It’s hard to believe that it has been 16 years since Jerry Jones entered the NFL as owner of the Dallas Cowboys. While the team has won three Super Bowls during his tenure, it was Jones’ work off the field in areas like marketing that helped make “America’s Team” the face of the NFL for many. With a game today against the Detroit Lions and Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day contest against the Broncos on the horizon, the dynamic Jones spent a little time talking turkey about his renegade image, his relationship with coach Bill Parcells and looking at glasses as half-full rather than half-empty.
Anthony Cotton: How was Kansas City (site of last week’s NFL owners meetings)?
Jerry Jones: I had a conflict and wasn’t able to attend, but our people were there representing us.
AC: The big news out of there was the city being awarded a future Super Bowl. Are you a fan of cold-weather sites for the game?
JJ: In this case I am because of what Lamar Hunt has meant to the NFL and to the game of football.
AC: Is that something you would pursue for Dallas?
JJ: It’s something that we’re definitely interested in; when we created the proposal for our new stadium, that was part of our thinking, that we could be in line for a Super Bowl.
AC: When could that happen?
JJ: Well, we’re scheduled to open in 2009, and according to the rules, you have to have played in it for at least a couple of seasons, so …
AC: For a long time, the image of you was something of a maverick. Does it feel that way to you when you’re sitting in a room with some of the more old-school owners?
JJ: That might have been the case a while ago, because of some of the ideas that I was proposing in terms of things like finding sources of revenue and how we marketed our teams. But during my 16 years, the league has adopted many of the things I was talking about in areas like marketing and in-game entertainment.
AC: Are you concerned that there hasn’t been an agreement yet between you and the players for a new collective bargaining agreement?
JJ: I’m on the NFL’s Management Council; I have to be very careful about what I say here. We’re under very tight orders from our commissioner (Paul Tagliabue) about talking about the negotiations. I will say that we started this process some 18 to 20 months ago and I’m very surprised that we’re at the point where we are right now.
AC: Let’s go to on the field. Are you still high from Monday night’s game? (Dallas scored two touchdowns in the final 3:04 to beat the Eagles.)
JJ: We are. Much of the night was very disappointing. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen our team get beat up so badly on both sides of the ball as that night, but we won the game and so we move on.
AC: Was there a sense that “Monday Night Football” owed you one after losing to Washington earlier this season in a similar manner?
JJ: There was that feeling; we were sitting there with about three minutes left going, “Maybe this time we’ll be the team that can come from behind and win it at the end.”
AC: So how do you foresee the rest of the season going?
JJ: Well, there are concerns. Right now, we have mousetraps all over our office. Everywhere he goes, our coach (Parcells) has been laying down traps. The ladies here think we have some kind of serious infestation problem, but he just wants everyone to be aware of what’s immediately ahead of us. We have a big game (today) against Detroit. After that, everyone knows what awaits us on Thanksgiving against Denver.
AC: How is your relationship with Coach Parcells? You’re two very strong-willed people.
JJ: It’s very, very good. We both think the same way: that the No. 1 priority is winning. His energy and enthusiasm has been very good. That was the one thing that concerned me before I hired him, but he has made us a much better football team during his 2 1/2 years here.
AC: If there were one thing about the league you could change, what would it be?
JJ: Hmmm … I wasn’t expecting that one. I guess there are always things you could look at and think about changing, but instead of focusing on something negative, I’d rather look at something that’s good. The league is in great shape; throughout the league, in every city, our game-day product is second to none. We’ve worked hard to create a league where fans in every city can honestly believe that their team has a chance to win, and we’re getting to that point.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or at acotton@denverpost.com.
