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CowboysFanRebellion.com

It’s time for another in a series that I’ve started here, sites that wish to see a new GM in Dallas.

The reactions to each of these sites have included a mixture of support and disdain from readers of each site, as well as on other sites like www.TheBlueAndSilver.com where a member was threatened with removal from the site for posting his link. Also on www.LoneStarStruck.com where I was graciously allowed to present www.FireTheCowboysGM.com to the readers as a new contributor to the site. Thanks go out to Kelly Horn and Joe Decaro for the extra rope.

It seems that most people are in favor of sharing the idea, even if they don’t agree with it. Personally, I can think of a few good reasons not to support these sites if I were to only follow their presentation of the goal. But I choose to see it in my own way, and that has gone a long way in gaining my support for the removal of Jerry Jones as the GM of the Dallas Cowboys.

You can find my posts on the other sites in my Featured Sites archive, which where this entry is placed as well. Meet www.CowboysFanRebellion.com, brought to us by a co-owner of www.DallasCowboysCentral.com. You can also catch their mission statement on the CN.net Forums.

Their primary goal is the same as the others I’ve written about here, even encouraging people to sign the petition. They have another way of trying to accomplish their goal though, and it’s a tad beyond what I expected to see. They are asking fans that are fed up with the GM to donate to their fund, a fund that will be used to purchase a billboard ad at Valley Ranch that will display the message loudly and clearly to the Cowboys Owner. He is the only one who can make this happen. The recommended donation is at least $10, not a bad price to pay if you want to get in on the action.

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The image above is a representation of what the billboard might look like once they’ve gotten enough donations collected, and I’ve got to admit that it’s a nice idea. The exposure level has been growing steadily the past three weeks for these sites, and this is just another example of how well received this movement is among many fans.

Go check out www.CowboysFanRebellion.com.

Stalled Negotiations Get Clearer

Okay, well a little bit of everything is due by now, so let’s recap. Jerry Jones is an idiot!

Okay, so maybe that doesn’t cover every thing, but it’s a good start. Admittedly, I don’t know what the breakdown was exactly, but from what Jones and Reeves have said during radio interviews since Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine what the specifics of the break down were.

Both sides agree that it was a time issue, and while that could be taken as perhaps Jones wanting to limit the amount of time Reeves’ worked each day, or week, more information suggests otherwise.

In Reeves’ interviews, he stated that he was looking at it as a full time job, and that to him that meant he would work until the job was done. Maybe Jones wanted some language stating how long Reeves would be a consultant for the team?

That certainly could make sense given another of Reeves’ statements. He said that in all his years in football, that he’d never seen something like that added to his contract before. It’s something we’ve all gotten used to, seeing coaches leave a team before the contract expired, and given the rules in the NFL, could he, as a consultant, have been given the same freedom as say an offensive coordinator?

Many of us know by now that Todd Haley is the new Head Coach in Kansas City, which is an opportunity that was afforded to him by the NFL’s rules. An OC can interview for, and accept, a position as a HC with another team, without penalty, before the expiration of their OC contract.

We know that Reeves was ready for a more hands-on job from his interview for the once vacant OC position in San Francisco, so maybe Jones wanted to lock him up so that he didn’t get the itch again and take a HC job somewhere else in a year or two.

We don’t really know what the issue was, but we do know from Reeves’ own words that if Jerry removes that questionable clause that Reeves would be on the first flight to Dallas.

One other thing, Jones said in an interview that as long as he walked the halls of Valley Ranch, that no coach would ever be given full control or authority. Some media outlets are reporting this as though it was all he said, and that’s not the case. He went on to say that no coach has the ability to hire a player, to fire a player, or a coach. He said that’s his job. Do you think he slid through the intention of that question? I do.

Still America’s Team

This has gone on long enough, and even if I’m not the best person to finally say it, I am saying it. The Dallas Cowboys are still America’s Team, and it is evident every day.

People point to the Pittsburgh Steelers winning a record sixth Championship, to the long lineage of football success that they’ve enjoyed, and continue to enjoy. People bluntly state the last twelve years that Dallas has gone without a playoff victory have tarnished their image, their reputation, and their history in this league.

I say enough. Enough of the hype before the first kickoff, enough of the praise before a victory has been earned.

People say that these Dallas Cowboys don’t understand what it takes to be leaders, that they don’t have the heart their predecessors so momentously bled from on the field at Texas Stadium. People claim this organization has lost it’s prestige, and along with it, the respect of the nation.

