Gantt: Charles Haley refers to Cowboys as “losers”

Smitty

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100% correct.

Our record in elimination games (playoffs and/or regular season) the past two decades is abysmal.

That's a culture of losers.
And has been since Jimmy was here, with a brief (and not even complete) interlude when Parcells came.
 

NoDak

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I think Garrett's ship is relatively tight. I think his problems lie elsewhere.
Where did you get the idea he runs a tight ship? Was it all the suspensions we've been piling up? Or maybe it was his own special brand of accountability by throwing players under the bus to deflect criticism from himself.

Oh, wait. I'll bet it was the dress code for flights. That's gotta be it.
 

Smitty

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Of course he doesn't care. Or at least it's so far down the priority list as to not matter -- way behind money and fame and control.

If he cared about winning he'd at least try to get a coach who was worth a damn.
Jerry cares. Just not enough to take himself out of the spotlight.

Jerry desperately wants to win -- with himself at the helm. He has done almost everything he can the past two decades except remove himself from running the show.

He's tried veteran college administrator (Switzer). He's tried hot coordinator (Gailey). He's tried promoting from within (Campo). He's tried importing Hall of Famer coach (Parcells). He's tried hot coordinator again (Phillips) and young up and comer (Garrett).

He's tried player coach (Switzer, Campo, Phillips), and coach's coach (Parcells, Garrett to an extent).

He's tried spending big in free agency (Rivera/Leonard Davis, etc), and building a team through the draft.

He's tried good character guys and bad character guys.

He's tried being quick to fire a coach, and having a ton of patience with his coaches.

He's tried overhauling the scouting department. He's tried installing his son and he's tried handing a lot of duties off to Will McClay.

Nothing has worked.

Jerry is trying. He's just not trying at the one spot he really needs to try at. He needs NOT Will McClay. He needs an elite Personnel department that can select the right players and coaches.

Jerry can still have final say over who is in his personnel department -- that is the role of any owner -- but that personnel head is going to want unimpeded say in hiring and firing of players and coaches directly and Jerry won't allow that.

But if Jerry simply picks someone else to do the picking, he's distanced himself from receiving the credit again. Like when Jimmy was here. And he can't have that.

So yeah.... he cares. He cares about himself doing it right. Not whether he has the right guy to be doing it.

But I do think it's false to paint it like, all Jerry cares about is making money. That is not true. He does desperately want to guide the team, himself, to a championship.
 

Smitty

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Yeah, I still don't see some rampant epidemic of throwing players under the bus. That's overblown by fans out for blood and to overanalyze every press conference IMO.
 

p1_

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Its not as much about Garrett deflecting, which he does, but its more about him not taking any of the bame upon himself when he makes the all too familiar in game blunder, whether its clock management, dumb ass goal line play call or playing not to lose. He never takes ownership. I see that as one of his biggest flaws.
 

Chocolate Lab

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But I do think it's false to paint it like, all Jerry cares about is making money. That is not true. He does desperately want to guide the team, himself, to a championship.
Don't agree. What's the one time besides 30 years ago that Jerry hired the best coach he could find? The one time he needed his stadium passed... a.k.a. money. So Jerry knows his way doesn't work, but he'll change if his money is affected.

And saying he wants to win but only his way is like saying I want to lose weight but only if I can eat cheetos all day and never work out, or I want a job but only if it's cushy and high-paying with lots of vacay time. In each case, you don't *really* want it. You're more interested in other things.

And on another point... we draft just fine. We have more talent that most teams and have for years. We do a much better job acquiring talent than getting the most out of it once it's here.
 

deadrise

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Jerry cares. Just not enough to take himself out of the spotlight.

Jerry desperately wants to win -- with himself at the helm. He has done almost everything he can the past two decades except remove himself from running the show.

He's tried veteran college administrator (Switzer). He's tried hot coordinator (Gailey). He's tried promoting from within (Campo). He's tried importing Hall of Famer coach (Parcells). He's tried hot coordinator again (Phillips) and young up and comer (Garrett).

