It’s 1992, and the Dallas Cowboys are celebrating their first Super Bowl win in over a decade. At the heart of it all stand two larger-than-life figures: Jerry Jones, the ambitious owner with a business empire to match his bravado, and Jimmy Johnson, the no-nonsense coach whose football acumen turned “America’s Team” into a juggernaut. Their partnership was electric—two college football teammates from the University of Arkansas turned NFL titans, united in pursuit of glory. It was the ultimate bromance story (before the term was even really a thing) when Jerry bought the franchise in 1989 and appointed Jimmy as the head coach.

But behind the champagne-soaked smiles and confetti-strewn fields, cracks were forming. For Jones and Johnson, success didn’t just come at a price—it came with egos clashing like helmets at the line of scrimmage. By 1993, that championship-winning partnership was over, a decision that still haunts Cowboys fans and leaves the NFL world asking, “What if?” After a 5 year stint as the head coach, Jerry Jones suddenly fired his college teammate.

Three decades later, the story remains a cautionary tale of ambition, pride, and the thin line between winning and control. The split is still talked about. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick mentioned on the January 27 episode of Dan Patrick Show that it’s not just about winning. The owners want to win and get the credit. He mentioned the Cowboys owner’s name and said, “Jerry already showed that he didn’t like that back in the 90s when they were steamrolling everybody. I played against those teams. Those teams were unstoppable. (But) He got rid of a Hall of Fame coach in Jimmy Johnson.”

With Jimmy Johnson managing things at the franchise, they were great. America’s Team won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993. But Jerry Jones’ decision to fire him in 1993 was terrible. Who knows? Maybe they would have won a 3-peat then. There were reports that things went sour between both men when they started winning. During the FOX & Friends show in 2022, he was promoting his book Swagger: Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs — A Memoir. He revealed their journey in the 1990s when Jerry Jones told him, “Jimmy, you’re in charge of the football, I’m in charge of the money and we’ll make sports history.” But things changed when they started winning.

Though Johnson put the blame on himself for not sharing the spotlight with Jones, it’s a thing of the past. Jones’ subsequent acts haven’t exactly endeared him to fans. Adding to it, Riddick made some very unsettling points about the attitude of NFL owners.

Louis Riddick exposes the arrogance of NFL owners

“It’s football. How hard can it be?” one of the NFL owners told the ESPN analyst once. That’s just the tip of the egoistic mentality. He also explained how the owners think and added, “It has the same kind of nuance or deserves the same kind of attention or horsepower that it requires to run Microsoft or Apple or a company that’s a Fortune 500 company that makes billions of dollars a year. They don’t think it’s that.” That’s a grand point.

We have seen how hard it is to win the Super Bowl even for the best of players and coaches. Ask Aaron Rodgers or Mike McCarthy why they only have one ring. Or ask Jerry Jones himself, who hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1995, despite being the wealthiest sports franchise with a $10 billion valuation. Or consider the New England Patriots. They won 6 Super Bowls in 2 decades when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were there. But as TB12 changed allegiance, things quickly changed. Owner Robert Kraft fired HC Jerod Mayo after a single season in charge for finishing 4-13.

It’s not conclusive proof that Kraft is an arrogant owner. But it takes more than money if you want your team to play for the Super Bowl. Fans often complain that things are becoming more commercial. It doesn’t look to change anytime soon.