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The Cowboys and Raiders have not appeared in the Super Bowl for several decades following NFL lawsuits.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys are both renowned NFL teams. During their time, both were exceptional, winning multiple Super Bowl titles and shaping the league’s identity by playing dominantly and leading boldly.

The Raiders have had a prolonged drought since their last championship in 1983, and the Cowboys have had their most recent in 1995.

Their legendary, yet controversial owners, Al Davis of the Raiders and Jerry Jones of the Cowboys, are the originators of these struggles. Despite their reputation as mavericks, each man fought legal battles with the NFL, which strengthened their ownership model centered on control, ego, and reluctance to delegate.

Raiders: Al Davis’ Post-Lawsuit Decline

Al Davis held the responsibility of displaying the Raiders’ rebellious nature.

The NFL’s 1980 lawsuits for franchise relocation and antitrust issues enabled him to take control of the league. Following the courtroom victories, Davis’s behavior became increasingly insolent and confrontational, ultimately leading to the organization’s collapse.

• Davis refused to hire a general manager due to his insistence on controlling all personnel decisions. His fixation on speed and spectacle led to questionable draft picks while other franchises secured future Hall of Famers.
• Clashes with Coaches: His high-profile feud with Jon Gruden, which culminated in trading the coach to Tampa Bay in 2002, backfired spectacularly. Gruden’s Buccaneers trounced the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, exploiting his intimate knowledge of Davis’s playbook.
• Roster Instability: Without a modern scouting system and with Davis’s narrow approach, the team cycled through draft busts, weakening its competitive core.

Two decades of mediocrity were the result of leadership turnover and declining credibility. The lawsuits didn’t directly doom the Raiders; Davis’s power consolidation and refusal to adapt ultimately led to the franchise becoming irrelevant long after his passing.

Cowboys: Jerry Jones’ Era of Control

After buying the Cowboys in 1989, Jerry Jones burst onto the NFL scene and became the face of the franchise right away. The team’s most valuable brand in the league was the result of his bold business strategies.

The legal battles with the NFL over merchandising rights in the 1990s and later disputes with commissioner Roger Goodell solidified his position as an owner who is unwilling to give up control.

• No General Manager Role: Like Davis, Jones refused to appoint a traditional general manager. Declaring himself both owner and GM, he blurred the lines between business and football, undermining operational efficiency.

• Coaching Carousel: Since winning Super Bowl XXX in 1995, the Cowboys have cycled through coaches, with Jones often inserting himself into football decisions. This interference prevented the franchise from building a consistent culture.

• Postseason Futility: Despite assembling talented rosters with stars like Tony Romo, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have posted a disappointing 5-13 playoff record since their last championship.

The NFL’s most valuable franchise remains the Joneses’ Cowboys, but their on-field performance lags behind expectations, making the paradox all the more stark.

Lawsuits as Catalysts for Owner Dominance

Davis and Jones have striking similarities. Their lawsuits against the NFL did not solely cause the decline, but they played a significant role in intensifying the isolation and increasing owner dominance.

• For Davis, court victories reinforced his lone-wolf mentality and distanced him from modern collaboration.

• For Jones, his legal clashes bolstered his belief in centralized authority, cementing his role as the Cowboys’ ultimate decision-maker.

Both cases saw the replacement of modern, football-centric management structures by pride and ego.

Comparing the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys Since Their Last Titles

The Power of Delegation in Achieving Success

Modern football franchises demonstrate the importance of effective delegation and separating responsibilities to sustain success. Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs with Andy Reid and Brett Veach are two prime examples.

Empowering the football minds of these organizations results in the growth of specialized leadership in their respective roles. By adopting this approach, their consistent performance and championship pursuits can be aided by its innovation, accountability, and unified vision.

The Consequences of Ego-Driven Control

For some time now, the Raiders and Cowboys have been having issues with their desire for personal control and making decisions based on their egos instead of the other two teams.

The NFL’s conflicts with them, which involve legal disputes involving owners such as Al Davis and Jerry Jones, demonstrate a lack of collaboration and a preference for individual power over organizational unity.

The owners of these teams have experienced lengthy championship droughts as a result of their inability to delegate, despite maintaining their iconic brands and legacies. These franchises will have trouble reclaiming their former glory until they adopt a collaborative structure that prioritizes football.

Landon Buford Landon Buford is a Heavy Sports contributor. I’m a Washington State graduate with a Bachelors degree in Sociology. In the past, I’ve had stops at RESPECT Magazine, The Dallas Observer, USA Today, SI, Forbes, PlayersTV, Vayner Media, and The Hype Magazine. My interest is in Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Tech. More about Landon Buford