What would you do?
Imagine this: Just before kickoff on Monday Night Football, as the Cincinnati Bengals face the Dallas Cowboys on the road, a portal opens in front of you. Time stops. Out steps a wizard who offers you a deal: an owner swap.
The Bengals’ owner would become Jerry Jones, and the Cowboys’ owner would become Mike Brown. The teams’ histories would remain unchanged, but the new owners would run their franchises in their own ways.
What would you say?
Each comes with their own set of problems, and some of those problems stem from similar places.
The Case for Mike Brown and Family
We know who Mike Brown is, and by extension, who Katie Blackburn and her family are. They’re loyal, often to a fault. They’ve developed a reputation for being cheap, as they shy away from offering the same kind of guaranteed money that has become standard across the NFL in the 2020s. Most notably, they’ve never won a Super Bowl and endured a 30-year playoff victory drought.
The Brown-Blackburn family, known for their “good business” decisions that don’t always translate to wins, has found success in three different quarterback eras under two different head coaches. Yet, they’ve failed to consistently add the right pieces at the right times and haven’t been able to retain key stars outside of quarterbacks and wide receivers who have contributed to winning seasons.
Duke Tobin, often referred to as the Bengals’ de facto general manager, officially holds the title of director of player personnel. Final decisions on who stays and who goes rest with the owners, effectively making them the team’s general managers. Many in the media and the fan base have called for the family to hire a dedicated GM to make football-minded decisions and focus less on the financial side.
The sticking point? A general manager would gain control of the pocketbook, which doesn’t appear to ever be happening under this ownership.
The Case for Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones presents a different set of challenges. He has never hesitated to spend money. His stadium is a monument to opulence, and he’s handed out massive contracts to multiple players. But this hasn’t translated to consistent postseason success—or success of any kind, for that matter, at least not in recent years.
Jones’ issues stem from his belief that he knows best. Few owners have fired multiple Hall of Fame coaches. After purchasing the Cowboys in 1989, Jones dismissed Tom Landry—Dallas’ only head coach at the time—two days later. Landry had amassed 250 wins and two Super Bowl titles.
Jones replaced Landry with Jimmy Johnson, who won two more Super Bowls, largely with a roster Landry had built. Johnson was fired after the 1993 season, shortly after delivering another championship. Barry Switzer followed, winning a third Super Bowl under Jones, but was fired after just four seasons when the team missed the playoffs.
It’s worth noting the Cowboys’ championship rosters were packed with Hall of Fame players. They succeeded despite Jones’ constant meddling.
Jones’ biggest flaw is his ego. He refuses to hire a coach who challenges him, opting instead for a revolving door of “yes-men.” These coaches operate within the constraints of Jones’ decisions, hoping to win big despite the circumstances.
The Choice
On one hand, you have an owner—or family of owners—reluctant to spend money, unwilling to hire a GM, and seemingly self-sabotaging by refusing to align with modern NFL practices.
On the other, you have an owner who spares no expense but insists on complete control. Zac Taylor would likely be fired immediately, replaced by an endless parade of Jason Garrett clones incapable of uttering, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mr. Jones.”
Neither path guarantees a Super Bowl victory. Both ownership groups appear to approach winning in counterproductive ways. Any success might come in spite of themselves—like if Joe Burrow had somehow connected with Ja’Marr Chase just before Aaron Donald delivered that hit on fourth down in the Super Bowl. Would the Bengals have won? With that offensive line, you’d struggle to say they’d win that game more than once or twice out of 10.
So, what will it be? The devil, you know, or the one you don’t?
