On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys suffered another close loss, falling 19-13 to the Atlanta Falcons.
As with every Cowboys loss, owner Jerry Jones faced a host of questions about the future of the franchise after the game. Reporters peppered him with questions about head coach Jason Garrett, as well as Jones' is status as the general manager.
The owner put those questions to bed on Tuesday during his weekly radio show.
"We are not structured that way," Jones told KRLD-FM on Tuesday morning. "We didn't structure it that way with my ownership. There's no way that I would be involved here and not be the final decision maker on something as important as players, and that is a key area. That's never been anybody's misunderstanding. It's been a debated thing, but it's just not going to happen."
Jones has been the general manager of the team since he became the owner and has a hand in every big personnel move the franchise has had in the past decade, including the decision to play Tony Romo at quarterback and the drafting of players like Felix Jones, Sean Lee and Morris Claiborne, who the team selected with its first pick last season.
"We've had success doing it this way and we're going to have success in the future doing it this way," Jones said. "It eliminates some very serious issues when you look around the league, as to creating an additional layer that you're continually having decisions, making changes and doing those kinds of things."
Romo has put up good statistics for the Cowboys, but has failed to lead the team on a deep playoff run. The team has a 123-124 record since 1997 and has only won one playoff game during all that time.
"It's real clear," Jones said. "I was asked the question, 'If you were an owner and you had a general manager, would you make a change?' Under those circumstances, I speculated that I would probably have made a change, but that's not our situation."
The team has lost two in a row and faces a tough divisional test next Sunday with the Philadelphia Eagles. Making matters worse for Jones, he was locked out of the team's locker room after the loss against the Falcons. It was accidental of course.
This season the team has a top ranked offense and defense, but has only won three games.
"To change, I'd have to change myself. People don't do that," Jones said. "If you've got the commitment and you have the investment, and I'm talking about in time, effort, all of those kinds of things, you change yourself. You don't change out and have someone else go in there and do it."
Over the years Jones has amassed very talented rosters. The team has drafted Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray and also has one of the best defensive players in football in DeMarcus Ware. But other issues persist.
Some contracts the Cowboys have given out over the years have been questionable, including the $54 million contract to Miles Austin and the $27 million contract to cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
No one can fault Jones for his eye for talent, but there always seems to something missing from all the Cowboys teams he puts together. They always lack that indefinable quality that separates talented teams from championship teams.
The Cowboys are notorious for mishandling things when it is late in the game and have blown too many fourth quarter leads in the past few years to count on one hand. All this is in part of the ineffectiveness of the general manager to bring in talented and disciplined players.
Often times it's not just talent that wins games. In 2008, the undefeated New England Patriots were more talented then the New York Giants. But it was the Giants who won the Super Bowl that year, not the Patriots. During that same playoff run, the Giants defeated a Cowboys team that was probable more "talented" as well.
Jones is an amazing businessman with a solid eye for talent. He played football at the University of Arkansas and certainly has knowledge about the game, but there is something that gets lost in the shuffle when the owner is also the general manager.
Until Jones realizes that he needs a general manager to be successful in this league the Cowboys will be missing that next Super Bowl.
