31 years ago today 2/25/1989

[KJJ]

can't lie.
still hurts.
COACH LANDRY

I’ve been following the Cowboys since the 72 season and although I had a lot of respect for Landry I was glad to see him go. Wasn’t thrilled with the way he went out but the Cowboys needed a change. The game had clearly passed him by, he was stuck in the past. By 88 the team had hit rock bottom and you could see it coming. I had reached the end of my rope with Landry in 1985 after the 44-0 debacle at home to the Bears. I read somewhere where Bum Bright wanted to fire him after that game but Tex Shramm talked him out of it. Clearly one of the all-time great coaches but hung around a little too long.

 

[GenoT]

For those who criticize Jerry for firing Landry:


1. He had no choice. The Cowboys had gone 3-13 and the game had clearly passed Landry by. It was time for Tom to go. Yes, Jerry should have done it more tactfully, but time was time. It's not like Jerry could allow Landry to go on coaching til the ripe old age of ninety.

2. A poll showed that 61% of respondents in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, at the time, wanted Landry fired too. So Jerry was simply acting in accordance with fan majority opinion.

3. Only Jimmy Johnson would have pulled off the Herschel trade and done the many other things that gave us a 1990s dynasty. If Landry stayed on instead of JJ becoming coach, there would have been no 1990s dynasty. We might still be stuck at just two Super Bowl rings all the way to this present day.

I didn’t object to the firing; 29yrs coaching one team was a great run, and the game was obviously passing Landry by at that point.

However, BECAUSE Tom Landry built the Dallas Cowboys from a laughingstock expansion team into a 2x SB champ and perennial contender, he deserved better than a phone call.

Jerry Jones TOTALLY dropped the ball with how Coach Landry was terminated, and he has admitted as much.

 

[KJJ]

Interesting interview with Landry at Texas stadium after he was inducted into the Cowboys ROH in November, 1993.

 

[silvernblu]

Walking out with a bullet proof vest after receiving a death threat on Monday night football. Against the advice of authorities.

bad ***!

 

[KJJ]

Jerry has a habit of getting rid of Super Bowl winning coaches - Landry, Jimmy, Switzer, Parcells.

The second one is the biggest mistake Jerry ever made. He’s never recovered from it.

It’s just a matter of time before McCarthy joins the list.

All due respect to Landry but getting rid of him wasn’t a mistake. As for Jimmy he wanted out. Barry Switzer only became a Super Bowl winning coach because he inherited a back to back SB winning team. Jerry wanted Bill Parcells back but he didn’t want to coach anymore.

 

[KJJ]

For those who criticize Jerry for firing Landry:

Jerry got criticized at the time by those who were in denial that the game had passed Landry by and it was finally time for a change. He garnered a lot of criticism for the way the firing went down. Jerry and Jimmy were spotted together in Dallas. It was hard to keep it a secret with the media buzzing around like bees. There’s really no good way to fire someone, especially the only HC the Cowboys had ever had. Even those fans who agreed that it was time for a change didn’t like the way the firing went down. I find it strange that some still criticize Jerry for the firing despite the fact the Cowboys went on to build a dynasty winning 3 Super Bowls.

 

[KJJ]

 

[cowboyec]

I’ve been following the Cowboys since the 72 season and although I had a lot of respect for Landry I was glad to see him go. Wasn’t thrilled with the way he went out but the Cowboys needed a change. The game had clearly passed him by, he was stuck in the past. By 88 the team had hit rock bottom and you could see it coming. I had reached the end of my rope with Landry in 1985 after the 44-0 debacle at home to the Bears. I read somewhere where Bum Bright wanted to fire him after that game but Tex Shramm talked him out of it. Clearly one of the all-time great coaches but hung around a little too long.

disagree that the game had passed him by.
his last 3 teams were competitive and they were always prepared.
what hurt was the draft...the quality of depth behind the aging stars wasnt there like it had been.
and those that did show promise seemed like they couldnt stay healthy.
Danny getting hurt and turning things over to Pelluer didnt help things either.
but I never bought the idea the game passed him by...didnt then...dont now.
it was players.

 

[KJJ]

disagree that the game had passed him by.
his last 3 teams were competitive and they were always prepared.

Landry’s last three teams were 7-9, 7-8 (strike season) and 3-13. You call that competitive and well prepared? The game clearly had passed him by you could see that by 1981. His flex defense got gashed in the final minute of the 81 NFC title game. He was so married to that defense he couldn’t let it go. His own staff was trying to get him to move on from it and even some of the players. The bad drafts that started around 1979 caught up with the team. The DL had aged and was getting manhandled. Initially Landry didn’t even want to use the first overall pick on Troy Aikman. He liked Steve Pelluer. In an interview with Landry in 89 prior to his firing he talked about Pelluer’s mobility and how he liked his potential. Landry wanted to trade the number one overall pick for veteran players on the DL.

He believed it took 5 years to develop a QB and he needed to win now. Everyone in the organization wanted Aikman and Landry finally became sold on him, probably in an attempt to save his job. Landry was an old school coach from the 1950s and 60s. He was losing games to his assistant coaches Ditka and Reeves who were in tune with the modern game. What was working in the 60s and 70s for the Cowboys stopped working by the 1980s. The game was changing and Landry wasn’t. Hard teaching an old dog new tricks. At some point the game passes every great coach by, especially one who had been coaching for 3 decades.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

For those who criticize Jerry for firing Landry:


1. He had no choice. The Cowboys had gone 3-13 and the game had clearly passed Landry by. It was time for Tom to go. Yes, Jerry should have done it more tactfully, but time was time. It's not like Jerry could allow Landry to go on coaching til the ripe old age of ninety.

