Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has been seen as perhaps the most hands-on major sports executive in North America ever since purchasing the team in the late 1980s. No decision is made without going through him first, and he's usually the first interview following games by media members rather than the coaching staff or players.
But just how much longer does he have in his current role as the team GM? He's certainly not getting any younger at 80 years of age, and there have been calls now for years for him to relinquish his job in favor of someone younger.
So, what does Cowboys legend Troy Aikman, who knows Jones well, have to say about the latter's future with the team?
“I’ve always said that I don’t think anyone digests risk better than Jerry Jones," Aikman said. "I don’t know that when it comes to him, in probably any facet of his life, if anything is off the table. But what I do think is off the table is his role changing. I just don’t see that. He’s been adamant over the years as to what his role is within the organization, and I just can’t imagine anything or any reason that would cause him to change his mind on that.”
Jones was adamant in his feeling that he was "sick" after the latest postseason disappointment for the Cowboys, coming in the form of yet another loss to the San Francisco 49ers that came down to literally the last play of the game.
Aikman had this to say about the Cowboys loss:
“I guess you always feel that if you play you’re best, you’re going to win the game, but it just seems like Dallas has had these years where they play really good football, but when they’ve gotten into the postseason, they haven’t played their best in the games that they’ve lost," he said. "And I think that’s got to be the maddening thing for all of the players in the organization. This year, certainly last year and at other times when they’ve failed to reach some of the goals that they’ve had for themselves.”
