Lord Sun
05-30-2004, 11:27 AM
Renfro: It’s not the same Cowboys
Sunday, May 30, 2004
STEVE DOERSCHUK
CANTON — Diamonds are fine, as far as they go, which is near the high-magnitude stars if you’re talking about Mel Renfro’s big, fat ring from Super Bowl XXII.
Still, the sparkle in Renfro’s eyes goes further when you get him talking about the day he helped Dallas drub Denver, 27-10.
“I knew it was probably my last game,” Renfro said before an autograph session at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.“My kids were in the stands, having a great time.
“It was the greatest feeling in the world.”
Renfro was a 36-year-old Dallas safety who hadn’t played much because his knees were shot. It seemed like light years since he was a rookie first-round pick, trying to tackle Jim Brown and cover Paul Warfield against division rival Cleveland.
It had been even longer since Renfro and Warfield were two of the nation’s great college track athletes.
“Paul finished second in the long jump at nationals,” Renfro said. “I was third at 26 feet, a quarter inch. He was second at 26 feet, three-quarters inch. The guy who won jumped 26 feet, three-quarters.”
Jump to Jan. 15, 1978. Super Bowl XII was in New Orleans, where Renfro had helped the Cowboys beat the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.
“My knee was swollen,” Renfro said. “I could hardly move before the game. I couldn’t walk up and down steps.
“But our right cornerback went down early. Our backup cornerback didn’t want to play. I wound up playing three quarters.”
The Cowboys had rookie Tony Dorsett at running back and aging Roger Staubach throwing the ball to Drew Pearson. The defense was led by a great line, starring Randy White, Harvey Martin and Ed “Too Tall” Jones. Denver had a young wild man named Lyle Alzado.
Renfro spent most of his Hall of Fame career at free safety, and all of it —14 seasons — in Dallas.
He played in four Super Bowls and eight NFC championship games.
As a native Texan, he felt a powerful connection to the team as it went on without him, making the playoffs in six of the seven years after he retired.
The bond snapped in 1989. Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys, fired Hall of Fame Coach Tom Landry, and replaced him with a Jimmy Johnson-led staff including Butch Davis.
“It was a culture shock,” Renfro said. “Jerry Jones came in and restructured everything.
“All the coaches were gone ... all the administrators ... the groundskeepers.
“When they did what they did to Coach Landry, that just set the city of Dallas, the state of Texas and to some extent the country into anger with Jerry Jones.”
Did Renfro share the indignation?
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “It was past anger.”
The Jones regime won Super Bowls in its fourth, fifth and seventh seasons before fading, eventually posting 5-11 years under Dave Campo in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
The new glory years did not heal all wounds.
“It took Jerry and Jimmy to win a Super Bowl to kind of settle things down,” Renfro said. “But the way Jerry came in is still regurgitated from time to time.
“The sentiment hasn’t changed much in terms of the organization. The owner is still Jerry Jones.
“There’s not much interaction between the former players and Jerry and the new organization.
“I like Bill Parcells. The things I hear him say are much the same things I heard coming out of Coach Landry’s mouth.
“Hopefully, with Parcells there, and with the team improving, Jerry will improve his relationship with the old players.”
Dallas and Cleveland have somewhat parallel situations.
Johnson’s former lieutenant, Davis, is now calling the shots in Cleveland. Davis and Browns owner Randy Lerner have overhauled personnel throughout the Browns’ organization.
It has been a different kind of culture shock in Cleveland, though.
Johnson replaced a legend in Dallas; Davis inherited a flailing expansion team in Cleveland.
Even though Davis coached six years in Dallas, Renfro says he met Davis only once, “on a plane.”
Renfro doesn’t apply his feelings toward Jones to Davis, though.
“From what I’ve heard about Butch,” Renfro said, “he’s just a great individual. He has all the qualities of a successful coach.
“It’s so hard to deal with the players today. It’s just a different world. The motives are different. There are so many egos. The team play isn’t what it used to be.
“Jimmy Johnson did a great job dealing with egos and prima donnas. From what I’ve heard, Butch has those same traits.”
In recent times, with Lerner’s encouragement, Davis has reached out to Browns alumni. Thirty ex-Browns living in Northeast Ohio attended a recent minicamp practice.
Former Browns, notably Jim Brown, say Lerner seems to have a genuine interest in the part of team history that came before him.
Renfro would welcome such a mindset in Dallas.
For now, Renfro feels more welcome around Fawcett Stadium than Texas Stadium.
“When we come back to the Hall of Fame,” he said, “we’re embraced. It’s family.
“I don’t feel that way when I go back to the Cowboys.”
Renfro was part of the Hall of Fame’s Best of Yesterday and Today series. He signed autographs along with Hall of Fame defensive end Leroy Selmon, who played for Tampa Bay, and current Buccaneers defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland.
