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Jones, sidelining in 2007, calls it a football version of being on the shop floor.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Jerry Jones used to be a fixture on the sideline during Cowboys games. It was a habit that often sparked criticism.
Since the Cowboys moved into their new stadium in 2009, Jones has been a less of sideline presence, but the reason for the change, he said, has nothing to do with that commentary. Instead, it’s because his suite at the new stadium provides him with a much better vantage point of the field than what he had at Texas Stadium.
“The reason I went so much is I got a feel as GM or as an owner being right there on the sideline for the tenor and basic feel of our players and coaches: How we were competing, how we were doing — literally like a manager going to the floor of the shop, or a manager going out in the store and walking around the grocery store,” Jones said. “I have always been so amused — and I mean it, just really amused — when somebody said, ‘He is in areas he should not be in,’ or that ‘He is upstaging,’ or ‘He is undermining.’ … Anything I have ever heard about in my life, the more the owner, the more a manager can be down on the shop floor, the more everybody — customers most of all — thought, ‘He is watching the store. He is minding his business.’”
Don’t be surprised, Jones added, if he does come down from his AT&T Stadium suite several times before this season is out.
— Daniel Kaplan
