Dallas, Texas – January 20, 2026
Troy Aikman didn’t hold back.
In his most scathing critique yet of the Dallas Cowboys organization, the three-time Super Bowl champion and longtime ESPN analyst delivered a blistering post-season message aimed directly at owner Jerry Jones — and it landed like a thunderclap.
“The common thread in all these failures? It’s the same person calling the shots,” Aikman said during his Monday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up. “You can’t keep doing the same thing — making the same decisions, controlling personnel, overriding coaches and scouts — and expect different results. That’s not football. That’s stubbornness.”
The Cowboys’ season ended Sunday with another disappointing playoff miss, marking the 30th straight year without a Super Bowl appearance — a drought that began the year after Aikman’s last ring in 1995. Despite having one of the league’s highest payrolls, elite talent like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, and consistent regular-season success, Dallas has repeatedly faltered in the postseason.
Aikman, who won three titles under Jones in the early ’90s, made it clear he believes the root cause hasn’t changed in three decades.
“Jerry’s passion is unmatched. His love for the Cowboys is unmatched. But the structure he’s built — where he’s the final decision-maker on personnel, on draft picks, on trades — it’s the same structure that’s been in place since I left,” Aikman continued. “You can have all the talent in the world, but if the decision-making process is flawed at the top, nothing changes. And right now, nothing is changing.”
He pointed to specific examples: the Cowboys’ reluctance to invest heavily in the trenches, the handling of the offensive line, the repeated failure to build a dominant defense, and the ongoing pattern of letting promising coordinators leave for head-coaching jobs elsewhere while keeping the same front-office approach.
“Coaches come and go, coordinators come and go, but the constant is the guy at the top,” Aikman said bluntly. “Until that changes — until Jerry steps back and lets football people run football — this team will keep doing the same thing: win 10–12 games in the regular season, then exit early in the playoffs. That’s the pattern. That’s the reality.”
The comments have ignited fierce debate in Dallas and across the NFL. Cowboys fans are divided — some defending Jones as the visionary who built the brand and the stadium, others agreeing with Aikman that his hands-on control has become a liability. Social media exploded with #AikmanSpeaks and #FireJerry trending in Cowboys circles.
Jones has not yet publicly responded, but sources close to the organization say the owner is “aware” of Aikman’s remarks and views them as “part of the conversation” after a disappointing season.
For Aikman, the criticism isn’t personal — it’s born from a deep love for the franchise he helped define. “I want the Cowboys to win,” he concluded. “I want them to be great again. But you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That’s not opinion — that’s math.”
As the offseason begins and questions swirl about coaching changes, roster moves, and Jones’ future direction, one thing is clear: the voice of the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl-winning quarterback just spoke — and the owner is now on notice.
Whether anything changes remains to be seen. But Aikman made it painfully clear: in Dallas, the common thread isn’t bad luck. It’s the man still pulling the strings. 🏈
