Inside the story of Jerry Jones' push to help Bob McNair get an NFL franchise in Houston
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Jerry Jones had always admired Bob McNair.
The Houston Texans' founder and businessman had become somewhat familiar across the league in the mid-1990s because of his interest in buying an NFL franchise.
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For Jones, the Dallas Cowboys' owner and a fellow businessman, there was a lot to like about McNair.
"His story was so compelling to me and what he had done, and the reputation that he had," Jones, arguably the NFL's most influential figure, told the Houston Chronicle in a phone interview this week. "He was exactly the type of individual that I wanted the room full of in the NFL as owners."
The NFL was expanding again after adding two teams in 1995 and reinstating the Browns in 1996. It hoped to agree on a 32nd NFL city by the spring of 1999.
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Houston was one of two cities in serious contention for the expansion team, along with Los Angeles, which had lost both the Raiders and Rams after the 1994 season.
Houston, too, had lost the Oilers after the 1996 season, when Bud Adams moved the franchise to Nashville, Tenn.
So when McNair bid to bring an NFL franchise back to Houston, Jones was on board, even when most of the other NFL owners preferred Los Angeles.
Texans owner Bob McNair, right, reacts to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' reference to McNair's team as the "Houston Oilers" at a press conference during a break in meetings of the NFL owners in 2002. (John Everett/Houston Chronicle)"Bob was about as qualified as you could want," Jones said. "Houston is such a football mecca. They have such great high school football in that area and have such great natural talent down there for football, I knew it was in the Cowboys' best interest for there to be a Houston team.
"So I really was a promoter and pusher to expand and get that franchise, and of course Bob had everything to do with it."
The start of the 2026 season marked the Texans' 25th season as a franchise. Next Wednesday will mark 27 years since they were awarded the NFL's 32nd franchise on Oct. 7, 1999.
But it almost didn't happen that way.
The league and its owners initially preferred Los Angeles as the next expansion city.
"It was a bigger market," said Joe Browne, a former longtime NFL executive who served as the league's vice president at the time. "It was sitting there fallow for a number of years.
"I'm not saying Houston was never going to get another team, but if you put LA versus Houston, LA was the favorite."
‘The more, the better.'
A year of lobbying came to a head in March 1999, when the NFL, in a 29-2 vote, agreed to award Los Angeles the 32nd franchise on the condition that it secure a stadium, funding and community support from the city.
The NFL set a deadline of Sept. 15, 1999.
It was another heartbreak for the city of Houston.
But Bob McNair thought Houston still had a chance, and he wanted nothing more than to bring a team back to the city.
"He felt when Houston lost the team, it lost a bit of its heart and soul," his youngest son, Cal McNair, the current principal owner, said. "He saw what had happened in Baltimore, and how it affected the business community and the whole community. He didn't want that to happen to Houston and he wanted to restore it."
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Bob McNair sought support from other owners, including Jerry Jones, and their help in using their influence.
Cal McNair said his father and Jones bonded over their business acumen. Both men made their money through business ventures.
Bob McNair founded the cogeneration company Cogen Technologies and later sold it for $1.5 billion. Jones found success and wealth in the oil and gas business.
The two men had vastly different personalities, but they spoke the same language. Jones said McNair was persuasive.
"Bob was smooth," Jones said, enunciating the o's in "smooth" with his Southern drawl. "He was smooth as grease. Very respected, very sharp.
"But make no mistake about it, he was a consummate salesman."
Even after the NFL agreed to make Los Angeles the next expansion city, the lobbying continued. Jones said he often worked the phones, talking to other NFL owners about why Houston should be the next expansion city. He also made the case publicly.
He was among Bob McNair's most vocal allies.
"Jerry is influential in the league, very persuasive," Cal McNair said, "and to have him on your side, especially in those circumstances when others didn't know him, and to have someone who could speak for him, was very powerful."
Jones knew a team in Houston would provide competition for his own franchise and its fan base, especially in Texas. But he welcomed it. He knew the rivalry between Dallas and Houston and saw it as a benefit for the Cowboys and the NFL.
"The more, the better," said Jones, who added that he wished the Cowboys and Texas could play each other every year. "The better for pro football interest, NFL interest and frankly the Dallas Cowboys.
"We have a better forum to live in, as far as the Cowboys are concerned, having a Houston franchise there than when it's not there. And that logic was important to sell."
Securing the bid
Six months after the initial agreement, Los Angeles had yet to meet the conditions.
The tide then began to turn in Houston's favor.
At a meeting in October 1999, Bob McNair, whose plan included funding for a new stadium, negotiated with the league throughout the night.
Eventually, he upped the ante.
He agreed to pay $700 million for the expansion franchise, which at the time would have been a record price.
It was an offer the NFL couldn't refuse.
The league agreed to give Houston and Bob McNair the expansion franchise. Jones can still recall that meeting.
He said that after the NFL announced the decision, Bob McNair pointed to Jones and told him, "Jerry, you're not the only game in town anymore. You may be America's, but you're not going to be Texas' team."
Jones said he smiled and pointed back.
Former Texas governor Rick Perry watches as Jerry Jones and Bob McNair hoist the Governor's Cup before the Houston Texans NFL debut against the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. (CHRISTOBAL PEREZ/STAFF)Since Houston was awarded the franchise, the Cowboys and Texans have played each other seven times. The Cowboys lead the head-to-head series 4-3 in what has been dubbed the in-state Governor's Cup, dating back to the old Oilers-Cowboys rivalry.
They'll play their eighth game Sunday at noon at Reliant Stadium - the same site as the first game in franchise history.
Houston won that game, and Jones later admitted it was one of only two times he ever cried.
He's looking forward to this game, as is Cal McNair, who referred to the Cowboys as "a great opponent."
Jones said the league won when Houston was awarded the franchise, as did the Cowboys and the state of Texas.
"No one that I've met in ownership or any place has had higher character than Bob," Jones said. "We, the NFL, we, Texas, we really caught something great in a bottle when we got Bob McNair.
"We needed a Houston team."
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Inside the story of Jerry Jones' push to help Bob McNair get an NFL franchise in Houston.