Cowboys' Stephen Jones: 'I Don't Think' About Taking over as Team's GM in Future
October 25, 2024
Dallas Cowboys CEO and EVP Stephen Jones says the future possibility of taking over his father Jerry Jones' role as general manager is not on his mind.
"I don't think about that. I want to enjoy every moment with my father," Stephen Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan (h/t The Athletic's Jon Machota.) "He's the owner and the president and the GM. I cherish every minute that I've gotten to work with my father. A lot of people don't get that opportunity. I cherish the opportunity. I want to be where my feet are.
"There's that old saying that Dak likes to use, enjoy what you're doing at the moment. We'll cross that road one day. No one's getting out of here alive the last I checked. At some point that may be the case, but we'll worry about those things when they happen. I just want to enjoy working with him and being a part of something special. I know right now we're frustrated with how our team is competing on the field, but overall we've had a hell of a run and think we got a lot left in us."
Jerry Jones has held the title of the Cowboys' general manager for 35 years since purchasing the team in 1989 for $150 million.
Having turned 82 in October, Jerry Jones has three of his children working in the Cowboys organization, including COO Charlotte Jones Anderson and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Jerry Jones Jr.
Jerry Jones was 53, and Stephen Jones 31 years old, when the franchise won its most recent Super Bowl in 1996. The Cowboys have not made it back to an NFC Championship Game since.
Stephen Jones, now 60, seems like the most likely option to succeed his father after he eventually steps away from the organization, especially given the increasingly front-facing role he has taken on in recent years as a liaison between the Cowboys and the media.
He has also reportedly had influence behind the scenes on some of the Cowboys' free agency and draft decisions, including the signing of cornerback Deion Sanders in 1995, the choice to draft offensive lineman Zack Martin over quarterback Johnny Manziel in the 2014 draft and the decision to let DeMarcus Ware walk the same year, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
When speaking to Moore in June, Stephen Jones said the succession plan was "hard" for his team to talk about.
"But we do it, and I think it's going to be very well done and in a way our fans deserve," Stephen Jones told Moore.
Jerry Jones has most recently made headlines for his pushback against a recent report by ESPN's Kalyn Kahler, in which former Cowboys players criticized the franchise for allowing fans to tour practice facilities while team members were present.
Arguably pressing than the facility tours controversy is the Cowboys' 3-3 record, which has the team trailing the 5-2 Washington Commanders and 4-2 Philadelphia Eagles for the division lead. The Cowboys will need a strong outing Dak Prescott against the host San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in order to contend for the top spot in the NFC East.
