Jerry Jones OTL- AP and Manziel

[Guest]

In bold are key takeaways/discussion points.....the episode airs this Sunday at 9 AM.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson told Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a June telephone call he would like to play for the Cowboys at the end of his tenure with the Vikings, according to an "Outside the Lines" report.

"Well, I understand, Adrian," Jones told Peterson during the call. "I'd like that, too ... Well, I love your story. I love your daddy's story. I've always respected what you've been about. I've always been a fan of yours."

The telephone call is recounted as part of an expansive "Outside the Lines"/ESPN The Magazine profile of Jones by ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. that was published Thursday.

The story also details Jones' lingering angst over passing up quarterback Johnny Manziel in the NFL draft and Jones' continued emotion over former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, whom Jones says will not be put in the Cowboys' "Ring of Honor" that recognizes contributors to the franchise's success.

As for the Peterson call, Van Natta was in Jones' suite at AT&T Stadium when a friend of Jones' handed the phone to him. Peterson had talked first to a Morgan Stanley money manager who had attended George Strait's final concert on June 7 at AT&T Stadium. After the concert, Jones and several others remained in the suite; Peterson talked with the man, who handed the phone to Jones without saying who was on the line.

"Well, we'll see what we can do, if we can make that happen," Jones, who is also the Cowboys' general manager, told Peterson. "Hmm hmm ... I'd like that, too ... Well, we're talking pig Latin here, but let's see if we can do that ... We're talking pig Latin here, but let's see what we can do about that. OK, Adrian, thanks."

Peterson, 29, is in the fourth year of a seven-year, $100 million contract that will pay him $11.75 million this autumn to play for the Vikings.

The NFL's rules on player tampering lay out specific steps to take if a team is contacted by a player who is under contract with another team: "... the contacted club must immediately report such contact to the owner or operating head of the club which holds the player's rights." Failure to do so can result in "severe" penalties from the commissioner's office.

Jones, who confirmed that Peterson told him he wanted to play for the Cowboys, said he has not talked with Peterson since the call and that he didn't think the discussion should be considered tampering. This week, he said he did not contact the Vikings about the conversation.

Peterson released a statement Thursday afternoon through the Vikings.

"This was a casual conversation between NFL colleagues in which I never indicated I wanted to leave the Vikings," the statement said. "I have always said I understand the NFL is a business but that I would love to retire as a Viking."

The Vikings said in a statement: "We are focused on the 2014 season, and as we have consistently communicated, Adrian is an integral part of the Vikings organization."

It is not the first time Peterson has talked about playing in Dallas. In December, he told ESPN Radio's Ryen Russillo on the "SVP & Russillo" show: "I'd be a liar to sit here and say it hasn't crossed my mind before. Being from Texas, I've always wondered what it would be like to play in Dallas -- play back home."

Peterson was born in Palestine, Texas, which is about 110 miles southeast of Dallas.

The timing of the Jones-Peterson conversation came a month after Jones and the Cowboys passed on Johnny Manziel with the 16th pick of the NFL draft. In his story, Van Natta writes that passing up Manziel for offensive tackle Zack Martin stuck with Jones all summer.

"If we had picked Manziel, he'd guarantee our relevance for 10 years," Jones said in May. "When we were on the clock, I said if we pick the other guy -- any other guy -- it would be a ticket to parity, more 8-8 seasons.

"The only way to break out is to gamble -- take a chance with that first pick, if you wanna dramatically improve your team. That's why I wanted Manziel but I was the only guy who wanted him. I listened to everybody ... And I'm ... not ... happy ... ."

In the story, which airs on "Outside the Lines" at 9 a.m. (ET) Sunday on ESPN and hits newsstands on Sept. 5, Van Natta also writes at length about Jones' continued frustration with former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. Jones fired Johnson in March 1994, two months after the Cowboys won their second straight Super Bowl trophy.

"There was just an undermining that went on," Jones said in the story. "It's subtle. It's smart. ... I lost my tolerance of having an associate, a friend, not be loyal."

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...s-wants-cowboy

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

1. Who cares about the convo. Pederson will be 100 by the time Vikes make him available. He's past the window where it would be interesting. I always said had Parcells drafted Steven Jackson instead of Julius Jones we'd have gone to a Super Bowl. The years AD would have made the Boys a powerhouse are long gone for both. Oh and lets not forget Garret has no Fn clue what a RB is let alone use one so pffft.

2. Manziel pick is going to be a tummy twister for a few years. Martin has to be a dominant player and Johnny a bust for it not to be questioned for eons. I can just picture Martin letting a guy through who hurts Tony while Manziel is scrambling for a 40 yard TD across the country.

3. Jones/Jimmy is a really sad story from a human perspective. Like it or not Jimmy was the reason they built a Dynasty. However Jones forced some great decisions by elite scouts at the time. Jimmy didn't want Emmitt being the biggest one. Those two being able to accomplish what they did and have history ruined because of ego is just sad. But honestly they're both disgustingly rich so I'm not gonna cry about it. But all these years later I'm sure both have occasional restless nights because of it.

[Guest]

As far as Jimmy Johnson goes, here is what he had to say.

If you haven't read it yet, you should definitely check out Don Van Natta's ESPN profile of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. It's in-depth, compelling and worth your time. If you have read it, then you and Jimmy Johnson have something in common.

And Johnson, who declined comment for the story while it was in production, believes Jerry came off as a "rich asshole" during the feature, telling Bob West of the Port Arthur News his thoughts on his former boss.

"About like I expected," Johnson said. "Jerry comes across as a rich asshole."

Jones and Johnson won a pair of Super Bowl titles with the Cowboys together, flipping the team around quickly after Jones purchased the club. But their personalities couldn't thrive together and Jones ultimately grew tired of receiving no credit for the football moves.

He called Johnson taking credit for football moves an act of "disloyalty."

"Disloyalty … I couldn't handle the disloyalty,"Jones said. "Whether it was right or not, by every measurement you can go, I had paid so many times a higher price to get to be there than he had paid, it was unbelievable."

As a result, Jones has no intention of putting Johnson in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, even though Johnson represents the best stretch of football for the Cowboys since Jones took over.

In recent years, the Cowboys have been a bastion of mediocrity, posting a 136-136 record since 1997 and 8-8 records each of the last three years.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...ole-in-profile