Hanging on to Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin too long. Handing the reins to quarterback Quincy Carter, of all people. Selling his brand and soul to New York by hiring coach Bill Parcells. Gambling on Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones, Bobby Carpenter and Randy Gregory. Putting his faith, time and time again, in Tony Romo. Trusting Jason Garrett’s cherished “process.” Investing in Dak Prescott too soon, or ever?
Finally, evidenced by last weekend’s NFL draft, Jones has completely run out of ideas.
No? Then you explain why the Cowboys selected a player who is not, in fact, tall enough to ride this ride and kept the door open to reuniting with an ex they just kicked to the curb a month ago.
No idea is a bad idea when you’re mired in the longest losing drought in franchise history, but the Cowboys are actually more than simply spitballin’ with new running back Deuce Vaughn (all 5 feet, 5 inches and 179 pounds of him) and old running back Ezekiel Elliott (cut from the roster in March because he cost $10 million too much for a guy who has lost a step or two).
“That ship hasn’t sailed,” Jones maintained last Saturday night about a possible Elliott return. “I haven't ruled out Zeke.”
If that break-up-just-to-make-up narrative doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, how about some good-ol’-boy-network nepotism at its finest? Vaughn’s father, Chris, has worked as a scout for the Cowboys since 2017.
The touching war-room video of Chris realizing his employer was actually going to draft his son went viral, giving the Cowboys one of the draft’s best warm-’n-fuzzy moments.
“He’s the hardest worker I know,” father said of son, between tears. “I just happen to be his dad.”
If the Cowboys were gearing up for a season on the Hallmark channel, they’d be Super Bowl favorites. But they play in the NFL — specifically in the NFC East division — and their novelty act experiments in the backfield will do little to convince fans that this season won’t turn out just like the last 27 seasons.
Equipped with a $10 million contract, rising star Tony Pollard will be Dallas’ featured running back in 2023. The Cowboys had seven draft choices to find his suitable backup. Instead, they came away only with a scout’s diminutive son who ran a relatively glacial 4.6 40-yard at Kansas State’s Pro Day and who will be chased by tacklers a foot taller and 150 pounds heavier. Instead, they came away only with only reconciliation overtures to a soon-to-be 28-year-old Elliott coming off his least productive season in the league.“That ship hasn’t sailed. I haven't ruled out Zeke." – Jerry Jones
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“No, no no,” Jones said when asked if the drafting of Vaughn negated a potential Elliott return. “Not at all. We haven’t made a decision. Nothing we did [during the draft] changes that. As far as our interest in Zeke, nothing we did changes that.”
The good news for fans underwhelmed by that sentimental strategy: The team entered the draft without glaring holes to fill on what for two seasons has been a successful, if not championship, roster.
The Cowboys, as it has felt since winning Super Bowl XXX in 1996, are close. Over the last two regular seasons they have more wins and more players in the Pro Bowl than any team other than the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They’ve led the league in defensive takeaways and offensive points. Last season they even won a playoff game, shoving legendary quarterback Tom Brady into retirement in the process.
This offseason they made two bold trades, acquiring former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore and veteran 1,000-yard receiver Brandin Cooks. Jones, forever infatuated with yanking the spotlight on himself and his team, even resisted the temptation to sign talented-but-troubled playmaker Odell Beckham Jr.
They “won,” if you will, the NFL’s “Springtime Super Bowl.”
“The Cowboys had to make something happen,” said former quarterback-turned-NFL-Network-analyst David Carr. “Stephon Gilmore, I thought, had an excellent season in Indianapolis and is still a difference-maker. And adding Cooks, a veteran wide receiver who is still going to be able to take the top off a coverage opposite CeeDee Lamb ... I love the way this is forming together.”
But now that the dust is settling on the draft, the gap between the Cowboys and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles seems larger, not smaller.
The Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs by three points in the Super Bowl last February, wowed by drafting three defensive players from the University of Georgia’s back-to-back college national championship team. They also traded for former Bulldog D’Andre Swift to be their new starting running back.
Maybe the Cowboys’ TV reception was spotty during the 2022 College Football Playoff. Because while the Eagles stocked up on Bulldogs, Dallas used its top two picks on players — defensive lineman Mazi Smith and tight end Luke Schoonmaker — from the University of Michigan. The Wolverines lost in the semifinals to TCU, which then proceeded to absorb a record ass-kicking from Georgia in the college title game, 65-7.
“I don’t know how you’re not impressed by what the Eagles did,” said ESPN's 40-year draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. “They went to the Super Bowl last year, and with the talent they’ve added with the kids from Georgia, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be a better football team this season.”
Maintains Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones, “We’re fired up. All in all, I think we hit all the bases throughout the draft.”
In the wake of the draft, the Eagles are the NFC favorite to play in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. The Cowboys have the third-best odds, behind Philadelphia and the San Francisco 49ers.
Bringing Elliott back wouldn’t necessarily scare the Eagles, but it would keep Cowboys fans from enduring another sad sight of a former hero finishing his career in a different uniform.
Texas Rangers’ icon Pudge Rodriguez won a World Series with the Florida Marlins. Dallas Stars’ all-time leading scorer Mike Modano finished his career with the hated Detroit Red Wings. Original Dallas Mavericks’ All-Star Mark Aguirre won his championship ring with the Detroit Pistons.
Elliott’s demise in Dallas may be sad. But it shouldn't be surprising.
By any statistical measure, he is the third-best running back in the history of the franchise. Elliott has more rushing titles than Tony Dorsett (2 vs. 0) and a better career yards-per-carry average than Emmitt Smith (4.4 vs. 4.2).
On their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton both were shipped off by the Cowboys — Dorsett traded to the Denver Broncos for a bag of fifth-round beans, and Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, released from the roster before taking his final hand-offs as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
But Dallas quit on those diminishing stars when they were 34. Elliott has played only seven seasons, and last season he scored touchdowns in Dallas’ final nine games. Quarterbacks past and present see his potential return as more substance than merely style.
“I don’t want to speak for the Cowboys or the Joneses, but it feels like (a reunion) might be the case,” Aikman said last week. “I know there’s a great amount of respect for Zeke. I’ve talked to a number of people that have been in that locker room — coaches, players — and he’s the glue.”
Elliott hasn’t publicly commented on a return at a reduced rate and role, but he did post a workout video that strongly suggests he plans to play somewhere in 2023.
“He’s my best friend,’’ Prescott said recently. “Hell, yeah, I’m throwing with him. His mindset is just getting better, period. However he can. He’s working his ass off.”
While the Cowboys grapple with groveling, it’s clearer than ever that the 80-year-old Jones is as out of explanations as he is ideas. During the lousy losing he’s magically maintained to keep his franchise the NFL’s most popular and most profitable.
But after drafting Mazi Smith 26th overall, Jones attempted to convince reporters that the defensive lineman was ranked as high as “13th or 14th” on Dallas’ board. When pressed on whether he was fibbing, Jones said:
“Who gives a shit? We got him.”
