NFL news: Cowboys’ Jerry Jones opens up on why he serves as general manager

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered a blunt explanation for why he continues to act as the team’s general manager while also owning the franchise.

Jones, 82, said he has often been asked why he doesn’t hire a general manager.

“I’m often asked the question, ‘Why I don’t hire a general manager?’” Jones said in Netflix’s “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”

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“I’ve had people say, ‘Jerry, you subject yourself to so much criticism. You need a buffer.’ I don’t like it like that — I like the pain.”

Jones has served as the team’s general manager since purchasing the franchise in 1989. The Cowboys had significant success early in his tenure, winning Super Bowl XXVII (1992), Super Bowl XXVIII (1993), and Super Bowl XXX (1995).

Since that dominant run in the early to mid-1990s, however, the Cowboys have not enjoyed the same level of success. The last time they reached the NFC Championship Game was in the 1995 season, the year they last won the Super Bowl.

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Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones gives a broadcast interview before the team’s preseason NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.  (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

The Cowboys’ 30-year conference championship drought is the fourth-longest active drought in the NFL.

Last season, the Cowboys finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs as quarterback Dak Prescott was limited to eight games with a hamstring injury. They made the playoffs in 2023 but lost 48-32 to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round.

Jones is currently under fire from the Cowboys’ fan base after star edge rusher Micah Parsons requested a trade a couple of weeks ago. Fans have chanted “Pay Micah” at Jones throughout training camp.

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Dallas Cowboys fans hold up signs to owner Jerry Jones and defensive end Micah Parsons (11) during the second half of the game against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.  (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

The Cowboys open their season Sept. 4 against the division-rival and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Jones said he was not confident that Parsons would play in the game.

Parsons has been “holding in” at Cowboys training camp, attending meetings and practices but not participating on the field.

If Parsons does not play in Week 1 — or if he is granted his wish and traded away — Jones will certainly feel the pain from an upset fan base.

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