I say enough. Enough of the scapegoats, the media, and the Monday morning quarterbacks.

You see I grew up a Cowboys fan. Living just down the road from the home of this great dynasty, it wasn’t a matter of choice or preference to be a fan; it was merely a matter of learning how to be gracious and a loyal fan.

Yet I’m surprised to hear so many of my fellow fans buying into the fanfare. We’re Cowboys fans, some of us for many years, some of us for only a few years. We know what it’s like to be a Cowboys fan; hated by many, and envied by most.

Sure, the shine has dulled over the past decade, but when I listen to these people talking about the Great Steelers, all I hear is “The Dallas Cowboys”.

It’s a lesson I’ve learned that you can’t beat the greatest team without first recognizing that they are the greatest team, and every week of the season these Dallas Cowboys stand before a foe that wishes to defeat them, and conquer the infamous beast. Look around you, turn on your television, your radio; search for Dallas Cowboys on google, then you try to find the end of whatever you find and tell me, was there an end in sight?

It doesn’t matter that this team hasn’t had post-season success since 1996; this team is still America’s Team. The Dallas Cowboys are mentioned on nearly every sports radio and television production. They are in dozens of newspaper articles each day, and countless blogs and websites around the world. They are now the owners of the greatest football venue in history, an accomplishment well deserved. A monument to the legacy that is the Dallas Cowboys, a legacy that could never be dismantled over a single game or season, or even a decade of both.

And soon, maybe not this year or next year, but soon these Dallas Cowboys will orchestrate the kind of domination that we fans have been missing, craving.

Every great leader in history has been down at one time or another, and the Dallas Cowboys are no different. They’re down right now, and have been down for a dozen years, but it’s the trials and tribulations that birth the strength to get back up and stand proudly before this country to declare, “How ‘bout them Cowboys!”

And as long as the Silver Star remains on the turf in Arlington, they will continue to fight. That’s what I believe, and no amount of people saying that the Dallas Cowboys aren’t America’s Team anymore will change that.



A Question For Cowboys Fans

Randy Bush writes, “My question to all of you Cowboys fans is this: Do you feel that Mr. Jones VALUES winning enough to find making these fundamental changes worthwhile?“

That’s the end of a comment left on the FireGMJerry.com feature from last week, and I felt compelled to take a shot at answering his question while giving other fans a more noticeable chance to do so as well.

My take on Jerry Jones is that through his years before buying the team; he learned to assume that he’s right and to fix it when he’s not. The oil business that he got rich from requires a lot of educated guesses and luck, and that line of work can really teach you a lot about your own judgment skills.

As the Cowboys Owner he’s had 20 years to experience some similar things to what he did in the oil business. They’re both up and down regarding success and they both take time and money.

He seems to approach this team like he probably used to approach an empty field that he suspected had oil under it. You find a place you think is right and you start throwing money and man-power at it until you strike gold.

He got Jimmy and Troy and the rest, and he, like the other famous hillbillies, struck gold. But that well dried up after a while and ever since he’s been trying to find a new one. He still feels his judgment is right on queue, and he’s not that far off most of the time. Maybe just enough to make him a better Owner than a GM.

But a football team isn’t like an oil field. More money doesn’t always equal better production, even if everything else is just right.

Drills and pipes and wrenches don’t have personalities, girlfriends, or egos; they’re just tools. And that’s what Jerry fails to realize; every well-oiled machine needs the right tools.

On the flip side, in that business you learn after a while that when you look for one specific trait in a prospect that you think makes it a good place to drill, and you get enough bad results, you have to take a step back and look at things. You start changing your crew out to find better guys because the old ones didn’t get you that oil, then you try different equipment for the same reason.

But eventually you have to see that the only common thread remaining is you and your obsession with finding that one special trait you always look for.

Well right now Jerry Jones is still going for that one special trait, and it happens to be the very control that he has believed would bring another championship to Dallas. We’re just along for the ride until he does finally realize that he’s the only link on this Cowboys team to the failures of the all of the last 12 years.



FireGMJerry.com

Communities are what keep this country going … Wouldn’t you agree?

Whether it’s a community trying to keep local culture and commerce alive with family owned business and small-town flare for familiarity, or it’s a community of football fans all pulling for the returned success of the Dallas Cowboys. Community is behind it all.

