy, even though he said early on he would take less than top money if it meant playing for a championship. Jones was gracious enough to wished him well, but I DON’T. Hopefully this disloyalty does not affect the team’s mind set going forward. Got Sept 28 circled, when GB comes to town. Hopefully the team and crowd know what to do.
Dude, you are SO right.
Jerry Jones, it’s been said, thinks he is running his personal Fantasy Football team rather than an institution in pro sports that has been around long before he arrived.
He literally gave his best player to the team that has kicked the Cowboys out of the playoffs time & time again. There is no defending this.
Good writing in your article here. Well done.
This is spot on. I am a living example that you can be the most loyal fan in the world (for me, 31 years as a Dolphin fan, 1971-2010), but at some point, you can just have had enough. I flew across the country for road games. Lived and died with every win & loss. However, I divorced my team, and I have to say it was the best decision I could have made. It is possible. It CAN be done! And Jones more than deserves losing the fans that HE has pushed over the edge.
Well written. “if you’ve lost the appetite, stop hoarding the table”