Can it work? The union of two notoriously headstrong individuals—Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells—promises to be one of the NFL's most intriguing stories in the coming months

Football Digest, April, 2003 by Charean Williams

FOR JERRY JONES AND BILL PARCELLS, it's not about money or power. It's strictly about winning. That, they say, is the reason this curious alliance will work.

The Dallas Cowboys owner lured Parcells back into coaching in January with a four-year, $18 million contract. Last year, Parcells had a last-minute change of heart after signing a four-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and decided to remain retired from coaching. But the appeal of rebuilding America's Team prompted Parcells to leave the TV studio and return to the sideline.

So the Cowboys get a two-time NFL champion as their coach, and Parcells receives a chance to write his ticket into the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he can produce a record sixth Super Bowl title for the franchise.

"I became convinced from talking to him [Jones] that this was the opportunity at this particular time that was right for Bill Parcells," says the 61-year-old coach, who has a 138-100-1 lifetime record in the NFL. "We kind of joked about both of us being at the same place in life. It's really just wanting to attempt to do the same thing. It became apparent during those conversations that it could work for me, and hopefully it could work for him."

After Jones parted ways with Jimmy Johnson in 1994--in the wake of saying that any of 500 coaches would have won the Super Bowl with the talent-laden Cowboys in 1992 and '93--the owner gave himself full authority of the football side of the franchise. In addition to his ownership duties, he was the team's general manager, hiring and firing three head coaches and running a draft-day war room that has yielded only one Pro Bowler since 1995.

Jones did win Super Bowl 30 in 1995 with Barry Switzer as his head coach, but that championship was achieved with the nucleus Johnson had built. Since then, the Cowboys are 49-63 over all and 1-3 in three playoff appearances. They haven't reached the playoffs since 1999 and haven't won a playoff game since 1996.

That is the reason a "change in philosophy," paying more than $1 million per season to a head coach for the first time and relinquishing at least some of his power. "I've made a lot of mistakes," says Jones, who has owned the Cowboys since 1989. "You know I have. I am not going to grow careless in this relationship. I am going to do everything in my power, my effort, and my heart to make this work."

"What Jerry understands is that if I have a bunch of talent, I can put any coach in there." former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin says. "When I don't have a bunch of talent, I better get a coach with a bunch of talent."

Jones has made it clear, however, that certain things won't change. When asked if he was going to be "allowed" on the sideline during games, Jones replied, "Will I be `allowed' on the sidelines? Yes. It's my sideline."

Still, Parcells does have the authority to hire and fire assistant coaches, becoming the first head coach to be able to do so since Johnson. Parcells also has a say in all personnel matters.

The big question is: Who has the final say in personnel matters? It was Jones' decision to waive cornerback Duane Hawthorne the day before tiffs season's game against the San Francisco 49ers. He chose instead to keep Dwayne Goodrich, who gave up a 23-yard touchdown pass to Tai Streets and the game-winning touchdown pass to Terrell Owens with 12 seconds left.

It took two meetings with Jones that lasted a total of 11 hours before Parcells even considered an offer. The two men discussed how draft decisions and the acquiring and firing players would be handled. "I can assure you we're on exactly the same page and are going to stay on the same page," Jones says.

Jones decided he had had enough on December 15, when the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants, 37-7. The next day, he put in a call to Parcells. Jones and Parcells met for the first time in Jones' jet on a runway in Teterboro, NJ., on December 18 and then again in Long Island, N.Y., on December 27, The second meeting included Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones and Jimmy Sexton, Parcells' agent. By then, both parties were convinced the union could work.

"I understand that I'm an employee of the Dallas Cowboys, and that they have an order in place, and we have entered into a partnership," Parcells says. "I do know that if there were disagreements, which I hope that there wouldn't be, that the ownership would prevail. I'm ready to accept that. And we will work in concert to try to achieve what we're trying to achieve. We're both at the same place--we both want to go to the same place. I'm hopeful that we can provide each other with the mutual vehicles to get there."

So far, so good. But there haven't been any disagreements or losses yet. And there are sure to be some difficult times ahead for a team that has finished 5-11 for three consecutive seasons and is unsettled at several key positions. "I don't think there will be weights lifted off our organization until we win," Stephen Jones says.

Either way, the saga of Jerry and Bill--two colorful men who like to do things their own way--will be topnotch entertainment.