Change we can believe in

So what we have is a fine mess, different from previous messes only in intensity. The results are pretty much the same, as is the guy at the top, namely one Jerral Jones; and the owner's intense loyalty to this team's head coach continues to send up red flags. Conventional wisdom states that Our Boy Jerral would never fire the GM, just as it stated for many years that he would never hire a coach like Bill Parcells; but Jerry wants to win, so we give him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that something will change the fortunes of our Cowboys.

Our franchise players are at each other's throats. Discipline has degenerated at a rate inverse to the increase in this team's talent. And the players are talented, but they lack guidance and discipline.

Jerry Jones pays some very smart people to work for him, and perhaps someone has already told him that the Tough Wade experiment won't work. An established disciplinarian can always relax and become everyone's friend when it serves the team, but the coach who never instills discipline cannot suddenly rein in the individuals in a locker room and make them a team.

Bill understood this, and it's one of the things that made him great. He understood that he had to be unquestionable as coach. There could be no going over his head, and he understood that Jerry was undercutting him. He had to be the guy in charge, because he is ultimately accountable for team discipline and unity.

Wade cannot be that guy. In fact, because Jerry has been so hands-on and established himself as a figurehead in the football operations of this organization, he can't be the football guy anymore either. I don't necessarily think either of them are incompetent, but they can't achieve their goals with this team, with these players. Jerry could certainly hire a new coach, but he is so entrenched that some players will never buy in. If Jerry wants to demonstrate his commitment to winning and wants this team to realize its potential, he must step back from it, at least for awhile. 

If Jerry is unwilling to break up the roster and begin rebuilding, finding takers for Owens, Witten, Newman, Ellis, and/ or Romo, he must make changes at the top. Honestly, he needs to put down whatever is in his peace pipe and open his checkbook for Scott Pioli. He needs to call Jim Schwartz (This guy seems brilliant--I don't know why I haven't heard his name around here). I'm throwing these names out because someone else will want to win this bad. The owners of the NFL want to win, and all but a handful (five or six) have won a playoff game in the last decade. I can't even name the other teams that haven't won, but I know the Dallas Cowboys are one of them. And that is not right.

I don't think the draft is broken, and I don't think our Cowboys' problems boil down to just X's and O's. The Cowboys' problems involve trust, respect, discipline, guidance, accountability, and self-awareness. I think it can be fixed, but I think without major changes we will see more 5-11 seasons before we see another Lombardi Trophy. This is no reflection of the talent of this team, its scheme, or the tactical and strategic philosophies they employ: we will see some first round exits, and lots of draft picks at or around #20. But we won't win without discipline, and we won't have it without changes at the top and changes above the top, namely a new head coach, and a new GM. Jerry can stay on as CEO, and maybe he can sell popcorn at one of the concessions stands. He's always been more of a popcorn guy.