NFL Football Talk - Jerry Jones / Dallas Cowboys

On Thursday, April 26th, Wil Mara, Bill Chachkes, and I headed over to an establishment called "Merchants NY" after the NFL Media Lunch at Chelsea Piers. There, in the cigar bar, we met Wade Burch, the executive chef at Merchants and a man with an interesting background. He severed as chef for EDS Founder and CEO Ross Perot, Tom Landry, the first Head Coach of The Dallas Cowboys, and Jerry Jones, the current owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Over cigars, Wade told us exactly what he thought of all three men, based on his personal contact with them in his role as chef.

It was eye-opening, and provides a view to why former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells may have left the Dallas Cowboys.

In the video, Wade starts by explaining that he wasn't very happy with "The Tuna" as Parcells is referred to, in response to Wil Mara's question. "I think he gave up too soon, but I think there were some mitigating circumstances we don't know about. I can only know from having cooked for Mr. Jones 25-odd times and the way he treated me (and I was born in Arkansas) he treated me like shit. He tried to treat me like one of his employees and I wasn't;. He's not the sweetest guy."

By contrast, Burch expresses complete admiration for Perot and Landry, two legendary figures in Texas pop-culture.

Burch's rant about Jones gives a unique view into the inner workings of the Cowboys organization and essentially points the finger at the football organization's head man -- and not Terrell Owens -- as the reason for the departure of Parcells. This window may also explain why Jones has gone through so many coaches during his tenture as Cowboys' owner. By stark contrast, Clint Murchison, the founder of the Cowboys had one coach -- Landry -- from 1960 to 1985, when he sold the team to a group led by H.R. "Bum" Bright.