Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ fondness for Houston Texans founder Bob McNair is well documented. Jones was even in attendance for McNair’s memorial service at NRG Stadium on Dec. 7, 2018, after McNair passed away following a battle with skin cancer.
Jones, who has a twice-a-week radio segment in Dallas, referred to McNair as “Mr. Wonderful.”
“Total, complete person, man; self-made,” Jones told “K&C Masterpiece” on 105.3 “The Fan” [KRLD-FM] in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Basically came to Houston. I think he was principally in the automobile business early. Just absolutely beat it right out of the ground, and I don’t know that I met anybody that spent any time around that didn’t have have wonderful things to say about him.”
Jones said McNair was admired throughout the NFL for his commitment to bring a franchise back to Houston following the departure of the Houston Oilers in 1997.
“He was a real leader throughout the years in the NFL; well respected,” Jones said. “Everybody knew what he had done to put that Houston team, to put it back into football. I wanted so much for him to have success, for the Houston Texans to be everything they could be.
“A lot of people would think, ‘Well, you have all those Cowboys fans. Why don’t you just keep it Cowboys?’ Well, first of all, I don’t have that wish, but I don’t have that ability. But Houston deserves football.”
Week 14 will be the first game in the regular season series that McNair will not witness. The Cowboys hold a 3-2 edge over the Texans. Houston got the first win in the series on Sept. 8, 2002, in their inaugural game at then-Reliant Stadium. The Texans also have the most recent win in the series as they beat the Cowboys Oct. 7 in overtime at NRG Stadium.
The Texans kickoff at 12:00 p.m. Central Time against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.