Jason Kelce Shares Why He Has a Lot of Respect for Jerry Jones

For years, Dallas Cowboys fans and NFL analysts have pointed fingers at one man when it comes to the franchise’s nearly 30 years of absence from the Super Bowl: Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys owner and GM has long been accused of meddling too much, clinging to outdated strategies, and creating a culture that struggles to match the talent on paper. Case in point, the recent Micah Parsons situation. In an ideal world, extending your team’s defensive stalwart, who also happens to be a Top 5 DE in the league, should be your high priority. But no.

While Jones did make attempts to sign Parsons to a new deal, the octogenarian, as usual, made a mess of it by unethically bypassing the DE’s agents during negotiations, then giving an explosive media byte to justify it. Yet, despite all the noise, Jason Kelce offered a perspective that cut through the usual pile-on.

While Jason didn’t shy away from acknowledging the dysfunction in Dallas, he still emphasized that he has a lot of respect for Jones.

“It just feels like there’s one common denominator here, right? And that’s Jerry… Jerry is kind of the issue of a lot of things that people have brought up for a long time in Dallas,” Kelce first admitted, referencing the Cowboys’ problems.

But the Super Bowl winner wasn’t interested in making Jones a villain. Instead, he leaned into the nuances of the 82-year-old’s personality, noting there’s an “old-schoolness” about him that he genuinely appreciates. It’s a sentiment that not many former rivals would volunteer, but Kelce made it clear he sees value in Jones’ style, even if it has its drawbacks.

“There’s part of me that really likes Jerry Jones… And there’s like an old-schoolness to him that I appreciate.” Intriguingly, this admiration by Kelce also extended beyond football.

The New Heights host highlighted Jones’ cameo in Taylor Sheridan’s hit series Landman, where the Cowboys owner delivered an emotional monologue about family and business, and said, “I respect his acting. I do. Hey, in Landman, that freaking scene is fu*king [awesome]. He nailed that. I do love that scene. It was so good.”

Coming from Kelce, who is known for his blunt honesty, this didn’t seem like empty praise. Jones’ ability to bring authenticity to the screen resonated, largely because the speech reflected his own life: weaving his family into the Cowboys and his oil ventures.

Still, the ex-Eagles star circled back to the reality in Dallas, using Parsons’ situation as the most glaring example of things going sideways.

“But at the same time, you have to find a way to work this out if you’re the owner with Micah Parsons. It just feels like it’s not going in the right direction,” he declared.

In the end, Kelce’s comments struck a balance rarely heard in the endless discourse around Jerry Jones. He acknowledged the flaws that keep Dallas from breaking through, but also made it clear that respect and even admiration can exist alongside criticism. For someone who’s battled the Cowboys for over a decade, that’s saying a lot.