Jerry Jones congratulates retiring Jimmy Johnson: 'You will always be a winner!'
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'This is as big of a risk as you can take': Jerry Jones on Brian Schottenheimer hire
Dallas Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones speaks to the media for the first time since hiring Brian Schottenheimer as the team's new head coach.
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Jimmy Johnson announced his retirement from "Fox NFL Sunday" after 31 years as an analyst on the program.
Many paid tribute to Johnson after the 81-year-old hung up the microphone. That included his former Arkansas teammate and boss, Jerry Jones.
The Dallas Cowboys owner released a statement honoring Johnson, who spent five seasons as Dallas' head coach and led them to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1993 and 1994.
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"From the time we were in college until the time we were holding up those Super Bowl trophies, I knew Jimmy Johnson could be anything he wanted to be, and he has," Jones said. "Some of the most exciting times in my life I shared with Jimmy, and I cherish them.
"As one of the most gifted people I've ever been around, Jimmy has blazed a remarkable, unique trail that is now deeply embedded into football and broadcasting history," he added. "Congratulations on your incredible career Jimmy, and I wish you well in your fourth quarter my friend. You will always be a winner!"
Johnson posted a 44-36 record in his five seasons with the Cowboys and led them to two of the franchise's five Super Bowl wins. However, his relationship with Jones soured after Dallas' second title, as the two engaged in a power struggle for control over Dallas' football operations. That ultimately led them to part ways just months after winning the Super Bowl.
The relationship between the two men remained frosty for decades before finally thawing in 2023, when Jones finally inducted Johnson into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
BELL: Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson finally get it right in setting beef aside for Cowboys' celebration
If Jones' statement is any indication, the Hall of Fame octogenarians appear to remain on good terms.
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OXNARD, CA — Jerry Jones is clearly in no hurry. Why has it taken so long to strike a deal with Micah Parsons? 'It took a long time with Emmitt Smith,' the Dallas Cowboys owner replied, turning back the clock to the Hall of Fame running back's epic holdout in 1993. 'Same thing with (Zack) Martin two years ago. (Cee Dee) Lamb last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, 'I'm not going to play the contract,' then you have those things happen.' And here's what else can happen: Parsons, the All-Pro defensive end, rocked the NFL universe on Friday when he took to social media to publicly demand a trade, intimating that negotiations for a new contract have stalled to the point of no return. Two days before Parsons' bombshell, though, Jones seemed to have already drawn a line in the sand during an interview with USA TODAY Sports that might have indicated where these negotiations with the defensive centerpiece could be headed. He mentioned that Dak Prescott, who last year become the NFL's first $60 million-per-year man, played out his rookie contract and was twice franchise-tagged before landing his four-year, $240 million megadeal. And he referenced the two franchise tags the team used on since-departed defensive end Demarcus Lawrence before he signed a five-year, $105 million deal in 2019. 'Both of those players, they played their contract out,' Jones said. 'To me, you're going through a process where a player wants to see if they can get an extended contract. And if they don't they play their contract out.' MORE: George Pickens could be explosive for Cowboys – one way or another It should also be noted that Lamb, the star receiver, didn't play out his contract or get franchise-tagged before landing a four-year, $136 million extension that averaged $34 million. But Lamb also forced the issue by holding out of training camp last year. 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OXNARD, CA — Jerry Jones is clearly in no hurry. Why has it taken so long to strike a deal with Micah Parsons? 'It took a long time with Emmitt Smith,' the Dallas Cowboys owner replied, turning back the clock to the Hall of Fame running back's epic holdout in 1993. 'Same thing with (Zack) Martin two years ago. (Cee Dee) Lamb last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, 'I'm not going to play the contract,' then you have those things happen.' And here's what else can happen: Parsons, the All-Pro defensive end, rocked the NFL universe on Friday when he took to social media to publicly demand a trade, intimating that negotiations for a new contract have stalled to the point of no return. Two days before Parsons' bombshell, though, Jones seemed to have already drawn a line in the sand during an interview with USA TODAY Sports that might have indicated where these negotiations with the defensive centerpiece could be headed. He mentioned that Dak Prescott, who last year become the NFL's first $60 million-per-year man, played out his rookie contract and was twice franchise-tagged before landing his four-year, $240 million megadeal. And he referenced the two franchise tags the team used on since-departed defensive end Demarcus Lawrence before he signed a five-year, $105 million deal in 2019. 