IRVING, Texas — The comparisons between Jerry Jones and the late Al Davis have faded in recent years, but to the man who played for the latter and knows the former there remain undeniable truths.
Tim Brown played 16 of his 17 NFL seasons for the Raiders and Mr. Davis, who ran his NFL franchise like a dictator whose greatest ally was fear.
No one feared Davis less than Brown.
What Tim Brown told me on Tuesday should scare every single Dallas Cowboys fan, specifically for this season.
Brown was at the Las Colinas Country Club to promote the new PGA Tour Champions tour event that will combine ex PGA Tour players, a round of celebrities and qualifying amateurs next April in the ClubCorp Classic.
I asked him if there are indeed comparisons between the two men.
"Well, sure. I mean, Jerry said years ago the man he admired most in life was Al Davis," Brown said.
When Jerry bought the Cowboys in 1989 the man he sought as a mentor was in fact Al Davis.
"Look at what they did (after he bought the team). The Cowboys won. Jerry won three (Super Bowls). And they haven't won since," Brown said.
He's referring to the Cowboys' three Super Bowl wins in 1992, '93 and '95. They have not been to an NFC title game since.
"Raiders won three times, and haven't won since," Brown said.
The Raiders won the Super Bowl in '76, '80 and '83. Brown and the Raiders reached the Super Bowl in 2002, and were blown out by Tampa Bay.
"In my opinion, in talking about the Raiders, Al Davis' mindset was he was going to win but he was absolutely going to win his way," Brown said. "If he doesn't win his way, he'll fire a coach or cut a player. But when another player comes in, or another coach comes in, he's going to do it Al Davis' way.
"I don't know if that's the same thing that's going on with the Cowboys, but I know if Al Davis was going to win he was only going to win his way. If he couldn't, then it was what it was."
There are undeniable similarities, and differences, between the Cowboys under Jerry and the Raiders under Al.
Al ruled with fear, whereas Jerry is the life of a party that he wants everyone to join (preferably they buy a ticket).
You can easily not like Al Davis.
It's mathematically impossible not to like Jerry Jones.
Al listened to Al, whereas Jerry will listen to everyone who wears a name tag that reads, "Coach."
There are countless stories about Al Davis calling the head coach from the owner's box to the sidelines during a game and ordering specific plays to be called.
"That may have happened years and years ago, but the last 14 or 15 years of my years there, no," Brown said. "Now when Mike Shanahan was the head coach (in '88 and '89), there was a lot of stuff going on. They had a red phone (on the sidelines) and Mike would be on it every once in a while.
"I don't know what (Davis) was saying to Mike, but there was a lot of communication going on from Al during the game, which is really unusual."
There are draft day stories of Jerry "clearing the room," but nothing in his history is quite as invasive as what Davis did to his coaches.
Jerry also likes to remind the world that he is the final say on what happens with the Dallas Cowboys. It's his name on the check.
And since the Raiders last appeared in a Super Bowl, the results between two of the NFL's most popular franchises don't compare.
Since '03, the Cowboys have had 10 winning seasons and seven playoff appearances. In that span, the Raiders have had one winning season, and one playoff appearance with no playoff wins.
Jerry is doing it better than Al, which these days means the Cowboys are slightly ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Texas Rangers.
The more frightening comparison between the late Al Davis' Raiders and the present day Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys is how the teams are built.
The vast majority of the Cowboys' money is on offense. Running back Zeke Elliott, receiver Amari Cooper, quarterback Dak Prescott and offensive lineman Zack Martin and Tyron Smith are all among the highest paid at their respective positions.
The only big money players on defense are end DeMarcus Lawrence and linebacker Jaylon Smith, whose presence does nothing but infuriate fans.
In '97, Brown was on a Raiders team that had one of the best offenses, and worst, defenses in the NFL.
"No, no, it can't work," he said. "The defense has to come up. We went 4-12 that year. We were the best offense in the league. It absolutely cannot work. If you are trying to win games 42-41, that's not a good situation."
Jerry Jones is not Al Davis, but there are still enough comparisons that should scare every single Cowboys fan.
