Tom Landry: Ring of Honor

[Hostile]

Tom Landry
"The Man in the Hat"
1960 -1988
Head Coach, Texas

Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 11/7/93
Inducted in Pro Football Hall of Fame 8/4/90

Link to Tom Landry's Ring of Honor page.

Tom Landry paced the sidelines as the "only head coach" in Dallas Cowboys history for 29 years in his trademark fedora. By the time Landry's coaching career ended following the 1988 season, he had compiled a 270-178-6 record, the third most wins in NFL history.

That distinguished career was good enough for Landry to gain entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1993, thanks to leading the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl appearances, five NFC Championships, 13 division titles and an incredible 20 consecutive winning seasons.

"This team has always played for me," Landry once said. "That was the key to why I continued coaching. If they wouldn't play for me, I would have been out a long time ago. They always played hard and tried hard."

Landry's head coaching career did not start out very smoothly, coming over from the New York Giants staff to take over the expansion Cowboys in 1960. That first year ended with an 0-11-1 in 1960, the tie coming against Landry's former team the Giants, preventing the Cowboys from going winless. The Cowboys went on to suffer through losing seasons in the first five years, before going 7-7 in 1965.

But from that point on, Landry turned the franchise into "America's Team," the Cowboys reeling off 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966-85, one of the longest winning streaks in all of professional sports.

As a player-coach with the Giants before coming to the Cowboys, Landry helped to develop what would eventually become a base defense in the NFL, the 4-3. It was innovations like this that caught the attention of Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. and president Tex Schramm when it came time to select the franchise's first head coach.

As head coach of the Cowboys, Landry introduced more innovations to the game, including offensive motion. Very seldom did the Cowboys run a play from the formation they initially lined up in after breaking the huddle. Landry brought back the shotgun formation, popularized situational substitutions and concocted the "Flex" defense.

Walking the sidelines characteristically stoic, Landry was always thinking a couple of plays ahead and what the long-term effects of each play he called might be. He coached football as if it were a chess match, positioning his team in the best way to win in the end. And in the end, no one coached with more success for a longer period of time than Landry.

That success was the impetus for Landry's induction into Pro Football Hall of Fame less than two years after he coached his last game.

"I think it's always good to have recognition for success," Landry said at the time. "That's what athletics is all about: achieving. Winning seasons. Super Bowls. Individual honors. It makes the kids look up and think of a time they might be up there."

The legendary coach, born Sept. 11 1924 in Mission, Texas, died Feb. 12, 2000 of leukemia.

[THUMPER]

I rank Tom Landry as the 2nd greatest HC of all-time behind only Paul Brown.

Here's what I wrote about him in my rankings:

2. Tom Landry - 20 consecutive winning seasons between 1966-1985, and 18 playoff appearances speak volumes about Landry's abilities as a coach but it is really his great understanding of the game that sets him apart. Like Brown, Landry was an innovator who examined how teams played and devised schemes to defeat them. His genius was recognized while still a player for the Giants in the early 50s. He was a DB/DC for a couple of years and made the Giants defense into one of the best in the league. After he retired from playing he became their fulltime DC and changed the way teams played defense. He instituted the "4-3" defense with its "Middle" LB who would flow to the ball rather than the standard 5-2 with 5 down linemen and 2 LBs. When he became the Cowboys HC he had free reign to unleash his creative juices and his "Flex" defense was unlike any other ever used. Amazingly he showed just as much innovation on offense with his "Multiple Set" and [View Full Quote]complex plays designed to confuse the defense and keep them off balance. The only thing he really lacked as a HC was the motivational skills of a Paul Brown but his incredible knowledge of the game puts him 2nd on my list of all-time head coaches.

Add to that his great character, faith, and integrity and he was the all-time #1 best person the NFL has ever seen.

[dalboy]

Best coach ever nobody is better tahn Landry:helmet: :helmet2:

[WV Cowboy]

I have nothing but total respect and admiration for him as a father, a husband, a coach and as a fellow brother in .

He was an amazing person.

He lived an exceptional life, and was an exceptional witness.

I was fortunate enough to shake his hand on two occasions.

Once after we lost to the Steelers in Pittsburgh during Landry's last season, .. and once after a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet where he was the guest speaker, that was held at WVU in Morgantown.

[Post_70_Cut_Right_90]

Landry served as a B-24 pilot taking part in 30 missions over Germany during WWII (1939-45). As Cliff Harris stated, "he served in something bigger than himself" an episode that marked him for life with the Greatest Generation: serving something OTHER than himself.

Love Thumper's signature about the current owner of the Cowboys.

I will never foot in the stadium built by Jones. I'll stand outside and admire the stature of Landry, but I'll never step into it.

[NickZepp]