Twenty-one years ago today, Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys and fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired the always arrogant Jimmy Johnson to replace him.
Cowboys President and General Manager Tex Schramm cried.
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had this to say about Landry: “There are relatively few coaches whose careers compare with Tom. No question he's a Hall of Famer in my opinion. He's not only been an outstanding coach but a tremendous role model for kids and our fans. He has contributed a tremendous amount to the league."
Former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach said that, “Tom Landry is the finest coach to ever coach in professional football.”
I have to agree with Roger. The Cowboys were considered America’s Team because of Tom Landry. They had the coolest uniforms and the coolest game plans of any team in the league. They had the unbreakable (4-3 Flex) Doomsday Defense. Landry invented the bouncing set of the offensive line to confuse opposing defenses. It was beautiful to watch the perfect synchronization of the offensive line as they moved up to the line of scrimmage, got down in their three-point stance, raised into a two-point stance to conceal the shifting backfield formation, then fluidly moved back down into their three-point stance as the quarterback began to call the signals.
Landry’s final season wasn’t spectacular, but that had more to do with owner Bum Bright than any shortcomings on Landry’s part. Bum was an accurate description of Mr. Bright, but it turns out “Bright” wasn’t an apt description at all. When Bum Bright’s banking empire began to collapse, he had no choice but to sell the franchise that he almost single-handedly destroyed.
When Bright’s fortunes dimmed, in stepped Jerry Jones and his college bunk buddy Jimmy Johnson. Johnson had big predictions on the improvements he was going to make in his first season in Dallas. He won one game. After four years together in Dallas, Jones and Johnson agreed that between them they had two egos too many and agreed to part company. Jones claimed he could get any number of people to coach the Cowboys instead of Johnson.
Tom Landry coached the Cowboys for 28 years. So far, in the 21 years since Jones fired Landry, Jones has hired six different head coaches. Everyone is waiting for the day when Jerry Jones finally decides to hire himself for the head coach job.
After his brief stint in Dallas, Jimmy Johnson, went on to replace another legendary coach, Don Shula, with the Miami Dolphins. Johnson’s coaching career with the Dolphins was relatively short and dismal. His winning percentage was substantially inferior to Shula’s and Jimmy’s final game was a 62-7 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Apparently, Johnson’s short and dismal career in Miami was a precursor of things to come as he now endorses a male enhancement product on television.
Cowboys President and General Manager Tex Schramm cried.
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had this to say about Landry: “There are relatively few coaches whose careers compare with Tom. No question he's a Hall of Famer in my opinion. He's not only been an outstanding coach but a tremendous role model for kids and our fans. He has contributed a tremendous amount to the league."
Former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach said that, “Tom Landry is the finest coach to ever coach in professional football.”
I have to agree with Roger. The Cowboys were considered America’s Team because of Tom Landry. They had the coolest uniforms and the coolest game plans of any team in the league. They had the unbreakable (4-3 Flex) Doomsday Defense. Landry invented the bouncing set of the offensive line to confuse opposing defenses. It was beautiful to watch the perfect synchronization of the offensive line as they moved up to the line of scrimmage, got down in their three-point stance, raised into a two-point stance to conceal the shifting backfield formation, then fluidly moved back down into their three-point stance as the quarterback began to call the signals.
Landry’s final season wasn’t spectacular, but that had more to do with owner Bum Bright than any shortcomings on Landry’s part. Bum was an accurate description of Mr. Bright, but it turns out “Bright” wasn’t an apt description at all. When Bum Bright’s banking empire began to collapse, he had no choice but to sell the franchise that he almost single-handedly destroyed.
When Bright’s fortunes dimmed, in stepped Jerry Jones and his college bunk buddy Jimmy Johnson. Johnson had big predictions on the improvements he was going to make in his first season in Dallas. He won one game. After four years together in Dallas, Jones and Johnson agreed that between them they had two egos too many and agreed to part company. Jones claimed he could get any number of people to coach the Cowboys instead of Johnson.
Tom Landry coached the Cowboys for 28 years. So far, in the 21 years since Jones fired Landry, Jones has hired six different head coaches. Everyone is waiting for the day when Jerry Jones finally decides to hire himself for the head coach job.
After his brief stint in Dallas, Jimmy Johnson, went on to replace another legendary coach, Don Shula, with the Miami Dolphins. Johnson’s coaching career with the Dolphins was relatively short and dismal. His winning percentage was substantially inferior to Shula’s and Jimmy’s final game was a 62-7 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Apparently, Johnson’s short and dismal career in Miami was a precursor of things to come as he now endorses a male enhancement product on television.
As for Landry, he never coached again, but he will always be remembered as one of the greatest innovators in professional football. He holds the record for most consecutive winning seasons at 20, and has more playoff victories than any other NFL coach. But beyond the coaching records, Tom Landry was in a class by himself.
