Cowboys' Owner Talks Super Bowl Aspirations and Retirement

FRISCO, TX — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Wednesday he still hopes to retire as the winningest owner in Super Bowl history, even as the franchise enters its 31st consecutive season without a championship. 

Jones gave his thoughts on Wednesday at the Dallas Cowboys' end-of-season press conference in Frisco. Watch that press conference above.

"My goal in life is to retire as the owner that won the most Super Bowls," Jones said on Wednesday. "That's my goal. To be retired in the NFL as the owner that won the most Super Bowls. We've got three. How many more do I have to go as a single owner? [Patriots owner Robert Kraft] has got how many? Six? So, I got work to do. Got work to do. But at least I'm up to the second rung in the ladder."

The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 in Brian Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. Dallas remains the only NFC team that has not reached a conference championship game since 1995, the year of its most recent Super Bowl title.

The team fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday after the defense allowed a franchise-worst 511 points. Jones acknowledged personnel issues at every level of the defense but expressed optimism about a rebound.

"Every team has holes," Jones said. "You have to. Just the way it works. But I see six teams that weren't in the playoffs last year that are in the playoffs this year. I know it can happen. I know how close it is. And I think we can get in here and get the defense in shape quicker than it might look."

Dallas still fielded one of the league’s most productive offenses, finishing seventh in scoring and second in total yards behind Dak Prescott’s 4,000-yard season. Receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens each eclipsed 1,000 yards, as did running back Javonte Williams. Both Pickens and Williams are set to become unrestricted free agents, and the Cowboys are expected to use the franchise tag on Pickens if no long-term deal is reached.

Jones pointed to defensive tackles Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa as foundational pieces. But injuries continue to complicate roster plans: linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has missed 32 games in three seasons, and cornerback DaRon Bland is scheduled for a second surgery on his left foot.

The Cowboys hold two first-round picks — No. 12 overall and another acquired from Green Bay in the Micah Parsons trade. The 2005 draft marked the last time Dallas held two first-rounders, which it used to select DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears.

Schottenheimer said the search for Eberflus’ replacement is underway and that the team is open to different defensive schemes. Jones added that hiring a former head coach is not a requirement.

Jones also suggested the team may be more aggressive in free agency than in recent years, acknowledging that the financial flexibility gained from trading Parsons could lead to “dramatic” offseason moves.

"Bottom line is this [offseason] is, yes, very important," Jones said. "They're right. We want to, while Dak is playing the game and got it down the way he's got it, we want to get out here and basically do better than what we did this year. So, combination of those things gives us the incentive to, dare I say it, bust the budget to try to get something done now. Yes. Yes. We'll do some dramatic things."

Jones turns 84 in October, and his son, executive vice president Stephen Jones, said the organization shares the urgency of pursuing another championship.

"I know whether it's his gold jacket, all the things he's accomplished from the value of this franchise, I think he'd give a lot of that up for one more Super Bowl," Stephen Jones, Jerry's son, said. "It's not just me. It's my brother [Jerry Jr.]. It's my sister [Charlotte]. It's Schotty. It's [vice president of player personnel Will McClay]. Everybody in this organization wants to get the job done."