The Dallas Cowboys are once again fighting to stay in the hunt for a playoff birth. At 2-2, they're by no means in a do-or-die situation, but Jerry Jones hasn't been able to help his team with new talent, and it looks like it's time for Jones to give up the keys to his team's personnel department.
Jerry Jones suffers from a bad case of narcissism. His success in the mid 90s as the man calling the shots in Dallas probably gave him too much confidence in himself, and it's created a big problem from a management perspective.
That problem is that someone's head has to roll for a bad team's performance, and he can't fire his general manager if he believes there's not enough talent on his team. As the acting GM, his scapegoat has to be the head coach, and that's not always a good idea either.
I have and always will subscribe to the notion that stability is as important as competence at the head coaching position. By that, I mean that an average head coach will be able to function successfully with good personnel moves. On the other hand, a great head coach will have a very difficult time functioning if the roster is not up to par. In short, personnel moves probably have more to do with a team's success than who's the head coach, especially at the NFL level.
Jerry Jones hasn't built a truly solid roster in over a decade. The ability to recognize one's own shortcomings is important in any leader, and it's long past time for Jerry Jones to hire a devoted general manager, even if it's just a yes man. Jason Garrett is a very good coach, but the needs a cohesive roster to succeed, just like every other coach in the league. Without a general manager, Jerry Jones may be forced to fire Garrett following this season, if only because he doesn't have a general manager to fire.
