The documentary series on the Dallas Cowboys, which had been reported to be in production for a few months now, has finally been released on Netflix, chronicling the most successful era of the football franchise. The eight-part docuseries is centered around the current owner and general manager of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones, beginning with his term in the office and revisiting the gradual successes that he achieved with the team. Directed by Chapman and Maclain Way, the brothers behind Netflix’s Untold sports documentary series, America’s Team makes for quite an interesting and entertaining watch and is a must-watch for football fans wanting to revisit NFL stories from the 1990s.
How did the Dallas Cowboys become ‘Jerry Jones’s team’?
The Dallas Cowboys first entered the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960, and after years of struggle, the franchise started to become recognized when head coach Tom Landry finally brought together a set of talented athletes. As ex-President George W. Bush talks about in the very opening of America’s Team, the city of Dallas and the newly established Cowboys football team had been gaining popularity in the country and being considered significant parts of American society and culture. But all this good work was undone when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, and all of a sudden, the city started facing a lot of hate and stigma from the rest of the country. Therefore, when the Cowboys finally got to winning ways and won two Super Bowls in 1971 and 1977, this was seen as the right chance to change the nation’s stance on the city of Dallas.
First used in a highlights reel film, the Dallas Cowboys were termed ‘America’s team,’ and the nickname has stuck with the franchise to this day. The reasoning behind such a name was that the Cowboys and their players had become so famous around 1977-78 that they were the most recognized football team nationally, making regular appearances on TV programs and advertisements on a national scale. It only seemed obvious to call them America’s team, as they possibly represented their country to football fans all over the world as well. At the core of it all was the extreme love and respect that the Cowboys fans, and football fans in general, had for head coach Tom Landry, the only coach the team had had till that point in time.
But despite its successes, the franchise kept struggling financially over the next decade, and the owner at the time, Bum Bright, came to the conclusion of selling off the team in 1988. It was at this time that Jerry Jones, a businessman hailing from Arkansas, decided to take a shot at buying the team, which had always been his dream. At the time, Jones owned an oil and gas exploration business in his home state and recalls how the drilling at one particular dig site, which turned out to have rich oil deposits under it, enabled him to make the bid for the Cowboys team. After a few rounds of negotiations, Jones was able to buy the team for around 300 million dollars, and he immediately brought in his three children, Stephen, Charlotte, and Jerry Jr., to run the franchise along with him.
As Jones puts it in the docuseries, he felt like an outsider riding into the city of Dallas, just like in Western films, and like in the genre, whether he would be a heroic or villainous outsider depended on the decisions that he would take. The fans were anyway not very impressed with him having bought their team, as he was not a Texan, and therefore most felt that he would relocate the franchise to Arkansas. However, what really riled up the fans and sent shockwaves through the football world was Jones’ decision to immediately shake up the personnel at the franchise and replace them with new faces. The revered and beloved head coach, Tom Landry, was also fired, much to his disappointment, and Jones brought in his long-time friend, Jimmy Johnson, into the position. This change was publicly announced, and an official farewell was organized for Landry, which drew the irk of most fans. Despite having been famous as America’s Team for years now, especially to the Cowboys fans, the franchise suddenly seemed to be changing. This made many fans believe that the Dallas Cowboys were now just ‘Jerry Jones’ team,’ and the love and adoration of the entire country was no longer deserved by the group.
How did the Cowboys achieve success under Jones?
Despite the serious criticism that he was facing, Jerry Jones supported his new head coach, Jimmy Johnson, with absolute dedication. After all, the two had been best friends since their university days and had even played college football together at the University of Arkansas. The two men had also been roommates, and Jones always had it planned in his head that Johnson would become his coach if he could ever have his own football team. After buying the Dallas Cowboys, Jones had also immediately assumed the role of the general manager, which was criticized as well, since owners did not usually become GMs at the time. The moves initially seemed to backfire, as the team won only 1 game out of the 16 that they played in the 1989 season, making it the franchise’s worst ever season. Fans were naturally outraged, and there was no shortage of hatred against the new owner and coach.
But their fortunes started to turn around slowly but surely as young prospects were drafted and longtime players were given new contracts, all of whom came together to build a strong and dependable team. Troy Aikman was drafted to be the new quarterback of the Cowboys, and Emmitt Smith was picked as the running back in the following year. Michael Irving had already established himself as the dependable wide receiver even before Jones bought the team, and he now assumed the role of a senior for the rest of the squad. As things started falling into place, the newly rejuvenated Cowboys team had a far better result in the second season, in 1990, finishing with 7 wins and 9 losses. Jim Johnson’s tough and demanding coaching style paid off, as he already had a great deal of experience coaching a group of young athletes during his very successful time with the University of Miami football team.
