Monday, December 22, 1997

Who would want to coach for Jerry Jones?

By CANDY REAGAN / Abilene Reporter-News

Jerry Jones is multi-talented.

I mean, who else can be both a genius and an idiot? Who else can be both the savior and a goat?

Who else can build the most dominating team of the '90s and then turn around and bring it to its knees? Certainly, as Jones himself once said, no coach can. Only Jones himself can do that.

Jones will likely fire coach Barry Switzer -- a good move. The issue is not really whether Switzer is a bad coach or a good coach. Jones didn't give him much of a chance to run the team.

The issue is does Jones want to win badly enough to find the right coach for the Cowboys and then let him do his job. Already Jones has made his bid to find the best possible replacement for Switzer a difficult one. After all, what really good coach wants to work for Jerry Jones?

Jones is an owner who doesn't know his own limits. It's not enough for Jones to be the genius behind the operation. No. Jones thinks he has to be part of the genius on the field, too.

Jones' actions this season have sent a clear message to potential coaches that Switzer's replacement will have to contend with an owner who is a real pain-in-the-butt.

1. First, Jones regularly took little trips to the sidelines every time the Cowboys were in a close game. He even did it during their last game against New York. Not many coaches want to put up with that.

2. Second, he even stepped onto the field to yell at the officials during a game against Washington, drawing the ire of Redskins coach Norv Turner and prompting the NFL to send a message that owners will not be allowed to pressure officials.

3. He also gave an edict at the end of last season that no one -- not even the head coach -- would speak to the media.

4. He has repeatedly allowed rumors to circulate that he would like to be the head coach of the Cowboys.

5. And the clincher: He publicly admitted that he would like to be more involved in game decisions -- perhaps even sitting in the booth with the coaches from time-to-time.

Sounds like every coach's dream job, doesn't it? Yes, every coach would like to come to a team that has a reputation of being a bunch of hoodlums and coach for a guy who wants to make personnel decisions and perhaps be in the coaching booth on Sundays.

Not hardly.

In today's NFL, the good coaches want more power, not less.

In this day and age, coaches NEED more power to be successful.

Coaches already have a tough enough time managing athletes who in many cases make more money than the coaches and often consider themselves more important to the team.

Coaches already are dealing with players' egos. The new Cowboys coach also has to deal with its owner's ego.

Unfortunately, if Jones does manage to snag a great coach, Jones' behavior likely will undermine everything the coach tries to accomplish. Or if not, then Jones and the new coach won't get along, like Jones and Jimmy Johnson, and the new coach will be gone in a few years.

Jones is, no doubt, a great businessman. He certainly can run the front office.

But the most successful people are the ones who hire great people and then sit down, shut up and let them do their job. If Jones can't do that, a coaching change is going to do little to help the Dallas Cowboys.

Candy Reagan, a local free-lance writer and avid sports fan, writes a weekly sports column commenting on sports happenings. You may contact her by e-mail at reagan@camalott.com.