Manziel's Cowboys Apology - And Jerry Jones' Myth-Making Fib vs. Truth: FISH PODCAST
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FRISCO - Johnny Manziel is now apologizing to the world for behavior that, as he explains it, would've been even more "suicidal'' had he gotten his wish and been drafted by his home-state Dallas Cowboys.
"I loved Jerry,'' Manziel said to Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast. "I loved getting the opportunity as a college Texas A&M kid to walk into that box and rub shoulders with the honcho ... I remember the anticipation ... when that pick was coming up, and I had my fingers crossed under that table the entire time. 'Please let me go put that star on my helmet."
But here's a fact that apparently Manziel himself doesn't even know to this day, as the tale is growing taller but is still untrue: "Jerry Jones almost forced his Dallas Cowboys to take Johnny Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft'' ... never happened.
It's a helluva story. It's got it all. Controversial owner, colorful kid, Texas QB, first-round arguments ... Unfortunately, it's baloney.
The truth, via those who lived it ...
The Cowboys certainly considered the Texas A&M sensation and Heisman Trophy winner at some point way, way before their turn came around to the No. 16 overall pick in that spring's NFL Draft. The team had no heir to the aging Tony Romo and imagine what the Cowboys marketing department could've cooked up with "Johnny Football''!
And in the days leading up to the draft, owner Jerry Jones still liked the idea. But by Draft Day, he'd been made to see the light: Manziel wasn't going to be graded or rated higher on Dallas' Big Board than four potential stars who the scouting department predicted would be there:
Pitt defensive lineman Aaron Donald, UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier and Notre Dame guard Zack Martin.
And then Draft Day came. And the night inched toward Pick No. 16 ...
By this time, personnel boss Will McClay's stewardship made certain there would be no confusion. Staffer Robert Blackwell was in New York and he was, as Donald and Barr were already gone, instructed to write two names on potential turn-into-the-league cards.
The two names: Shazier on one card. Martin on the other.
Two cards. Not three.
In the immediate aftermath of what actually happened, Jerry did indeed tell Stephen that he hoped they wouldn't end up regretting passing on a "potential franchise QB.'' But that's as far as the sadness went ...
Until Jim Dent wrote an e-book called "Manziel Mania.'' In the quickie book, Dent - a talented and acclaimed author who happened to be in a Texas prison at the time - claimed there was so much drama involved here that it required team COO Stephen Jones to physically accost his father, Jerry, to prevent the owner from "scribbling the name of Johnny Manziel on the draft card.''
Dent's book created a firestorm. Typical reaction in the aftermath, from Deadspin: "It appears that Jerry Jones is still operating the Dallas Cowboys by following the "Drunk Uncle" school of management. Which is to say, his own children still need to physically prevent him from making franchise-altering decisions on the fly. ... Jerry Jones is just too old and too rich to really give a shit about anything anymore.''
And even today, the story keeps being spun. This week, from our friends at AtoZ Sports: "Man, oh man, one of the biggest what ifs in franchise history. I still remember that moment in the iconic 2014 NFL Draft when the Cowboys were on the clock. We didn't know at the time that Stephen Jones was pushing Jerry Jones to the wall of the War Room and snatching the draft card from his hands to avoid Manziel to arrive to Dallas.''
And suddenly, young people who grew up as fans and became journalists believe it ... and the myth is written in cement.
But again, to the actual facts from the people involved:
*There are no "draft cards'' in the Valley Ranch war room where Jerry and Stephen oversaw the selection process along with McClay and then-coach Jason Garrett. There are computers, notepads and magnetized name tags. There are no "draft cards'' at team headquarters.
*The "draft card'' was actually in New York, where each of the 32 teams had representatives who carry their card with their selected player's name on it up to the commissioner for him to announce. The Cowboys' rep is Blackwell. There is no way for Blackwell to "be handed a card'' by Jerry as they were sitting 1,600 miles apart from one another.
*There was no Jones-vs.-Jones physical wrestling match. By virtue of our live coverage on the draft on the official station of the Cowboys, 105.3 The Fan, I was able to watch the WarRoomCam at times even when the telecast is not being shared with ESPN and NFL Network.
