Dallas Cowboys: Should Jerry Jones Step Down As Cowboys General Manager?

Loyal DC Times readers know I sometimes hold “less than popular” views regarding the Cowboys.  I think T.O. was a huge asset to Dallas, Tony Romo is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and Deon Anderson’s absence is the primary reason for the offense’s inability to run the football this year.

Well, you can add this opinion to the list.  Jerry Jones is a very capable general manager—quietly one of the better G.M.s in the NFL—and will never get the respect he deserves in that role.

Let that soak in for a minute, because I know the majority of you couldn’t disagree more.

It’s becoming increasingly popular among media types to rant about the Cowboys’ lack of talent.  This team didn’t under-perform, they claim, they just were never that good.

These are the same “experts” who labeled Dallas as the league’s most talented team in the preseason.  You show me someone who claims they didn’t think the ‘Boys were at least a top five team in terms of talent during the preseason, and I’ll show you a liar. It’s always amazing how one’s views transform after the fact.

Jones’ detractors claim he’s never won anything without a strong head coach.  The winning culture of the Dallas Cowboys, some argue, deteriorated after the losses of both Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells.  I’ll concede that Jones did an awful job as G.M. in the time frame after Jimmy’s departure and before Parcells’ arrival.  That time was marred with early-round draft picks like David LaFleur, Ebenezer Ekuban, Dwayne Goodrich, and Quincy Carter.

Since Parcells’ reign in Big D though, Jones has compiled a group of extremely talented football players.  And since you know I’m all about statistics, let’s play a little game.

I’ll label each pick during the Parcells era (2003-2006) and every pick since, as a “hit” or “miss.”  Because early picks are of course more important than later ones, we’ll use an inverse scale of scoring: a first-round hit is worth seven points, a second-round hit is worth six points, and so on.  Similarly, a first-round miss is worth -7 points, a second-round miss is worth -6 points...You get the idea.

The second number behind each “hit” is a score from 1-10 of that player’s worth, regardless of the round in which they were drafted.  I will use these numbers later.

Bill Parcells Era

2003
Terence Newman- Hit (7) 9
Al Johnson- Miss (-6)
Jason Witten- Hit (5) 9
Bradie James- Hit (4) 6
B.J. Tucker- Miss (-2)
Zuriel Smith- Miss (-2)
Justin Bates- Miss (-1)

Total Draft: Five points (B+)
Really good draft that provided Dallas with three major components of their current roster.

2004
Julius Jones- Miss (-6)
Jacob Rogers- Miss (-6)
Stephen Peterman- Miss (-5)
Bruce Thornton- Miss (-4)
Sean Ryan- Miss (-3)
Nathan Jones- Miss (-1)
Patrick Crayton- Hit (1) 5
Jacques Reeves- Hit (1) 2

Total Draft: -23 points (D)
This is the exact sort of draft that is dismissed under Parcells but for which Jerry would be crucified.

2005
DeMarcus Ware- Hit (7) 10
Marcus Spears- Hit/Miss (0)
Kevin Burnett- Miss (-6)
Marion Barber III- Hit (4) 5
Chris Canty- Hit (4) 3
Justin Beriault- Miss (-2)
Rob Petitti- Miss (-2)
Jay Ratliff- Hit (1) 9

Total Draft: Six points (A)
The best draft under Parcells by far. You could argue Spears is either a hit/miss, so I effectively negated him.

2006
Bobby Carpenter- Miss (-7)
Anthony Fasano- Hit/Miss (0)
Jason Hatcher- Hit/Miss (0)
Skyler Green- Miss (-4)
Patrick Watkins- Miss (-3)
Montavious Stanley- Miss (-2)
Pat McQuistan- Miss (-1)
E.J. Whitley- Miss (-1)

Total Draft: -18 (D-)
Another horrible draft under Parcells which people tend to forget.

Jerry Jones Era

Anthony Spencer- Hit (7) 8
James Marten- Miss (-5)
Isaiah Stanback- Miss (-4)
Doug Free- Hit (4) 8
Nick Folk- Hit/Miss (0)
Deon Anderson- Hit (2) 4
Courtney Brown- Miss (-1)
Alan Ball- Hit (1) 2

Total Draft: Four points (B-)
Spencer and Free are major cogs for the future, and Deon Anderson and Alan Ball are hits due to draft spot.

2008
Felix Jones- Hit/Miss (0)
Mike Jenkins- Hit (7) 7
Martellus Bennett- Hit (6) 4
Tashard Choice- Hit (4) 3
Orlando Scandrick- Hit (3) 3
Erik Walden- Miss (-2)

Total Draft: 18 points (A-)
I know it is easy to dismiss some of these players now, but we would have considered everyone except Walden a "hit" in the preseason.

Jason Williams- Miss (-5)
Robert Brewster- Miss (-5)
Stephen McGee- Miss (-4)
Victor Butler- Hit (4) 3
Brandon Williams- Miss (-4)
DeAngelo Smith- Miss (-3)
Michael Hamlin- Miss (-3)
David Buehler- Hit/Miss (0)
Stephen Hodge- Miss (-2)
John Phillips- Hit (2) 3
Mike Mickens- Miss (-1)
Manuel Johnson- Miss (-1)

Total Draft: -22 points (D-)
Absolutely horrid draft, although I could have given Stephen McGee and Brandon Williams “0″ grades.

2010
Dez Bryant- Hit (7) 8
Sean Lee- Miss (-6)
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah- ?
Sam Young- Hit (2) 1
Jamar Wall- Miss (-2)
Sean Lissemore- ?

Total Draft: One point (C+)
I realize it is too early to truly grade this draft, so these grades are speculative. I think we all know Dez Bryant is a ‘hit’ though.

Bill Parcells Four-Year Total: -30 points (-0.97 points per pick)
9/31 hits

Jerry Jones Four-Year Total: One point (0.03 points per pick)
12/32 hits

Now, clearly there are limitations to this little study.  It may be a poor method to grade players as a “hit” or “miss.”  Certainly DeMarcus Ware is more of a “hit” than Marion Barber, so he should be graded as such.

In an effort to account for this, I have provided each hit with a grade of 1-10, regardless of the round in which they were drafted.  I kept the miss grades steady, as a miss in the first-round is surely more costly than a later one.

When we add up these new scores, the Parcells Era receives 24 more points, bringing his total to -6 points.  That is -0.19 points per pick.  The Jerry Jones Era receives five extra points, bringing his total to six points (0.19 points per pick).

No matter how you score it, Jerry has been superior in drafting in the four years since Parcells left as compared to the four years during Parcells’ stay in Big D.

Of course, Jerry Jones isn’t immune to criticism.  I think it is valid to argue that, although the Cowboys are talented, the organization had no overarching vision.  The Cowboys may just be a group of talented football players, not a team.  Great teams aren’t simply a collection of the best players, but rather a cohesive group of men who work well together.

So have the 2010 version of the Dallas Cowboys suffered due to a lack of cohesion, or a lack of proper coaching?  Either way, no matter what you might hear, it isn’t due to a lack of talent.  A general manager’s job duties include assembling a core of talented players and finding the right coaches to lead those players.  If Jerry Jones finds a way to accomplish the latter, you can bet this Cowboys team has the talent to quickly return to being a Championship contender.

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