FRISCO — It was Wednesday afternoon when Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed what would prompt his retirement.
A frustrated fan base, seeking to end a 30-year Super Bowl drought, finally got some clarity.
Maybe even media members, too, on Jones’ plans.
Jones sat between his son, Stephen Jones, and coach Brian Schottenheimer at the Cowboys’ end-of-season news conference from The Star as he unleashed the secret.
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“My goal in life is to retire as the owner that won the most Super Bowls,” Jones said. “That’s my goal. To be retired in the NFL as the owner that won the most Super Bowls. We’ve got three. How many more do I have to go as a single owner? Bob has got how many? Six.”
“Got work to do,” Stephen Jones interjected.
“Got work to do, but at least I’m up to the second rung in the ladder,” Jerry Jones continued. “But my goal is to have retired and won the most Super Bowls as an owner.”
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Bob is Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots who has six Super Bowl titles, thanks to coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
Kraft, however, is behind Jones in one thing: Hall of Fame jackets.
Jones has one while Kraft, along with Belichick, is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
As for Jerry Jones’ goal, his team isn’t close to winning another title, much less making a deep playoff run.
Wednesday’s one-hour-long news conference had Jones offering a little revisionist history on the Micah Parsons trade, providing support to Schottenheimer, who led this team to a 7-9-1 record, and telling the fan base he was disappointed in the 2025 season.
He also disputed the notion that he makes every decision around The Star with little input from others.
When asked if Schottenheimer will have a say in who becomes the next defensive coordinator, Jones joked, “Trump just said it. I’m running Venezuela.”
Jones said Matt Eberflus wouldn’t have been hired if not for Schottenheimer’s voice. Jones added that every decision is made collectively with Schottenheimer, Stephen Jones, Will McClay, among others.
This Cowboys’ brain trust is serious about fixing things.
After a wonderful year from the offense, which saw a pair of 1,000-yard receivers, a 1,000-plus yard rusher and a quarterback with 4,000 passing yards, the defense failed them.
The year started with the trade of Parsons, whom Jones still says would have hampered future contract talks for receiver George Pickens, if he had signed a long-term deal.
The Cowboys have placed their attention on the foundation of the defense in Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, DeMarvion Overshown, DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel and Osa Odighizuwa.
Stephen Jones mentioned linebacker and secondary as areas in need of improvement. Schottenheimer said the next defensive coordinator has to be a teacher and flexible in the scheme.
Jerry Jones said the next coordinator doesn’t have to be a former head coach, something we’ve seen around here for several years.
Jones is open to having a first-time coordinator. The last time that happened was 2008 with Brian Stewart. And the last time a defensive coordinator ran the show without being a former head coach was Monte Kiffin in 2013.
So, maybe things will change in terms of how they make this hire.
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Jerry Jones did say he’s open to change, and that’s a positive thing in terms of growth.
A person is never too old to learn, and at 83, Jerry Jones is loving life and the fact he’s got a chance to help his franchise improve.
“Bottom line is this (offseason) is, yes, very important,” he said. “They’re right. We want to, while Dak (Prescott) is playing the game and got it down the way he’s got it, we want to get out here and basically do better than what we did this year. So, a combination of those things gives us the incentive to, dare I say it, bust the budget to try to get something done now. Yes. Yes. We’ll do some dramatic things.”
Jones likes to joke he doesn’t have much time to wait for a title run, considering his age.
He’s mellowed some, but the desire to win has never wavered.
The Cowboys are so far behind the title-contending teams that their defense requires a complete overhaul. If the team can’t sign Pickens in a timely fashion, placing the franchise tag on him could create another holdout, hold-in situation for the team.
Jones continues holding out hope for a title run.
“I don’t want to dare the gods, OK, around here.”
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