'Both of those players, they played their contract out,' Jones said. 'To me, you're going through a process where a player wants to see if they can get an extended contract. And if they don't they play their contract out.' MORE: George Pickens could be explosive for Cowboys – one way or another It should also be noted that Lamb, the star receiver, didn't play out his contract or get franchise-tagged before landing a four-year, $136 million extension that averaged $34 million. But Lamb also forced the issue by holding out of training camp last year. 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And the NFL's highest-rated soap opera, let's call it "As The Cowboys World Turns," is back for another season. 'This business is business-first, right?' Prescott said during an interview with USA TODAY Sports. 'We always say this game is a business, but it's business first.' While Prescott and other players vehemently support Parsons in his efforts to land a new deal, it can't be good for the business of winning to have the distraction weighing on training camp. No, the Cowboys are not the only NFL team with a lingering contract issue for a key player. But some teams manage such business with much less drama, while the Cowboys always seem to have some drama in the wind. As for Parsons' trade request, Jones, speaking to reporters at camp on Saturday, had a message for Cowboys fans: 'Don't lose any sleep over it.' In other words, Jones seems willing to call Parsons' bluff — and quite content to keep the drama flowing. 'This is really nothing new, at all, with Micah,' Jones said at one point during the 1-hour, 10-minute interview over lunch in his training camp office. I asked him about the negative reaction from his massive fan base, which goes far beyond the fans at camp who chanted 'Pay Micah!' The extended negotiations over the past two years involving Prescott, Lamb and Martin added to the perception that the Cowboys lack urgency when it comes to signing key players to extensions. Does the perception that the Cowboys drag their feet concern Jones? 'Let me say this just right,' Jones replied. "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't do it that way. I should be trying to get the most value for the Cowboys. I've seen players I wish we had renegotiated their contracts earlier and I've had several that I was sorry I renegotiated their contract earlier. The idea that if you wait there's more money (spent) forgets that in between that wait, you get to evaluate and you frankly get to see if you're dealing with the same physical elements of it.' As he pondered this, Jones grabbed a legal pad and began doodling – with circles, arrows and straight lines – to make a point. 'It's almost akin to an option quarterback,' he said. 'He can step out, he can either hand it to that guy going down the line, or he can come on out and keep it, or he can pitch it. Three different things. The longer you give him to get to the sideline, the better chance you've got to make the better play. 'So, I've never, in any way, forgotten all the things that can happen to you if you go too quick. And that list of going too quick is just as long as the negative of getting it done early every time.' That we're talking about Parsons, who is just the second player in NFL history (the first was the legendary Reggie White) to notch at least 12 sacks in his first four seasons, doesn't move Jones off his point. MORE: One fight. Then another. And another. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer had seen enough There's also a sense with Jones that no one has the NFL money matters figured out quite like he does. He thinks, as the NFL's most powerful owner and essential player in driving the league's media rights deals and labor pacts, that he's more 'in the weeds,' as he put it, with the league's revenues, able to 'look around the corner' at increasing revenues. And with Jones' marketing, the Cowboys have long been the NFL's most valuable franchise, last year becoming the first $10 billion sports franchise in the annual Forbes rankings. 'Nobody could possibly have the feel for whether to go early on him or wait,' Jones said, alluding to revenue and salary cap projections. Of course, skeptics and championship-starved Cowboys fans alike, counter the financials with the football bottom line. The Cowboys, for all of their sustained popularity, have a 29-year drought since last appearing in a Super Bowl. Jones, who also serves as the team's GM, addressed the question before it was even asked. He's not giving up that part of the equation, reiterating his typical stance. 'I'm not in any way revisiting the mentality that I have about how I go about negotiations,' he said. 'Not at all. The buck does stop here.' As usual, the buck is wrapped in so much intrigue. Jones mentioned the Smith holdout from a generation ago. Smith missed the first two games in 1993, and the defending Super Bowl champions started 0-2 without their MVP. After Charles Haley planted a helmet into a locker room wall near Jones following the Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Smith's contract talks suddenly heated up. And it ended well. 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