Dallas Cowboys: 5 Things to be Thankful for in 2018

4. The team calling the shots

The fun thing for the media to say is that Jerry Jones is up in his owner’s box just calling the shots with no guidance whatsoever. They also love to act like he’s the only owner to have any control over the team he owns. Let’s just knock both those falsehoods out of the way.

First of all, every owner who cares about their team is involved in the decision making — Jones just loves to let it be known. He also loves the credit. However, he’s not in there calling shots alone. In fact, looking at how mad he got when Johnny Manziel and Paxton Lynch weren’t picked, you could say he rarely calls them at all anymore.

While Jason Garrett is called a ‘puppet,’ he’s actually had more pull than any other coach with Jones. Jerry likes the vision Garrett has and is building the team to his specifications. Garrett has done this while working closely with Jerry’s son, Stephen Jones, and his assistant Will McClay.

That trio is calling the shots now. Sure, Jerry can overrule them, but he doesn’t seem to be — as the aforementioned players they skipped on prove. While Garrett may have his shortcomings as a coach, he has done well with McClay and Stephen Jones to build a decent roster.

Of course, most of the credit goes to McClay. He’s been doing a fantastic job of scouting and has even turned down multiple chances to interview for a general manager position elsewhere.

We should be thankful for this because some of the rosters built when Jerry Jones was shooting from the hip were atrocious — see Quincy Carter and Troy Hambrick.