I watched - along with colleagues Bryan Broaddus, Shan Shariff and others - as Jerry and Stephen and staff talked through the process of the No. 16 pick. There seemed to be some disappointment over Shazier going off the board at 15, to Pittsburgh.
I was later told that Jerry finally asked his entire staff, "So no one in this room wants to take Johnny Manziel?"
Which was correct. No one in the entire building - except maybe Jerry - viewed Manziel as worthy of being taken ahead of Martin.
I've since been told that placing Manziel on the board even as a first-round possibility was only done as a courtesy to the owner. Would Dallas have taken him in a later round, had Cleveland not plucked him at No. 22 (where he of course instantly busted)? Maybe, but it would've been done with the knowledge that he had substance-abuse problems and behavioral problems.
The Cowboys scouting department knew that Manziel had, for instance, shown up for a Chicago Bears recruiting dinner late ... and drunk. The Cowboys also knew - as hundreds of Dallas Mavs game attendees, including me, knew - that Manziel was driving from College Station to Dallas on a regular basis and was often seemingly under the influence while hanging out at the AAC.
As Johnny said to Sharpe, "Looking back now, thank God that it didn't happen because I wouldn't be sitting here today. ... If you would have put me in a landscape of that was my backyard that I knew, you know, I had been driving from College Station up to Dallas when there was nothing going on in College Station, right? ...
"I know who I was hanging around at that point in my life, and I think it would have been just an absolute disaster ... It wouldn't have been suicide that would have been the issue, it would have been drinking and driving, it would have been taking a bag from somebody you shouldn't take it from, and just boom, (my life) could have been over in an instant.''
The Cowboys knew all of this. And so when Jerry finally asked, "So no one in this room wants to take Johnny Manziel?" And no one did?
We saw on the WarRoomCam Jerry mouth the words, "So it's Martin.''
And then the cogs churned into motion. Jerry relaying the decision to scouting staffer Chris Hall in a Valley Ranch office adjacent to the War Room at Valley Ranch. Hall immediately barking "Zack Martin'' to Blackwell in New York. Blackwell, having those two cards in front of him. The one, suddenly worthless one, read, "Ryan Shazier.'' The second said "Zack Martin.''
Blackwell handed the card reading "Martin'' (who's next stop after Frisco will be the Hall of Fame in Canton) to the front of the ballroom in New York.
Story-teller Jerry has kept alive the what-if-Manziel tale, even still after Manziel busted, because it's marketing-wise fun.
Story-teller Jim Dent does not, I don't believe, tell the story much anymore. Because he knows it's not true. But that spring? Dent was looking for material for his Manziel book and understood well that he might enjoy the benefits of connecting the Cowboys somewhere in there, too.
Which e-book sells better? One about "Johnny Manziel and the Browns'' (who eventually took him)'' or one about "Johnny Manziel and the Cowboys''?
Not long after that draft, I booked Dent as a guest on 105.3 The Fan. We asked him about the origin of the "Jerry's-Manziel-card'' story.
"Aw,'' drawled ol' Jim in the middle of dozens of non-sequitur question dodges, "I got that off (watching TV) ...''
In the book, Dent writes with imaginary prose, "I could just see Jones grabbing Manziel with the 16th choice of the first round. ... I knew that Jones' hands were shaking when the Cowboys went on the clock with Manziel still on the board. I could envision Jones scribbling the name of Johnny Manziel on the draft card.''
In short, Dent listened to silly speculation and "envisioned'' a tall tale. ... and used the tall tale to help sell a book. The book excerpt actually ran in the Dallas Morning News, adding another level of seeming credibility.
And Jerry - happy to surf off Manziel-related publicity even to this day - enjoys the ride. ... in much the same way that he wants The Star to be affiliated with every high-profile person and thing, from Elizabeth Taylor to soccer's World Cup. (How Jones missed out on arranging for Taylor Swift to be dating a Cowboys player we will never understand!)
Since that night, I've gotten on-the-record acknowledgement and confirmation of what really happened in interviews with Blackwell, Hall, Garrett, McClay, Stephen and Jerry himself.
And not long ago, Jerry was on The Fan with "Shan & RJ'' and was asked the "How close?'' question about Manziel to the Cowboys.
“It certainly was a big debate going on,'' Jerry replied, and you could almost hear the grin through your radio, "if no place else other than my mind.”