He's tried player coach (Switzer, Campo, Phillips), and coach's coach (Parcells, Garrett to an extent).

He's tried spending big in free agency (Rivera/Leonard Davis, etc), and building a team through the draft.

He's tried good character guys and bad character guys.

He's tried being quick to fire a coach, and having a ton of patience with his coaches.

He's tried overhauling the scouting department. He's tried installing his son and he's tried handing a lot of duties off to Will McClay.

Nothing has worked.

Jerry is trying. He's just not trying at the one spot he really needs to try at. He needs NOT Will McClay. He needs an elite Personnel department that can select the right players and coaches.

Jerry can still have final say over who is in his personnel department -- that is the role of any owner -- but that personnel head is going to want unimpeded say in hiring and firing of players and coaches directly and Jerry won't allow that.

But if Jerry simply picks someone else to do the picking, he's distanced himself from receiving the credit again. Like when Jimmy was here. And he can't have that.

So yeah.... he cares. He cares about himself doing it right. Not whether he has the right guy to be doing it.

But I do think it's false to paint it like, all Jerry cares about is making money. That is not true. He does desperately want to guide the team, himself, to a championship.

But the clock is ticking. Even someone as delusional as Jerry has to realize that. You would thinks that creates a sense of urgency, as in, "I don't have enough time to wait for Garrett to become my Tom Landry."

Instead, they tinkered at the margins, reshuffling the position coach deck. The infrastructure of Garrett, Marinelli, Linehan, the Idiot Son, Jerry (and McClay) remains in place. That infrastructure has not produced (with the possible exception of McClay -- the drafts have been decent, comparatively speaking).

If Jerry desperately wants a championship, why leave that infrastructure in place? I wonder if he's just worn out. As you point out, he's tried everything he can, short of replacing himself and the Idiot Son. He's not going to do that, so why not cash the checks, bask in the glory of an HOF bust, be content that you've made your mark on the business side of the NFL.
 

Smitty

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Don't agree. What's the one time besides 30 years ago that Jerry hired the best coach he could find? The one time he needed his stadium passed... a.k.a. money. So Jerry knows his way doesn't work, but he'll change if his money is affected.

And saying he wants to win but only his way is like saying I want to lose weight but only if I can eat cheetos all day and never work out, or I want a job but only if it's cushy and high-paying with lots of vacay time. In each case, you don't *really* want it. You're more interested in other things.

And on another point... we draft just fine. We have more talent that most teams and have for years. We do a much better job acquiring talent than getting the most out of it once it's here.
I don't think it's quite like saying he wants to lose weight but only eat cheetos all day. That's just scientifically not going to work.

Jerry could, in theory, pick the right combination of coaches and players. It just hasn't worked yet and is unlikely to work because he is up against other people picking who have more skill and insight than he does almost uniformly.

The reason he hasn't hired the best coach money can buy is because the best coach money can buy wouldn't put up with Jerry's injecting himself into the process.... which is again..... all about Jerry getting the credit.

At the end of the day I'm probably more on your side with this than you realize. I am pretty adamantly anti-Jerry as GM and anti-Jerry as owner if he won't change the GM. I just think in his heart, he is not thinking "Man, I've got the money and the power, I'm gonna milk this thing and bamboozle my clients."

He really does want to win. Just as long as it's with him in the driver seat. At the end of the day, though, there's not a functional difference between him wanting to win making all the calls, versus not wanting to win.

As an aside, I don't think we are nearly as talented as some of the fans have portrayed us. Our defense has flat out sucked for nearly a decade. That's one entire side of the ball right there that has consistently been subpar and subtalented. On offense, we've been above-average in talent, but I think our WRs/TEs have constantly been overrated, and our OL was garbage for a long time too.
 

Smitty

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But the clock is ticking. Even someone as delusional as Jerry has to realize that. You would thinks that creates a sense of urgency, as in, "I don't have enough time to wait for Garrett to become my Tom Landry."

