IRVING – Anyone caught off guard by the Cowboys' signing of enigmatic wide receiver Terrell Owens on Saturday has not kept a close eye on Jerry Jones' career as Cowboys owner.
Where other NFL owners see a player who has divided locker rooms in San Francisco and Philadelphia, Mr. Jones sees a rare opportunity.
And as Mr. Jones noted Saturday, it's similar to a decision he made to purchase the club 17 years ago, against the advice of some of his most trusted advisers.
Mr. Jones has since become one of the biggest lightning rods in professional sports, a role he seems to relish.
"This move is vintage Jerry Jones," said Mack McLarty, a longtime friend and former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. "Signing Terrell Owens is stunning in a lot of ways, but not when you know Jerry. He's always been bold, but beneath his larger-than-life personality, he's very, very thoughtful and creative."
On Saturday, Mr. Jones was quick to point out that the signing of Mr. Owens was about much more than "being on the front page of newspapers," but even some of his closest friends admit how much he enjoys the spectacle of a big-splash move and what it does to his bottom line.
Even before the completion of Saturday's standing-room-only news conference, the Cowboys were selling Owens replica jerseys online for $74.99.
"Jerry loves the pop. He loves the hype," said Larry Lacewell, a longtime Jones buddy and the Cowboys' former director of scouting. "I guess you could've gotten more hype if you'd signed Charlie Manson, but I can't think of anyone else that would give you that type of hit."
Mr. Lacewell had just joined the Cowboys in 1992 when someone put a sheet of paper on his desk indicating that San Francisco was interested in trading its talented but troubled defensive end Charles Haley.
"I was so green that I just let it sit there for a couple of days," Mr. Lacewell said. "When I finally took it down to Jerry's office, he and Jimmy [Johnson] were ready to deal."
Mr. Haley, who didn't have the reputation for keeping peace in the locker room, helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories.
"I remember Jerry waiting for me at D/FW Airport," Mr. Haley said. "He told me I was going to be a Cowboy and that we'd find a way to make it work. I mean this is a guy who's been successful in oil and gas. You never know if something's going to work out or not, but Jerry's always going to take a chance."
Added Mr. Jones on Saturday: "Some people say a leopard never changes its spots. Well, I've never really believed in that."
When Mr. Jones and Jimmy Johnson parted ways after winning two Super Bowls together, Mr. Jones hired another lighting rod in former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. And after the Cowboys lost to the 49ers in the 1994 NFC Championship game, Mr. Jones went after the 49ers' best defensive player, cornerback Deion Sanders.
Mr. Sanders' agent, Eugene Parker, said he told Mr. Jones he would have to "blow him out of the water" to sign the star free agent.
"He told me he'd been writing checks with his mouth for years, and then racing to cover his fanny," Mr. Parker said of Mr. Jones. "He told me Deion was going to be a Dallas Cowboy, and that's exactly what happened."
Mr. Jones signed Mr. Sanders to a seven-year, $35 million contract that included a $13 million signing bonus in 1995.
One of Mr. Jones' biggest regrets may have been a risk he didn't take. In the 1998 draft, the Cowboys joined several other teams in passing on troubled wide receiver Randy Moss. Mr. Jones has since admitted that he made the wrong decision.
"Jerry learned from his mistake with Randy Moss not to let someone with baggage escape his grasp," Mr. Sanders said.
Staff writer Jean-Jacques Taylor contributed to this report.
E-mail mmosley@dallasnews.com
Jerry Jones has made a number of high-profile personnel moves since he bought the Cowboys in February 1989:
February 1989: Mr. Jones dismisses head coach Tom Landry, hires Jimmy Johnson from the University of Miami.
October 1989: Cowboys trade running back Herschel Walker in a blockbuster deal to Minnesota for multiple players and draft choices. Emmitt Smith is taken with one of those draft picks.
August 1992: Cowboys acquire Charles Haley from the San Francisco 49ers.
March 1994: Mr. Jones hires former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer a day after Mr. Johnson stepped down as the Cowboys' coach.
September 1995: Mr. Jones outbids other teams, signs free-agent cornerback Deion Sanders to a seven-year, $35 million contract.
January 2003: Mr. Jones hires Bill Parcells as head coach. The high-profile coach with two Super Bowl rings had been doing broadcasting work.
March 2006: Mr. Jones signs wide receiver Terrell Owens to a three-year, $25 million contract.
SOURCES: Cowboys media guide; Dallas Morning News archives
