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Saturday, December 27, 1997

Before Jerry Jones can begin to fix problem, they first must be identified

By Rick Gosselin / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS -- The Cowboys have a problem, obviously.

A 6-10 record, five-game season-ending losing streak and fourth-place finish in the NFC East unmasked the obvious -- the 1997 Cowboys were a bad football team.

Don't expect Jerry Jones to have any happy holidays. He has cloistered himself in his bunker this week, sorting through the rubble of a once-great franchise. Bah, humbug.

As owner of the Cowboys, his focus must be on the past. What happened? This was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. This was supposed to be a team gearing up for the playoffs. Too much money was spent on too many stars for the Cowboys to be home for the holidays. As owner, Jerry Jones should be demanding answers this week from his general manager.

That, of course, would be demanding a lot of himself. But as general manager of the Cowboys, his focus must be on the future. What steps must be taken to fix this mess? Forget about what happened -- what can be done to make sure it never happens again?

But before you can fix the problem, you first must identify the problem.

Was it the players? Did they underachieve? Or were the Green Bay Packers really 28 points better than the Cowboys, the Tennessee Oilers 13 points better and the Carolina Panthers 10 points better?

Was it the coaches? Were there playmakers on offense, but they failed to surface because of the scheme or play-calling of Ernie Zampese? Was there a pass rush on defense, but it failed to surface because of the scheme or game-day calls of Dave Campo?

Was it the personnel department? Have the Cowboys, since the departure of Jimmy Johnson, dropped the ball with sub-par drafts that have choked off the infusion of talent on a roster that is growing older by the day?

Those are the questions Jones has been mulling this week.

If the players are the problem, Jones has a bigger problem. He has $57.1 million in salary-cap dollars committed to these same players in 1998 -- and that doesn't include two of his better performers in 1997, offensive lineman Larry Allen and safety Brock Marion.

Allen was a Pro Bowl blocker on a line that couldn't block and Marion the leading tackler on the NFL's No. 2-ranked defense. Both players should be mandatory re-signs by the Cowboys this off-season -- except that the salary cap may not be willing to cooperate. If the cap increases $8 million in 1998 as many NFL teams project, Jones would already be $8 million in the hole heading into the off-season.

Has Emmitt Smith hit the wall, as an overwhelming number of NFL running backs do at age 28? Are his days as a Pro Bowler over? If he can no longer be your feature back, can you afford to carry his $3 million salary into 1998?

Or do you do what the Buffalo Bills did in 1997 when they hit the same wall with Thurman Thomas? Draft a new feature back in the first round (Antowain Smith) and make Thomas an overpaid role player. The Cowboys have the eighth pick of the draft and could change the look of their running game by selecting a big back (Curtis Enis) or merely swap out Smith for a clone (Tavian Banks).

How about Michael Irvin? Has he lost a step, as most 31-year-old receivers do? Are his days as a Pro Bowler over? If so, can you afford to carry his $3.25 million salary in 1998? Do you sign a free agent like Johnnie Morton or Robert Brooks to ease the double-teams on Irvin? Or do you draft Randy Moss in the first round and turn him into the feature attraction of your offense?

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PERSONNEL PROBLEM?

That brings us to the personnel department. Since Johnson left, the Cowboys have traded out of the first round twice and traded up in the other two drafts to select Shante Carver and David LaFleur.

The Cowboys have drafted 34 players post-Johnson, but have hit only one home run. That was Allen. Only six of those draft picks developed into starters for a 6-10 team. During that same four-year stretch, the NFC East champion New York Giants drafted 12 starters for a 10-5-1 team.

The Cowboys will argue that the Giants should have had better drafts because they were picking higher in rounds, the Cowboys lower. But then how do they explain the Packers?

In that same four-year stretch, Ron Wolf drafted Pro Bowlers Dorsey Levens and Travis Jervey, plus Antonio Freeman, Gabe Wilkins, William Henderson, Brian Williams and Adam Timmerman. All but Jervey start for the defending Super Bowl champions -- and not a one was selected higher than the third round. But then Wolf is a football man.

Jones considers himself a football man. He designated himself as such when he assigned himself the title of general manager. Does he take responsibility for his drafts?

Or does Jones let his son Stephen take the fall? Among Stephen's titles is director of player personnel. Or does Jones let Larry Lacewell take the fall? He's the director of college and pro scouting. Have these men been watching the same college game tapes as George Young and Wolf? Have these men been watching any tapes?

The Cowboys will draft higher in the 1998 draft -- higher than any draft since 1991 when Johnson traded up for the first overall pick and claimed eventual Pro Bowler and Super Bowl starter Russell Maryland.

But if the personnel department is the problem, what guarantee do the Cowboys have that Jones, Jones and/or Lacewell don't blow that pick? Should Jones hire a football man as the Colts did this week when they lured Bill Polian away from the Carolina Panthers as general manager? Should that be the off-season priority of Jerry Jones -- find someone qualified to fix this mess?

If Jones determines his personnel team of Jones, Jones & Lacewell is not a problem, the committee will have to draft or sign at least two offensive linemen, a fullback, wide receiver, pass rusher and middle linebacker who can step in as starters in 1998.

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COACHING QUESTION

Coaching is the one area sure to shoulder some, if not all, of the blame for the collapse of the Cowboys. It's certainly the most convenient. It's easier for Jones to blame Barry Switzer than himself. It's easier to blame Switzer than Troy Aikman, Smith or Irvin. Switzer was brought in on a lark, and he can leave on a lark.

Switzer was an easy hire four years ago. Jones plugged him atop the best team in football. There was a wider margin for error. The Cowboys were so talented they didn't need a great coach.

There will be no margin for error this time. The Cowboys no longer overwhelm the enemy with talent. In fact, the next coach inherits a bad football team in need of new players and a new direction. Now they need a great coach. Someone who can command the respect of his players. Someone who can demand that they practice hard and efficiently.

But a 10-loss season has forced Jones to attempt the dramatic. He needs to hire a big name to restore credibility to his program. So don't rule out Steve Spurrier, George Seifert or even Joe Gibbs. The public has to buy into his next coaching hire and buy into it big time. So do his players.

Jones also needs to pump some life into dormant-but-expensive offensive talent. The Cowboys were a failure last season because the offense couldn't score touchdowns. They need a coach who can stage an offensive revival with Aikman, Smith and Irvin.

Norv Turner would zoom to the top of the list of candidates if the Redskins would fire him. But don't count on it. In fact, don't count on anybody doing the Cowboys any favors. Too many teams have waited too long for this day.

That's why Jerry Jones is home alone this Christmas. He's got a lot of thinking to do. There are a lot of questions he needs to answer, a lot of decisions he needs to make. He has a mess on his hands, and he needs to fix it.

Now.

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(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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