Pats_and_Boys

ENF-093 Jones P 1 7/21/2011 Ms. Thomas The Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots are the two most successful sports franchises in America today. They come by that success through different styles and philosophies. The teams’ performances ultimately reflect the values of their respective owners and head coaches teams. Despite a losing record over the last decade, the Cowboys have a higher dollar value than the Patriots. On the other hand, the Patriots have won three Super Bowls in the last ten years. This is a direct result of fundamental differences between the owners, coaches and players. Jerry Jones is the owner of the Cowboys and Robert Kraft is the owner of the Patriots. They are both capable business men and franchise owners. Their management styles are fundamentally different. Mr. Jones is a flashy owner that loves the spotlight and takes the hands on approach to running the team. He has the last word on player and coaching personnel decisions and makes all decision with regard Cowboy Stadium. On the other hand, Mr. Kraft allows his sons to run the day to day operations of the Patriots organization. He spends most of his time attending to League issues and philanthropically. He only gets involved with the team when it comes to issues with his head coach. He prefers keeping a low profile in the press. Jason Garrett is in his second year as head coach of the Cowboys and has yet to produce a winning season. Bill Belichek is in his tenth year as head coach of the Patriots and has never had a losing season with the Patriots. In fact, Coach Belichek has the best winning record over the last ten years of any coach in the NFL. He also has more playoff wins than any head coach in NFL history. Jones P2 Coach Garrett has yet to command the respect of his staff and players. Coach Belichek is considered to be one of the most respected coaches in all of sports. The coaching styles of the two men could not be further apart. Garrett relies heavily on his coordinators for much of his game planning. Belichek is the master game planner and relies on his coordinators to carry out his game plans. The Cowboys are known for spending vast sums of money in order to obtain the most talented players at all of the skilled positions. A lot of high priced players can bring a great deal of baggage to the team and the locker room. The Patriots are more concerned with recruiting players with high IQs and character. The Patriots feel that smart athletes that are good people make the best players. These types of players are more coachable and do not make a lot of mistakes on the field, in the locker room, or in public. The Cowboys failure to police the character issues of their players shows in the team’s poor performance on and off the field. While the high character of the Patriots players’ shows in their excellent performance on and off the field. Quality men make better players and win championships. There can be no doubt that both the Cowboys and the Patriots are the two most financially successful teams in the NFL. Both teams are rated in the top ten teams in all of sports. Both teams must be doing something right. However, making money and winning championships are two very different things. Jerry Jones makes his money by fielding a team of characters while Robert Kraft makes his money by fielding a team with character. Both teams reflect the ideals and philosophies of their respective owners and coaches. The differences between Cowboys and the Patriots are clear, as their records show.