Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne " Jerry " Jones Sr . ( pronunciation : JerruhJonz ) ( born October 13 , 1942 ) is an American businessman . He is the owner / president / general manager of the NFL ' s Dallas Cowboys . Early life . Jones was born in Los Angeles , California . His family moved to North Little Rock , Arkansas when he was an infant . Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School . He attended college at the University of Arkansas where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity . He was also a co - captain of the 1964 National Championship football team . He was an all - Southwest Conference offensive lineman for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles and a teammate of Jimmy Johnson . Other notable teammates were Glen Ray Hines , a consensus All - American offensive tackle , Ken Hatfield , Jim Lindsey , and future Outland Trophy winner Loyd Phillips . Several future great head coaches were assistant coaches for Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks during his college career in Fayetteville including Hayden Fry , future legendary Head Coach at the University of Iowa , Johnny Majors , future Head Coach at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Tennessee , and most notably Barry Switzer , Hall of Fame coach of the University of Oklahoma . Jones is one of a very small number of NFL owners who actually earned a significant level of success as a football player ( Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers being another ) . When he graduated from college in 1965 , he was hired as an executive vice president at Modern Security Life of Springfield , Missouri , his father ' s insurance company . He received his Masters degree in business in 1970 . After several unsuccessful business ventures ( including passing up the opportunity to purchase the American Football League ' s San Diego Chargers in 1967 ) , he began an oil and gas exploration business in Arkansas , Jones Oil and Land Lease , which became phenomenally successful . His privately held company currently does natural resource prospecting . Dallas Cowboys . On February 25 , 1989 , Jones purchased the Cowboys from H . R . " Bum " Bright for $ 140 million . Soon after the purchase , he fired longtime coach Tom Landry , to that point the only coach in the team ' s history , in favor of his old teammate at Arkansas , Jimmy Johnson . A few months later , he forced out longtime general manager Tex Schramm , and assumed complete control over football matters . After the 1993 Super Bowl victory , reports began to surface in the media that Jones had made the statement that " any one of 500 coaches could have won those Super Bowls " , given the type of talent that he ( Jones ) had drafted and signed for the team . Jones also stated to reporters at a late night cocktail party that he intended to replace Johnson with former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer . The next morning , however , Jones famously denied those reports by stating that it " was the whiskey talking " . Johnson was eventually forced out in 1994 and Switzer was hired to be the new head coach . He is one of two NFL owners who also have the title or powers of general manager , the other being the Cincinnati Bengals ' Mike Brown . Of all the owners in American professional sports , he is considered to be one of the most involved , on a day - to - day basis , with his team . He can be seen in his box at every Cowboys game and in many cases he ventures down to the Cowboys sideline ( usually late in the game ) . Criticism . In an online poll from October 8 , 2003 , Jones was named the least favorite sports personality by " Sports Illustrated " , in three states ( Virginia , Delaware and Texas ) . He is often vilified by fans who remain bitter at Jones ' unceremonious firing of fan - favorite Landry . Some of the fan criticism is due to Jones ' high visibility and involvement as the " face of the team " which is in stark contrast to original owner Clint Murchison Jr . Some Dallas Cowboy fans have expressed their displeasure with Jones and the lack of success in the franchise . This had led to formation of grassroots organizations aimed at displacing Jones from his position . In November 2012 , fans signed a petition to President Barack Obama to remove Jones from his position . Jones is the subject of the 2008 book " Playing to Win " by David Magee . In the book , Jones says he handled the firing of Tom Landry poorly and takes some blame for the disintegration of his relationship with Jimmy Johnson . NFL fines . Jones was fined $ 25 , 000 by the NFL for publicly criticizing referee Ed Hochuli after Hochuli made a controversial call in a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos on September 14 , 2008 . He made comments both to the press and on his radio show , saying Hochuli was one of the most criticized officials in the NFL . This was Jones ' first fine by the NFL . In 2009 , Jones was fined for violating a gag order on labor issues . Commissioner Roger Goodell had issued a gag order for all owners and team executives from discussing any aspect of the pending labor issues . Jones " crossed the line " , drawing a " six - figure " fine , sources said , as the commissioner distributed a memo to all 32 owners , along with a reminder that the gag order remains in effect . Goodell did not disclose the specific amount of Jones ' fine in the memo . Jones in popular culture . Jones was the inspiration for the character Baxter Cain ( Robert Vaughn ) , owner of the Dallas Felons , in the 1998 film " BASEketball " . He had a brief cameo appearance as himself in the 1998 made - for - television reunion movie " " . Jones also appeared as himself in an episode of the TV show " Coach " in 1996 and in a 2007 television commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX , which also featured then Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo . Jones most recently starred in a commercial for Papa John ' s in which a stunt man performs a dance act . Jones also appeared as himself in the seventh season of the HBO series " Entourage " in 2010 , in an episode of the TNT incarnation of " Dallas " titled " Truth and Consequences " , which aired on July 4 , 2012 , in a series of commercials for the 2012 season of ESPN ' s Monday Night Football and in the season 4 premiere of " The League . " In 2013 , Jones narrated a documentary film on former teammate and business partner Jim Lindsey . Personal life . Jones is married to Gene Jones and they have three children : Stephen , Charlotte and Jerry , Jr . They also have nine grandchildren . Stephen ( born July 21 , 1964 ) is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and serves as the Cowboys ' chief operating officer / executive vice president / director of player personnel . Charlotte ( born July 26 , 1966 ) is a Stanford graduate and serves as the Cowboys ' executive vice president and chief brand officer . Jerry , Jr ( born September 27 , 1969 ) is a graduate of Georgetown University who earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University , is the Cowboys ' chief sales and marketing officer / vice president . On October 23 , 2012 , Jones ' mother Arminta Jones died at the age of 90 . References . Jerry Jones Gives Jason Garrett The Dreaded Vote Of Confidence December 7 , 2011 , Deadspin