You can reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail:
steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
Sunday, May 30, 2004
STEVE DOERSCHUK
CANTON — Diamonds are fine, as far as they go, which is near the high-magnitude stars if you’re talking about Mel Renfro’s big, fat ring from Super Bowl XXII.
Still, the sparkle in Renfro’s eyes goes further when you get him talking about the day he helped Dallas drub Denver, 27-10.
“I knew it was probably my last game,” Renfro said before an autograph session at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.“My kids were in the stands, having a great time.
“It was the greatest feeling in the world.”
Renfro was a 36-year-old Dallas safety who hadn’t played much because his knees were shot. It seemed like light years since he was a rookie first-round pick, trying to tackle Jim Brown and cover Paul Warfield against division rival Cleveland.
It had been even longer since Renfro and Warfield were two of the nation’s great college track athletes.
“Paul finished second in the long jump at nationals,” Renfro said. “I was third at 26 feet, a quarter inch. He was second at 26 feet, three-quarters inch. The guy who won jumped 26 feet, three-quarters.”
Jump to Jan. 15, 1978. Super Bowl XII was in New Orleans, where Renfro had helped the Cowboys beat the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.
“My knee was swollen,” Renfro said. “I could hardly move before the game. I couldn’t walk up and down steps.
“But our right cornerback went down early. Our backup cornerback didn’t want to play. I wound up playing three quarters.”
The Cowboys had rookie Tony Dorsett at running back and aging Roger Staubach throwing the ball to Drew Pearson. The defense was led by a great line, starring Randy White, Harvey Martin and Ed “Too Tall” Jones. Denver had a young wild man named Lyle Alzado.
Renfro spent most of his Hall of Fame career at free safety, and all of it —14 seasons — in Dallas.
He played in four Super Bowls and eight NFC championship games.
As a native Texan, he felt a powerful connection to the team as it went on without him, making the playoffs in six of the seven years after he retired.
The bond snapped in 1989. Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys, fired Hall of Fame Coach Tom Landry, and replaced him with a Jimmy Johnson-led staff including Butch Davis.
“It was a culture shock,” Renfro said. “Jerry Jones came in and restructured everything.
“All the coaches were gone ... all the administrators ... the groundskeepers.
“When they did what they did to Coach Landry, that just set the city of Dallas, the state of Texas and to some extent the country into anger with Jerry Jones.”
Did Renfro share the indignation?
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “It was past anger.”
The Jones regime won Super Bowls in its fourth, fifth and seventh seasons before fading, eventually posting 5-11 years under Dave Campo in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
The new glory years did not heal all wounds.
“It took Jerry and Jimmy to win a Super Bowl to kind of settle things down,” Renfro said. “But the way Jerry came in is still regurgitated from time to time.
“The sentiment hasn’t changed much in terms of the organization. The owner is still Jerry Jones.
“There’s not much interaction between the former players and Jerry and the new organization.
“I like Bill Parcells. The things I hear him say are much the same things I heard coming out of Coach Landry’s mouth.
“Hopefully, with Parcells there, and with the team improving, Jerry will improve his relationship with the old players.”
Dallas and Cleveland have somewhat parallel situations.
Johnson’s former lieutenant, Davis, is now calling the shots in Cleveland. Davis and Browns owner Randy Lerner have overhauled personnel throughout the Browns’ organization.
It has been a different kind of culture shock in Cleveland, though.
Johnson replaced a legend in Dallas; Davis inherited a flailing expansion team in Cleveland.
Even though Davis coached six years in Dallas, Renfro says he met Davis only once, “on a plane.”
Renfro doesn’t apply his feelings toward Jones to Davis, though.
“From what I’ve heard about Butch,” Renfro said, “he’s just a great individual. He has all the qualities of a successful coach.
“It’s so hard to deal with the players today. It’s just a different world. The motives are different. There are so many egos. The team play isn’t what it used to be.
“Jimmy Johnson did a great job dealing with egos and prima donnas. From what I’ve heard, Butch has those same traits.”
In recent times, with Lerner’s encouragement, Davis has reached out to Browns alumni. Thirty ex-Browns living in Northeast Ohio attended a recent minicamp practice.
Former Browns, notably Jim Brown, say Lerner seems to have a genuine interest in the part of team history that came before him.
Renfro would welcome such a mindset in Dallas.
For now, Renfro feels more welcome around Fawcett Stadium than Texas Stadium.
“When we come back to the Hall of Fame,” he said, “we’re embraced. It’s family.
“I don’t feel that way when I go back to the Cowboys.”
Renfro was part of the Hall of Fame’s Best of Yesterday and Today series. He signed autographs along with Hall of Fame defensive end Leroy Selmon, who played for Tampa Bay, and current Buccaneers defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland.
You can reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail:
steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com