That’s the purpose of CowboysNation.net, community. Cowboys fans are as diverse as they are many, and yet we all come together over a singular topic nearly every day … that topic? It’s a simple question, really, albeit complicated to answer. How can the Cowboys regain the glory of old and hoist a sixth Lombardi Trophy into the charged atmosphere that only a Super Bowl victory can ignite?

Okay, so maybe that was a little dramatic, but here’s something that’s not at all dramatic. It seems that my friends over at www.FireTheCowboysGM.com aren’t the only ones hoping for a change in regime at Valley Ranch.


An Open Appeal to the Owner of the Dallas Cowboys

An Open Appeal to the Owner of the Dallas Cowboys


Covering both past and current events, FireGMJerry.com nicely constructs a chronicle of Jerry Jones’ failures as the GM of the Dallas Cowboys. Searching for a way only to bring another Championship title to Dallas, you can see quite clearly that a change at the top is needed.

Well … being the dutiful fan that I am, I’ve made a new friend in Ryan, the author of www.FireGMJerry.com. Here’s a piece of his message to Jerry Jones …

“Unfortunately, you are not an elite general manager. You make questionable calls to bring in talented, yet troublesome players who destroy team chemistry. You listen to the wrong people and ignore sound advice. Be honest, Mr. Jones – if someone else had the same record as GM over the past 10 years as you, would he still be your employee? Of course not, because you demand the excellence that is needed to be a dominating force in the NFL.” - FireGMJerry.com, “Dear Mr. Jones”

Reading through his features … Injuries & Usurpations and original posts from the author … he makes a good case for his argument, and I encourage you all to check out his site.

The biggest trials of this quest are that of numbers, and through our voices we can spread the word, and we can make a difference.

Who says reality TV can’t be useful

So the story isn’t quite what we would all hope for right now, especially not after how Hard Knocks turned out last year, but the yet-to-be-named reality show that Michael Irvin is doing this spring might actually be a good thing.

I doubt that any real players will come from it because usually the good ones do make it in other, more traditional ways. Then again, I lived next door a lineman on the practice squad for a few years in some ratty apartments in Arlington, and the practice squad players are usually considered worthy prospects.

I do think, however, that this is a step in the right direction for Jerry Jones and his obvious cravings for national media attention. Last year it was Hard Knocks, and we all know how that turned out having the HBO cameras all in training camp. It was a distraction in many ways, some of which only proved true once Martellus Bennett started catching touchdown passes.

This year though, a show that won’t take place at training camp, it won’t be in the players face, and the coaches currently employed won’t be dealing with it. You’ll have former coaches and players participating, but the only current Cowboys member set to be a part of this production is none other than Jerry Jones, who will make appearances as a judge.

Anyone think it’s a bad idea to get Jerry away from the team a little more?
See Tim MacMahon’s article on the DMN Cowboys Blog for the full story.

A further look at FireTheCowboysGM.com

I posted yesterday about a new site that I’d found through the comments on DallasCowboys.com, www.FireTheCowboysGM.com.

Since then I’ve begun talking with the fan in charge of that site. It seems that many of us fans have a solid connection with our love for this team. I dug through the site further last night and started to really understand where he is coming from. I ended up signing the petition because while I don’t fully agree that Jerry Jones is the sole cause of the problems, I do believe that hiring a dedicated GM for the team would be an improvement.

Some people think it has to do with hating Jerry or the team, but really it’s about trying to figure out the best way for this team to utilize the abundance of talent and potential it has.

Jerry Jones is a great business man, and as the Owner of the club he has done more for this team than anyone else has done for any team, in a business sense at least.

But the Dallas Cowboys became America’s Team because of a great football mind, not a great business mind, and that’s what we need here again now. We need someone that will do nothing but focus on the football. Someone that isn’t worried about the media, the new stadium, or merchandising. Someone that can assemble the troops and keep everyone focused through business oriented discipline and the common sense that comes with it.

Jerry Jones has been a great Owner for this team, indeed, but he has not been a good General Manager for America’s Team.

Robert at www.FireTheCowboysGM.com has more than made a decent case for his claim, and mine, that Jerry Jones should resign as the GM, and hire a true football mind to take over the position. I encourage everyone to read his site, and hopefully, sign the petition.

I welcome anyone that doesn’t agree to please share your thoughts on the matter in the comments to this post. Never hurts to get another opinion.