In 1991, they finally had a winning season, with just 5 losses out of the 16 total games, and the team reached the playoff round for the first time under new management. However, they ultimately fell in the divisional round to an ambitious Detroit Lions team, and were eliminated. Despite the loss, the unit was only growing closer, almost like a family, and there was already an air of confidence in the Cowboys camp that they could very soon get to the top of the league. In the ’92 season, the team performed even better in the regular season, losing just 3 games, and then made their way to the NFC Championship game, facing the San Francisco 49ers. America’s Team recounts how Johnson’s minute and careful examination of the field, particularly with regards to which parts of it were muddier than the rest, led to the team triumphing in a hard-fought showoff and reaching the Super Bowl.
It was in 1993, merely three years after Jerry Jones had taken over, that the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl under his ownership and the third in franchise history. But this was definitely only the beginning, as the superteam of athletes in hot form had another brilliant regular season the following year and once again defeated the 49ers in the NFC Championship game to reach the Super Bowl. The final showdown was a repeat of the previous year’s tie, with the Cowboys facing the AFC champions, the Buffalo Bills, and the result was ultimately the same. The Dallas Cowboys won their 4th title in history, making Jones believe that he could surely achieve a three-peat by winning three back-to-back titles. By now, all of Jones’ critics and haters had been silenced with the man’s almost immediate successes with the franchise.
But the elusive three-peat, a very challenging feat in American sports, was beyond Jones’ grasp, following a sudden falling out with the head coach, Jimmy Johnson, and the latter leaving the team. Jones quickly hired Barry Switzer, another former acquaintance of his, who had been on the Arkansas coaching team when he had played there, to be the new head coach. As is quite common, the new coach could only lead the team to a respectable position in the regular season and then the NFC Championship game, but they could not overcome the 49ers this time, who went on to win the Super Bowl as well. The 49ers particularly excelled in this game because of the defensive contribution of their new superstar athlete, Deion Sanders, but quite significantly, his contract was coming to an end very soon.
Thus, Jones did not waste any time to approach Sanders and ultimately sign him to the Cowboys team for what was then the record fee. The effect of Sanders’ signing was almost immediate, and the rejuvenated team won 12 games in the regular season and faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the Championship game, which they won after a tough fight. Once again heading to the Super Bowl, to face the Pittsburgh Steelers this time, the Cowboys used their prior experience to come out on top and win the competition for the fifth time in their history. Having won the Super Bowl 3 times in just 7 years, Jerry Jones established himself as a maverick owner and general manager, and he soon made the Cowboys the most valuable sports team not just in the NFL but in all of global sports.
What had caused the split between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson?
America’s Team presents a closer look at the split between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, following a rather public spat between the two. Although Johnson was still the coach of the Cowboys when they won their 4th Super Bowl, in the 1992 season, there were already growing differences between him and the owner and GM, Jerry Jones. But the rift between the former best friends was not exactly sudden as it had been growing for some time now, with both their egos getting in the way of their once-strong bond. Essentially, with the team’s brilliant success on the football field, both wanted to take credit for the quick growth of the franchise, even at the cost of downplaying the other’s contributions.
Jones felt that being the general manager of the team, he had played the most important role in turning its fortunes around by getting the best possible players through the draft and also the trades. According to him, the set of players was much more instrumental in the success than the identity or contributions of the head coach. Therefore, when the split became very public and also took a nasty turn, Jones openly claimed in an interview that 500 other coaches could have also won the Super Bowl with the superteam that the Cowboys were in 1993. He very directly made it clear that by his understanding, Coach Johnson had had very little part to play in the franchise’s back-to-back triumphs.
On the other side, Jimmy Johnson strongly believed, and quite rightly so, that he had an immense contribution in rebuilding the team so quickly, and he therefore deserved all the credit. He did not take Jones’ close involvement with the team with much seriousness and also did not feel that the GM had much ball knowledge. One particular trade had very directly turned the fortunes of the Cowboys franchise around when their celebrated veteran running back, Herschel Walker, was sent to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for five veteran but relatively unknown players. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Cowboys then waived off these five veterans and got hold of draft picks instead, with which they went on to build the team that would win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Thus, when the rift between the manager and the coach grew bigger, both started to claim that only they were responsible for coming up with the idea of trading Walker and that the other had had no involvement in the decision at all. Plus, the NFL had also just introduced another expansion team, in the form of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it became open knowledge, at least in the Cowboys camp, that the Jaguars were in talks with Johnson to make him their new coach. Jones felt irked at the fact that his best friend, whom he had given the chance to coach in the NFL for the very first time, was even having talks with a different team. Although their relationship seemed to improve, at least in public, when the team won the Super Bowl in 1993, it all went downhill when Johnson refused to toast his glass in honor of Jones at a party. Just a few days after the team had won the Super Bowl in such an impressive fashion, their head coach was out of the scene.
