When you think back to the glory days of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s, the names Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones are inseparable. They built a powerhouse together - a team that won back-to-back Super Bowls and redefined what dominance looked like in the NFL.
But as much as they shared success, they also shared tension. Egos clashed, control became a point of contention, and eventually, the partnership that once looked unbreakable fractured in dramatic fashion.
That fracture came to a head in 1994, when Jones fired Johnson, ending one of the most successful coaching runs in Cowboys history. The fallout was public and bitter.
It took decades - and Johnson’s long-awaited induction into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor - for the two to start patching things up. They’re on better terms now, but that doesn’t mean they always see eye to eye.
And the latest flashpoint? The Cowboys’ blockbuster decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.
Johnson, never one to shy away from speaking his mind, made his feelings clear during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He didn’t hold back when asked about the move - a trade that sent shockwaves through the league and left Cowboys fans wondering if the team had just let go of its most dynamic defender.
“I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all,” Johnson said.
“But of course, him getting injured, maybe it was the right thing to do. ... I just don’t think you get rid of game-changing players.
Somehow, some way, you find a way to keep them. And he was a game changer.”
That’s the heart of it. Parsons wasn’t just another Pro Bowl name on the roster - he was a force of nature.
A defensive weapon who could wreck a game plan by himself. In a league where elite pass rushers are at a premium, Parsons was the kind of player you build a defense around, not trade away.
But Johnson, ever the pragmatist, also acknowledged the bigger picture. He understands how the NFL works - the salary cap, the long-term roster planning, the business side that sometimes forces tough decisions. And in this case, Jerry Jones made a move that, while unpopular, might have been necessary.
“Without Micah, they picked up some draft picks, got a lot of salary cap money,” Johnson said. “They’re going to be able to add some players.
So, Jerry made the right move for what it was, because they were at an impasse as far as Micah Parsons. If they make some improvements defensively, the Cowboys can make a run at it.”
There’s no sugarcoating it: trading Parsons was a seismic decision. And it didn’t take long for Green Bay to show how much they valued him.
The Packers handed Parsons a four-year, $188 million extension - a deal that, for a brief moment, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. That kind of money tells you everything you need to know about how the league views his talent.
So where does that leave Dallas? They’ve got draft capital.
They’ve got cap space. And they’ve got pressure - pressure to turn those assets into something real, something that can finally get them back to the Super Bowl stage they haven’t touched since Johnson was calling the shots.
It’s a gamble, no doubt. But in the NFL, bold moves often define legacies.
Jerry Jones made one. Now we wait to see if it pays off.