Michael Irvin defends Jerry Jones against Troy Aikman’s criticism

Troy Aikman believes that the issues the Dallas Cowboys are dealing with this season run so deep that they need to look at the way they’re running their organization, but a former teammate who won three championships alongside the Hall of Fame quarterback respectfully disagrees.

In an appearance on “The Dan Sileo Show” on 97.3 The Fan, Michael Irvin defended Jerry Jones for having won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys and turned them into one of the most successful sports franchises in the world. He acknowledged that it has been a long time since Dallas enjoyed postseason success, but he does not think Jones stepping aside is the answer.

“I heard Troy say they need an overhaul in the organization, but Jerry isn’t firing Jerry. Let’s be real with this. And why should he? He took a $150 million investment and it’s now worth $5 billion,” Irvin said of Jones. “Why should I listen to somebody else when I’m making these kinds of decisions? Come on man, y’all stop playing around.”

When asked specifically if he was bothered by Aikman’s remarks, Irvin again stressed everything Jones has accomplished with the Cowboys.

“I’m not saying that what Troy said that there’s not some things that need to be changed and some things need to be done, but I’m just being realistic and I’m telling you right now for a man that paid a $150 million investment that turned it into $5 billion, you can’t tell him he’s been screwing everything up. It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Aikman told 1310 The Ticket in Dallas that Jones needs to evaluate the way he is doing things as part of a “complete overhaul for the entire organization.” In response, Jones said Friday that he understands the team deserves criticism.

Jones reacting to Aikman 'overhaul' comments; "This is a tough stretch, we've been through those when he played here. I'm fully aware we should be criticized." @1053thefan

— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) November 9, 2018

While you may think Aikman’s comments were harsh considering his history with the Cowboys, he’s not the only one who believes Jerry Jones the general manager is not doing a great job. Aikman is not downplaying what Jones has done as a team owner, but as an owner he needs to be able to evaluate the job he is doing if he wants to make personnel decisions. You could argue that his performance has been poor in that area in recent years.

The first big change Jones may have to make is finally firing his head coach, but he continues to brush that issue aside while the Cowboys struggle.