After winning big gambles in real estate and digging for oil wells, he put it all on the line to buy the Cowboys in 1989. Since then, he's fired Tom Landry, forced out Jimmy Johnson, entrusted a championship club to Barry Switzer and given Deion Sanders a $13 million signing bonus.
Jones felt pretty good about his choices when the Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in a four-year span. But that was 1995; Dallas has won only one playoff game since.
He's lost other big gambles along the way, from sticking with Switzer to hiring Chan Gailey, then Dave Campo as head coaches. He's also risked public scorn by releasing franchise icons Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.
Irvin's off-field woes are the local precedent for taking on Owens.
I really liked that part
