Here are the key takeaways from the first episode of Netflix’s new docuseries chronicling Jerry Jones’ acquisition of the Dallas Cowboys.
DALLAS — Glitz and glamour aren’t usually associated with football, but that’s what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones envisioned when he bought the franchise in 1989.
The first episode of Netflix’s new docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, revisits Jones’ purchase of the team from Bum Bright, his decision to fire legendary coach Tom Landry and the backlash that followed.
Through the series’ opener, dubbed “Saturday Night Massacre,” we heard words from several people both previously and currently involved with the organization, including Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson, Charlotte Jones, Stephen Jones and even former President George W. Bush.
The premiere doesn’t just retell history — it peels back the curtain on the drama, the risks and the personalities that shaped the Cowboys’ future. Here are some standout moments from the opening episode:
A lifelong dream come true
At the start of the episode, Jones described his aggressive approach to drilling wells, saying he was “really good at borrowing money.” That left him more than $50 million in debt, he said, a situation so dire his wife worried he might harm himself.
One $800,000 purchase, however, changed everything.
“I knew it was a gusher,” Jones said of the most expensive well he had bought. He recalled how it began screaming, then spitting, and finally roaring the first time it was turned on.
The well netted him more than $100 million and gave him the chance to pursue his longtime dream.
“Now, I always knew what I was gonna do with that money,” Jones said. “So I took that money and took a bigger risk than I took drilling that damn well and I remembered looking at that oil and I remember saying to myself, ‘Jerry, you just bought the Dallas Cowboys.’”
Changing the perception of the city after JFK’s assassination
Former President George W. Bush reflected on the lingering shadow cast over Dallas after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He said the tragedy condemned the city for years, but coach Tom Landry’s success in building a winning team began to change its image.
In the 1970s, the Cowboys won two Super Bowls, and, as Bush noted, the victories sparked a love affair with the team in Texas that soon spread across the country.
That surge in popularity and on-field dominance, Bush said, is what earned the Cowboys the nickname “America’s Team.”
One very expensive coin flip
The series labels Jones as a gambler, a label that fit even during his negotiations to buy the Cowboys from former owner Bum Bright.
Jones said he wrote down an offer of $150 million and presented it to Bright. But when it came to finalizing the deal, the two were about $300,000 apart.
According to Jones, Bright suggested flipping a coin to settle it. Jones agreed.
Bright flipped the coin — and Jones lost.
“I lost $300,000,” Jones said. “I really got f*****. I own the Dallas Cowboys.”
The firing of Tom Landry and the backlash that followed
Jones didn’t hold back in the episode, calling the handling of Tom Landry’s firing and Jimmy Johnson’s introduction a major public relations mistake.
It’s not unheard of for tenured coaches or players to get shipped out of town once an owner or general manager feels their best times are behind them, but for Landry, the Cowboys, and the city of Dallas, this felt like a death, or — a massacre.
Jones admitted that he had come to really like Johnson’s coaching ability and attitude that was on display at the University of Miami, where he won a national championship in 1987. No interviews were taken because Jones just assumed that Johnson would take over for the Cowboys once the purchase of the team was complete.
This little secret agreement between Jones and Johnson was meant to be kept a secret. However, the two were spotted together having a meeting at a restaurant in town, and it made front-page news just about everywhere. And to make matters worse, it was at Landry’s favorite restaurant.
Coach Landry, while he had won multiple championships in the 70s and helped change the image of the Cowboys, was falling short of what fans expected of them. Coming off three consecutive losing seasons, in 1989, Jones hopped on a jet and flew to Austin to meet up with Landry to tell him that they were moving in a different direction and he would no longer be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Just as quickly as it seemed Landry was fired, Jones then turned around and announced Johnson as the team’s new head coach at a press conference littered with media, both local and national. The move was met with shock and emotion from many in the room, including former team president and general manager Tex Schramm, who spoke with a shaky voice after the announcement.
Jones recalled this press conference as a moment he could really feel the weight of everything that would come with being the owner of America’s Team. And the shockwaves of his actions would be felt in the coming days, weeks, months and even years.
A couple of months after his firing, Landry was honored with a parade through Downtown Dallas, where more than 100,000 people showed up to wish him farewell. And, while many showed their support for Landry, a lot of fans chose to show their disdain for Jones, as the owner recalled receiving tons of death threats following the decision.
The new Cowboys owner said, as a man from out of state, rolling into town and shaking things up, he wasn’t being seen as some hero.
“I was Darth Vader,” Jones said.
And despite the severe backlash and public uproar, Jones ended the episode by saying he wasn’t just going to take his marbles and go home.
“I can’t,” Jones emphasized. “I burned all my ships when I landed.”