Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got personal Wednesday afternoon.
In an emotional press conference, the 78-year-old told a story about Barry Switzer realizing Jimmy Johnson was no longer the head coach.
Johnson was head coach of the Cowboys from 1989 through 1993, winning two Super Bowls during that time. But he left the franchise in a cloud of controversy in March of 1994.
Switzer, who was hired to replace Jones the next day, was shocked when he heard the news. Jones described this moment Wednesday, stating that Switzer wanted to put Jones and Johnson in a room together and “ask how you could f–k this up.”
“I’ve never been able to know why I f–ked it up,” Jones said when asked if he could answer Switzer’s question. “Not just that but anything else. No, I can’t answer that question.”
While Switzer did coach the Cowboys to a 27-17 Super Bowl XXX victory over the Steelers – he is one of three coaches to win a college national championship and a Super Bowl, along with Johnson and Pete Carroll – Jones noted it was his job to “keep it together.”
“(I) should have had deference to something that was working good, those are the things that come to my mind,” Jones said of Johnson. “We had a great run of it. He’s a great coach, and I’m proud to have him as a friend and proud to have the times that we had. We just had a great experience.”
Johnson is still not in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor after his messy departure with the organization. That will not change this year, as Jones noted he does not want to take anything away from Johnson’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year.
During an eventful press conference Wednesday, Jones also said he would “do anything known to man to get to a Super Bowl” and discussed how he could get his team back to experiencing success like they did with Johnson and Switzer as coach. The Cowboys have four total playoff wins since that Super Bowl win in 1995.
Additionally, Jones mentioned he thought Michael Irvin had “an outstanding message,” when he criticized the team by saying they are not doing everything they can to win because they have not reached the 85-percent vaccination threshold.
The Cowboys have missed the playoffs three of the last four seasons and went 6-10 last year in Mike McCarthy’s first season as coach. Quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle, and other members of the team also missed time with injuries.