Pro Football Grapevine

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Johnette Howard, New York Newsday has some observations about the odd leadership of Jerry Jones.  She is accusing him of running the Cowboys into the ground.  This is a step or two beyond labeling Jones as “non-genius.”  From the paper…

A rational observer might ask right about here, for example, why Jones – the Cowboys’ president, owner and general manager – was handing out the game balls at all Sunday when that’s normally the head coach or players’ jobs? But Jones trumps or usurps Phillips’ authority constantly. When reporters told a surprised Phillips two weeks ago that Jones had just said Romo might start the St. Louis game with his fractured finger after all (Romo didn’t), Phillips – not for the first time – tried to recover by cracking, “Whatever Jerry says, I’m going with.”

Jones also patrols the Dallas bench and gives in-game advice and pep talks to players. He just turned 66, but that didn’t stop him from running pass patterns in practice after Romo got hurt to check the velocity on Romo’s passes. (Where’s the YouTube video when you really need it?)

For awhile, now, Jones has seemed determined to supplant Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders as the NFL’s safe harbor for bad boys and castoffs by following his trade for Owens with “Just Win, Baby” signings of Tank Johnson, then Adam (Pacman) Jones. NFL analyst Deion Sanders, a former Cowboy, panned Jones’ recent trade for Lions wideout Roy Williams as a “panic move.”

The problem isn’t that these aren’t button-down Tom Landry’s Cowboys anymore. Those days are long gone. Get over it. The challenge is what to make of the Cowboys now, period?

Dallas had 13 Pro Bowlers last year. But if you had to name the face of the Cowboys’ franchise right now, would it be Romo or Owens or Jones?

Jones courts the spotlight. He has his own weekly radio show, even his own stable of commercials. His latest spot for a pizza franchise begins with Jones wearing a headset and giving a group of Pop Warner players a pep talk – “All right men, let’s go out and hit somebody!” – only to see one of the little tykes step forward and drive an overhand right into Jones’ groin as Jones screams and grabs himself. Hysterical? If you’re into groin jokes, I guess. (Source and other great fodder)