How did disciplinary issues plague the Cowboys team?
Throughout the duration of the Cowboys’ first decade under the ownership of Jerry Jones, and especially during the later half, a series of disciplinary issues plagued the team. The defensive end in the team from 1992, Charles Haley, suffered from clinical bipolar disorder, because of which he became notorious for his anger issues and sometimes unhinged behavior. There were a few occasions when Haley would beat up teammates or throw punches at walls, causing internal strife within the team, although these matters did not necessarily go out in public. What hurt the public image of the franchise the most was when their veteran wide receiver, Michael Irvin, got into significant trouble with the law.
In March of 1996, the Irving Police Department in Texas received an emergency call from the owners of an inn, who complained about a particularly noisy group of guests. When the police responded and searched the room, they found Michael Irvin inside, along with two sex workers, and in possession of large amounts of cocaine. Then, footage of a sting operation carried out by journalists was also released, in which Irvin was seen directly asking to buy cocaine. Although the footballer was arrested and charged with possession of drugs, one of the sex workers, Angela Beck, claimed that the drugs found in the room at the inn had belonged to her.
Then, the matter took an even more bizarre turn during the court trial, when a man, a police officer by profession, was arrested for attempting to assassinate Irvin during the trial. The policeman, Jonnie Hernandez, happened to be the legally wedded husband of Rachelle Smith, a woman with whom Irvin had been having an affair, despite himself being married and with kids. Hernandez claimed that he had decided to kill Irvin after the latter had threatened to harm and kill Smith, and he was ultimately sentenced to 6 years in prison. During Irvin’s trial, Rachelle Smith testified in court and stated that the NFL star had a regular habit of misusing drugs, and her testimony turned the case around. Ultimately, Irvin made a plea bargain agreement with the prosecutors and was sentenced to 4 years of deferred probation and a $10,000fine.
This was not the only scandal that rocked the Cowboys franchise, though, with their running back, Emmitt Smith, having already been in a car crash while possibly driving under the influence. In 1997, the head coach, Barry Switzer, was arrested after he was found carrying a gun at the airport. Although he officially claimed that he had removed the gun from his house and had kept it with him to avoid any mishap, his reputation was severely damaged, and Switzer ultimately resigned in 1998. Apart from these controversies, Jerry Jones himself got involved in a number of legal disputes with the NFL following his direct business dealings with Nike and other brands as endorsements for his team, which was not allowed at the time.
Did Jones and Johnson ever get back to friendly terms again?
America’s Team puts a great deal of emphasis on the relationship between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, and so it naturally updates us on the matter in the later years. Even as late as 2014, when most of the athletes from the golden generation had been awarded the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, a prestigious honor given to personnel who have played a major part in the Cowboys’ history, Jones openly stated that Johnson would never be inducted. However, things changed eventually, as both Jones and Johnson realized their mistakes and their narrow perspectives that had turned them against one another, all of which they admit in the Netflix docuseries. The two former best friends did eventually mend their broken bond, and Jimmy Johnson was officially awarded the Ring of Honor in 2023, three years after he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Jones and Johnson currently share a close and friendly relationship, just like in the old times.
Where are Jones and his superteam athletes at present?
Unfortunately for Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, 1995 was the last time they won the Super Bowl, and the team has failed to win even the NFC championship ever since. Despite their massive worth, brilliant infrastructure, and superstars like Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have had disappointing seasons in recent times. Jerry Jones continues to serve as the owner and GM of the franchise, with his children now playing even more direct roles in the operations.
Michael Irvin’s career ended after a horrible spine injury in 1999, and he currently works as a TV broadcaster and talk show host. Emmitt Smith moved on to the Arizona Cardinals in 2003, but he signed a one-day contract with the Cowboys at the end of the 2024 season so that he could retire with his beloved team. After suffering with a number of post-injury issues, Troy Aikman retired in 2001, having played only for the Cowboys in his 11-year-long career. Deion Sanders continued playing in the NFL, after moving away to Washington and then to Baltimore, before finally retiring in 2006.
Jimmy Johnson’s proposed move to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1994 did not actually work out, and he returned to the NFL as a coach only in 1996, leading the Miami Dolphins this time. However, Johnson could not repeat his feats with the Cowboys, and he resigned from the position in 1999. Since then, he has been working in the television industry as a broadcaster and pundit, and he even made an appearance on the Survivor reality show in 2010.
