Controversial Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, once named the least favorite personality, was rewarded for his team’s long-awaited return to the playoffs this season by being named NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.

The PFWA also named Arizona’s Bruce Arians as Coach of the Year and his former defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, as Assistant Coach of the Year. This week, Bowles was named head coach of the New York Jets.

Jones, the Cowboys’ hands-on owner, is most recently known for sticking with head coach Jason Garret through three consecutive 8-8 season. Jones was rewarded for his loyalty — to a point — when the team won the NFC East title with a 12-4 record.

The Cowboys then beat the Detroit Lions 24-20 in the first playoff game, with the help of a controversial no-call on a possible pass interference play. Then it was as if karma caught up to Dallas in the second round when another controversial call — a catch by wide receiver Dez Bryant near or in the end zone — went against the Cowboys and allowed the Green Bay Packers to win 26-20.

Jones is alternately celebrated and reviled for his bombastic style, which has cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines from the National Football League and a created a divided love-hate relationship with Cowboys fans.

However, there is little debate that Jones has shown how to address business, raising the bar for all NFL owners with his go-big-or-go-home approach, perhaps best demonstrated by the Cowboys’ huge stadium, most recently the site of college football’s first playoff championship game.

Arians took over the Cardinals in 2013 after being named coach of the year by multiple media outlets when he led the Indianapolis Colts to a 9-3 record in 2012 while filling in for head coach Chuck Pagano while he was recovering from leukemia. Arians is himself a survivor of prostate cancer.

After a 10-6 record in 2013, the Cardinals were projected in most preseason polls to finish no higher than third. But Arizona finished 11-5, one game behind Seattle, despite injuries that forced the team to finish the season with its third starting quarterback — and numerous other injuries on defense.

The 11 wins tied a Cardinals franchise record for most in a season. The Cardinals were eliminated by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the NFL 2015 playoffs, 27-16.

Arians became the first Cardinals head coach to receive the PFWA’s Coach of the Year award since Don Coryell in 1974.

Bowles, whose maimed Arizona defense was still one of the best in the league, was introduced Wednesday as the new Jets head coach. After stints with the Miami Dolphins — where he served as interim head coach in 2011 — and Philadelphia Eagles, Bowles signed with Arizona last January.

Bowles is the first Cardinals assistant to receive the PFWA’s Assistant Coach of the Year award.

ABOUT THE PFWA: The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers and is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams on a daily basis.