In today’s saturated social media world, NFL players, both current and former, often take to the internet to voice their opinions. This is not always a good thing for pro athletes who often sound off first and think about the consequences later. Some are bizarre, some spiteful and some both as exemplified by the myriad of tweets by the mercurial Antonio Brown. Then there are the occasional and intriguing insights into the inner workings of an NFL franchise that find their way public.
Such a case occurred recently on Reddit, where former offensive guard Uche Nwaneri elected to start a thread to sound off on the current state of the Dallas Cowboys, who at the time of the writing, hadn’t yet officially walked away from head coach Jason Garrett.
While some won’t see Nwaneri as the expert in all things Cowboys, he has been privy to the inner workings of the team, from inside the four walls.
After playing seven seasons and 92 starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he signed as a free agent in the 2014 offseason. He was brought in to compete for a reserve role at left guard in training camp. His stay ended at the final cuts in late August which effectively ended his professional career in the league.
Posting under the verified handle The Observant Lineman, Nwaneri provided his personal and up-close perspective about Garrett and also the cultural challenges of being a player on the club.
“In my short time playing in Dallas, I learned a lot about the circus environment that is the world of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry World as we have come to know it, is the ever present dark cloud that will keep this franchise from reaching the levels of success they attained when they WERE America’s team in the 1990s.”
While the claims of a circus-like atmosphere surrounding the Cowboys is nothing new and is mostly self-evident, Nwaneri was able to go into more detail, addressing Garrett, his staff at the time, and what the flavor was like in what was then known as Valley Ranch.
“When I first walked into the Cowboy’s facility as a free agent signing after leaving Jacksonville, I was filled with excitement, yet that would soon turn to annoyance, as I was constantly reminded of the privilege it was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Posters, and signage plastered all around the facility pushed a message of prestige and inflated arrogance. And as a player who came from a small market team in the Jaguars, I could sense that arrogance a mile away. This was a narrative that was constantly shouted from the mountain tops while at Valley Ranch, not by the players, whom I got along with fine and had immense respect for, but from Jason Garrett and his staff. This was the moniker that no player could escape whether they liked it or not. It was as if we were in some alternate universe in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs. Except it was a falsehood.”
Now that the Cowboys have since graduated to an even-higher level of status with the glitzy Star In Frisco, complete with fan interactive tours and even grander spectacle, it is not hard to imagine the experience for a player entering the team headquarters and training facility could be any less in 2020.
“It was quite mind boggling to me that the staff, headed by Garrett, was promoting a false culture around a mystique that had long since faded in the mind of those who lived outside the cultural bubble of the silver and blue. There is no doubt that the market of the Cowboys brand is the most powerful in sports. That market is based on an image that was built on the back of champions. That image is maintained by a hype machine that works in overdrive 24/7 and usually is more to the detriment of those on the roster than a benefit.”
Despite the fact that it appears his commentary was a jab at a possibly-departing Garrett, Nwaneri went on to note that was not quite what he perceived as the root cause what he coined as a false culture.
“The Dallas Cowboys fail because they have an owner who has interjected himself in the daily operations of a professional sports franchise. True enough it is his team, but there is a certain level of trust that an owner needs to have in the abilities of his coaching staff to do the job he has paid them to do. Jerry is the final say on all personnel decisions. He is the spokesperson for the cowboys. The biggest fan of the Cowboys. And in the end, his decree is passed down as if he was the head coach of the Cowboys himself. His influence over the entire narrative for the Cowboys is undisputed, both in the media, and the locker room.”
For emphasis, the post finished specifically with addressing the pitfalls facing a locker room that is dominated by the Jones specter.
“In the end, for better AND for worse, Jerry Jones is responsible for the constant failings of the Dallas Cowboys. The locker room in Dallas buckles under the immense pressure, and hype created by long past success. Long past success and nostalgia that Jerry himself is chasing. Until he decides to let go of that past glory and undisputed control/influence over the narrative of his team, changing coaches will not amount to the success he seeks. Until he steps back and lets go of the power he has embellished himself in, nothing will change. Until he allows himself to see the Dallas Cowboys for what they truly are, they will never be what he so desperately wants them to be. The Dallas Cowboys are a mediocre football franchise. A mediocre franchise with an extraordinary amount of talent. And that is solely the fault of the very man who long ago turned the silver and blue into a way of life. Jerry Jones.”
When a former player castigates a powerful figure like Jones, it is bound to provide some important food for thought for the fanbase.
As the Cowboys now search for their next head coach, some of the points made by Nwaneri have to be considered.
Will Jones decide to step back and no longer be the driver of the culture of the franchise? The answer is more than likely no. If anything, he may elect to briefly fade into the shadows as he appeared to do the last time he hired a bigger-than-life commander in Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.
If Nwaneri’s perceptions in 2014 still translate six years later, the next head coach will likely have to be the kind of leader who has the gravitas and will power to become the culture-buster that would be right for the future. This coach would also have to find a way to function in the environment without embracing the glamour and focus on winning football games.
It sounds like a daunting task that will be an immediate challenge to whomever is designated to navigate the franchise going forward. But it is clear at least from this particular former player, that kind of change will not be possible with Garrett still at the helm functioning as Nwaneri quips later, Darth Vader to Jones’ Darth Sideous.
As things come into more clear focus over the upcoming weeks, this should be a consideration as fans make their judgments on the head coach decision.
You can chat with or follow C.C. on Twitter @boozeman811.
[vertical-gallery id=637120][lawrence-newsletter]