Instead, they tinkered at the margins, reshuffling the position coach deck. The infrastructure of Garrett, Marinelli, Linehan, the Idiot Son, Jerry (and McClay) remains in place. That infrastructure has not produced (with the possible exception of McClay -- the drafts have been decent, comparatively speaking).

If Jerry desperately wants a championship, why leave that infrastructure in place? I wonder if he's just worn out. As you point out, he's tried everything he can, short of replacing himself and the Idiot Son. He's not going to do that, so why not cash the checks, bask in the glory of an HOF bust, be content that you've made your mark on the business side of the NFL.
He won't make changes because he thinks this is his best chance to win (while leaving himself in charge). He doesn't see that he can win any time soon by going out and hiring some other n00b coordinator or Frank Reich or whoever the hot name is, and to that end, he actually is probably correct. He probably lacks the capacity to correctly identify the correct "up and comer" that could be an upgrade over Garrett, on the basis of anything other than maybe just getting lucky.

What he should do, though, is fire himself and hire whoever Ron Wolf recommends that he hire to put in charge, and let them pick a coach. Or at least hire a coach with skins on the wall like an Andy Reid or Sean Payton. But he won't do that. Cause those coaches (or hiring a GM) would require Jerry to "walk on eggshells" and not do whatever the F it is he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it. It also won't let him baby his players and create a circus atmosphere.
 

Bluestar71

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With Jerry hanging around like an albatross across the neck of this franchise no coach is going to succeed. That doesn't absolve Garrett for his shortcomings but even an all-timer like Parcells could only take the team so far in the toxic football culture Jerry has cultivated post Jimmy Johnson. And that culture isn't changing until the man at the top croaks. Maybe not even then if Stephen follows the same interventionist model. So we can say it a hundred different ways but the bottom line is this franchise is screwed as long as the owner lives and breathes. He's not changing and the notion that we'll eventually luck into the right combination of coaches and players that can overcome his idiocy is about as likely as winning the lottery.
 

ravidubey

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Its not as much about Garrett deflecting, which he does, but its more about him not taking any of the bame upon himself when he makes the all too familiar in game blunder, whether its clock management, dumb ass goal line play call or playing not to lose. He never takes ownership. I see that as one of his biggest flaws.
And it further poisons an already shaky culture.

Romo often parroted this behavior several times when he simply should have taken blame on his shoulders (whether he was responsible or not).

Just hearing yourself accept blame in front of others can help prepare you to improve. Denial/passing the buck only leads to more self-delusion.
 

deadrise

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With Jerry hanging around like an albatross across the neck of this franchise no coach is going to succeed. That doesn't absolve Garrett for his shortcomings but even an all-timer like Parcells could only take the team so far in the toxic football culture Jerry has cultivated post Jimmy Johnson. And that culture isn't changing until the man at the top croaks. Maybe not even then if Stephen follows the same interventionist model. So we can say it a hundred different ways but the bottom line is this franchise is screwed as long as the owner lives and breathes. He's not changing and the notion that we'll eventually luck into the right combination of coaches and players that can overcome his idiocy is about as likely as winning the lottery.
So does that make every other discussion moot? What's the point of all the mental masturbation about draft picks, free agents, salary cap, etc. if none of it makes any difference?

There's a clear consensus (here and elsewhere) that the current coach will never guide the team to greater heights. Yet the owner, himself the root cause of two decades of futility, is invested in that coach for at least another year.

Kind of makes you wonder why this forum, or any other like it, even exists.
 

L.T. Fan

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So does that make every other discussion moot? What's the point of all the mental masturbation about draft picks, free agents, salary cap, etc. if none of it makes any difference?

There's a clear consensus (here and elsewhere) that the current coach will never guide the team to greater heights. Yet the owner, himself the root cause of two decades of futility, is invested in that coach for at least another year.

Kind of makes you wonder why this forum, or any other like it, even exists.
Simple. To vent.
 

