Today, the saga of TO relocated to another NFL city as the outspoken wide receiver will now be catching passes on the shores of Lake Erie.  Good for TO and for the Bills.  I think both ended up winners in this case with TO getting paid $6.5MM for one year and the Bills getting a viable offensive threat as they try to get over the ever elusive playoff hump.

As for the Dallas Cowboys, while they are surely winners in the short run for dumping TO, their egotistical and outspoken owner remains their biggest liability.  As a business man, Jerry Jones has parlayed $140 million into the $1.1 billion mega bonanza currently known as the Dallas Cowboys.  As an NFL owner, Jerry Jones has destroyed the foundation Jimmy Johnson built in the early 1990’s and continues to try bizarre experiments which are reminiscent of a younger Al Davis.

Let’s review some of Jerry’s infamous history.  After back to back Super Bowl wins following 1992 and 1993 seasons, Jerry Jones had too much to drink one night and started bragging about how the successes the Cowboys had enjoyed were due mainly to himself and that he would fire head coach Jimmy Johnson if he wanted.  A few days later, Jimmy and Jerry parted ways and the Dallas soap opera shifted from Southfork Ranch to Valley Ranch with the role of hated villain shifting from JR to JJ (Jerry Jones).

JJ went out and hired his old college buddy Barry Switzer to replace Johnson and to lead this team laden with future hall of famers to another Super Bowl victory.  The Cowboys first attempt flamed out after three first quarter turnovers against 49ers in the NFC championship game.  Their second attempt was successful as the Boys luckily won Super Bowl XXX over the Steelers in what is simply known as the Neil O’Donnell game.  This brief taste of success was more a reflection of what others didn’t do than what JJ and team did do.  Two seasons later, the Switzer experiment ended after a 6-10 campaign amid discipline and off the field problems giving way to the hiring of Chan Gailey.  The Gailey experiment lasted only two seasons eventually yielding to the Dave Camp experiment which lasted one more year than the Gailey experiment. 

Finally in 2003, JJ seemed to have reversed all the nonsense with the hiring hall of fame coach Bill Parcells.  Parcells immediately placed his stamp on the team leading the Cowboys to the playoffs with the league’s best defense.  The next two seasons yielded no playoff appearances so JJ tried another experiment.  This experiment was TO and was against the better judgment of his current hall of fame coach.  Parcells and TO co-existed for one season, yielding a 9-7 record and a first round playoff loss.  After four seasons, Parcells quietly slipped back into retirement, leaving JJ with a very talented army and no general.  Along came nice guy Wade Phillips who led the ‘Boys to a 13-3 record before losing to the Giants in the first round of the playoffs. 

After going 1-3 in December and missing the playoffs in 2008, JJ was torn between his coach and his star receiver as one or both probably needed to go.  TO was the first to be shown the door thus ending the three year experiment.  The Wade Phillips experiment will last at least one more year in Big D but how long will the JJ experiment last?

Hey JJ, take a chapter out of the Dan Rooney, Jeffrey Lurie and Bob Kraft NFL ownership book.  Quit talking to the media, quit joining the team on the sidelines during the game and turnover the football part of the business to someone who knows football.