Souhan: I’ll take Vikings’ calm over Cowboys’ chaos under Jones

There is a tendency among NFL analysts to attach a complimentary prelude to every critique of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The prelude usually goes something like this: “Listen, Jerry Jones is a great businessman, what he’s done with the Cowboys financially is incredible. But…"

Then they mention the Cowboys haven’t made it to an NFC championship game since the 1995 season, routinely choke in big games, run a football operation that values star power over substance, make decisions based on Jones’ feelings, overpay stars by procrastinating in negotiations and fired the coach who built their last championship teams.

I agree with the perception of Jones as an annoying, attention-craving self-promoter.

I disagree with the general assessment of Jones’ business acumen.

Jones has done wonders with the Cowboys’ brand?

Please. The Cowboys were America’s Team long before Jones bought them. They were master marketers long before Jones made his first million.

Now Jerry is the face of the franchise, and he couldn’t be more of a joke if he wore clown makeup to every one of his ridiculous press briefings.

The Cowboys and Jones are remarkable financial successes, but not because Jones is a brilliant businessman.

The Cowboys are financially successful because they are the Cowboys, a franchise that is popular because it is popular.

That’s the way celebrity works in America. The best people don’t get the most attention. The most attention-getting people get the most attention.

Jones said earlier this year he likes to “stir” things up by making outrageous statements. In what world, outside of professional wrestling, is that something to brag about?

If Jones has done well financially as the Cowboys have become a running joke, how much money do you think he would have made if the team was actually good?

One of my first pro sports assignments was covering Jones’ purchase of the Cowboys. At his first press conference, he raved and chortled, promising to be in charge of everything from “socks to jocks.” Which, by the way, makes no sense.

Jones has done one thing right as the Cowboys’ owner: Hire Johnson. And that hire wasn’t a demonstration of football genius. He hired Johnson because they played football together at Arkansas, and because Johnson had thrived in the college game.

That terrible hiring process worked because Jones got lucky. The one guy he knew that was qualified turned out to not only be a Hall of Fame coach, but the kind of strategist who could pull off the Herschel Walker trade by outsmarting Vikings general manager Mike Lynn, an experienced executive who had built many winning teams.

Johnson won those three Super Bowls — even the one in which Barry Switzer stood on the sideline. Jones had nothing to do with it.

That was a terrible deal, and the Packers are good enough with Parsons to continue embarrassing Jones for making it.

I don’t have a relationship with the Wilf family, which owns the Vikings, and the Wilfs have yet to prove they can build a championship-caliber team. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2019 or reached an NFC title game since 2017.

But the Wilfs don’t act like egomaniacs, they’ve created a workspace where coaches and players feel supported, and if their front office makes mistakes in negotiations, it’s usually in paying too much too soon for players they value.