1bigfan13

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Jerry cares. Just not enough to take himself out of the spotlight.

Jerry desperately wants to win -- with himself at the helm. He has done almost everything he can the past two decades except remove himself from running the show.

He's tried veteran college administrator (Switzer). He's tried hot coordinator (Gailey). He's tried promoting from within (Campo). He's tried importing Hall of Famer coach (Parcells). He's tried hot coordinator again (Phillips) and young up and comer (Garrett).

He's tried player coach (Switzer, Campo, Phillips), and coach's coach (Parcells, Garrett to an extent).

He's tried spending big in free agency (Rivera/Leonard Davis, etc), and building a team through the draft.

He's tried good character guys and bad character guys.

He's tried being quick to fire a coach, and having a ton of patience with his coaches.

He's tried overhauling the scouting department. He's tried installing his son and he's tried handing a lot of duties off to Will McClay.

Nothing has worked.

Jerry is trying. He's just not trying at the one spot he really needs to try at. He needs NOT Will McClay. He needs an elite Personnel department that can select the right players and coaches.

Jerry can still have final say over who is in his personnel department -- that is the role of any owner -- but that personnel head is going to want unimpeded say in hiring and firing of players and coaches directly and Jerry won't allow that.

But if Jerry simply picks someone else to do the picking, he's distanced himself from receiving the credit again. Like when Jimmy was here. And he can't have that.

So yeah.... he cares. He cares about himself doing it right. Not whether he has the right guy to be doing it.

But I do think it's false to paint it like, all Jerry cares about is making money. That is not true. He does desperately want to guide the team, himself, to a championship.
I agree with this.

I think he cares and "wants" to win, but as you pointed out, his ego will not let him fully do everything in his power to put this organization in the best position to win.
That's why I put "wants" in quotation marks.

There's a big difference between "wants" and "needs".

Until the Cowboys completely turn over their personnel decisions and coach hires to executives who "need" to win, they're going to be stuck in this cycle of mediocrity.

Look at the Eagles. Their front office aggressively went after free agents and made trades because they "needed" to win in order to maintain their jobs. They also didn't stubbornly hold on to a coach who wasn't getting the job done.
 

1bigfan13

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With Jerry hanging around like an albatross across the neck of this franchise no coach is going to succeed. That doesn't absolve Garrett for his shortcomings but even an all-timer like Parcells could only take the team so far in the toxic football culture Jerry has cultivated post Jimmy Johnson. And that culture isn't changing until the man at the top croaks. Maybe not even then if Stephen follows the same interventionist model. So we can say it a hundred different ways but the bottom line is this franchise is screwed as long as the owner lives and breathes. He's not changing and the notion that we'll eventually luck into the right combination of coaches and players that can overcome his idiocy is about as likely as winning the lottery.
We all know Jerry isn't going anywhere and as bad as he is, he wasn't the one who decided not to give the ball to Zeke with the season on the line against the Seahawks in that 1st and goal from the 2 yard line situation. That's just piss poor game management by Garrett and his staff.

Unfortunately there are way too many examples of horrid decisions just like that one that occur under Garrett's watch. I'd be a little more content if we had a coach in here who could manage basic fundamental situations like those.

The Cowboys could probably pick up at least an extra 2 wins per year just by upgrading to a coach who actually knows how to play to his team's strength and who has a fundamental understanding of game management.

You don't have to positively identify the next Bill Belichick, as Schmitty often seems to imply. There are plenty of solid options out there who are probably superior to Garrett when it comes to coaching, strategy, and game management. This lazy front off just has to get off their ass, do some actual research and not restrict themselves to their personal Rolodex/inner-circle.
 

ravidubey

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The Cowboys could probably pick up at least an extra 2 wins per year just by upgrading to a coach who actually knows how to play to his team's strength and who has a fundamental understanding of game management.
Situational football. Understanding when to play tough is something really good teams do. Stats that compute averages simply don’t capture this very important trait.
 
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