2. A poll showed that 61% of respondents in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, at the time, wanted Landry fired too. So Jerry was simply acting in accordance with fan majority opinion.

3. Only Jimmy Johnson would have pulled off the Herschel trade and done the many other things that gave us a 1990s dynasty. If Landry stayed on instead of JJ becoming coach, there would have been no 1990s dynasty. We might still be stuck at just two Super Bowl rings all the way to this present day.

Fans are fickle. You let Landry draft Aikman, which was the plan, and see how those numbers would have flipped.


JMO

 

[Doomsday101]

Fans are fickle. You let Landry draft Aikman, which was the plan, and see how those numbers would have flipped.


JMO

Maybe so, always hard to know what would have happened. Does the Walker Trade happen if Landry was there? It is not a knock on Tom but really have no clue as to what he may have done or not. Based on his past I don't think Tom would have played Aikman his rookie year and let him get beat up as bad as he did?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Maybe so, always hard to know what would have happened. Does the Walker Trade happen if Landry was there? It is not a knock on Tom but really have no clue as to what he may have done or not. Based on his past I don't think Tom would have played Aikman his rookie year and let him get beat up as bad as he did?

I don't know that it has to. I mean, the players in Dallas when Landry was fired, fit his system. They didn't fit what Johnson wanted to do. So maybe you don't have to do a whole sale talent change.

 

[cowboyec]

Landry’s last three teams were 7-9, 7-8 (strike season) and 3-13. You call that competitive and well prepared? The game clearly had passed him by you could see that by 1981. His flex defense got gashed in the final minute of the 81 NFC title game. He was so married to that defense he couldn’t let it go. His own staff was trying to get him to move on from it and even some of the players. The bad drafts that started around 1979 caught up with the team. The DL had aged and was getting manhandled. Initially Landry didn’t even want to use the first overall pick on Troy Aikman. He liked Steve Pelluer. In an interview with Landry in 89 prior to his firing he talked about Pelluer’s mobility and how he liked his potential. Landry wanted to trade the number one overall pick for veteran players on the DL.

He believed it took 5 years to develop a QB and he needed to win now. Everyone in the organization wanted Aikman and Landry finally became sold on him, probably in an attempt to save his job. Landry was an old school coach from the 1950s and 60s. He was losing games to his assistant coaches Ditka and Reeves who were in tune with the modern game. What was working in the 60s and 70s for the Cowboys stopped working by the 1980s. The game was changing and Landry wasn’t. Hard teaching an old dog new tricks. At some point the game passes every great coach by, especially one who had been coaching for 3 decades.

he was sold on Aikman after attending his practices at the cotton bowl.
he said "i've seen enough...thats my QB".
yes his teams were competitive.
that 3-13 team blew leads in the 4th quarter.
they had plenty of heart but didnt know as Landry said...how to play with a lead and finish.
he wrote in his book that he knew the changes he needed to make on defense.
never got that chance.
did he stay too long...sure.
but i dont believe the game had passed him by.
it was a talent problem....not an x's and o's problem.

 

[cowboyec]

Fans are fickle. You let Landry draft Aikman, which was the plan, and see how those numbers would have flipped.


JMO

woulda been interesting to watch Landry's triplets...Aikman-Irvin-Walker.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

woulda been interesting to watch Landry's triplets...Aikman-Irvin-Walker.

Yeah.

 

[KJJ]

he was sold on Aikman after attending his practices at the cotton bowl.
he said "i've seen enough...thats my QB".
yes his teams were competitive.
that 3-13 team blew leads in the 4th quarter.
they had plenty of heart but didnt know as Landry said...how to play with a lead and finish.
he wrote in his book that he knew the changes he needed to make on defense.
never got that chance.
did he stay too long...sure.
but i dont believe the game had passed him by.
it was a talent problem....not an x's and o's problem.

The Cotton Bowl practice may have sold him on Aikman but he also felt pressured to have to draft him to satisfy the fan base and the new ownership. If you consider Landry’s last three seasons as competitive that’s your opinion. As for the talent, Landry had final say on all the players that were drafted. The game was passing him and Gil Brandt by. Other teams had caught up to what the Cowboys were doing. The formula for success during the 70s wasn’t working anymore. You have to adjust and Landry couldn’t because he became stuck in his ways. He continued to believe in his philosophy until the day he was fired. Not interested in discussing this any further I’ve given my opinion and we differ.

 

[cowboyec]

The Cotton Bowl practice may have sold him on Aikman but he also felt pressured to have to draft him to satisfy the fan base and the new ownership. If you consider Landry’s last three seasons as competitive that’s your opinion. As for the talent, Landry had final say on all the players that were drafted. The game was passing him and Gil Brandt by. Other teams had caught up to what the Cowboys were doing. The formula for success during the 70s wasn’t working anymore. You have to adjust and Landry couldn’t because he became stuck in his ways. He continued to believe in his philosophy until the day he was fired. Not interested in discussing this any further I’ve given my opinion and we differ.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

I was 23. Very sad day. Landry was one of the main reasons I became a Cowboy fan and nobody knew at the time if Jimmy could turn the Cowboys around. Was teased a lot during that time for being a Cowboy fan.

 

[cowboyec]

I was 23. Very sad day. Landry was one of the main reasons I became a Cowboy fan and nobody knew at the time if Jimmy could turn the Cowboys around. Was teased a lot during that time for being a Cowboy fan.

me too.
had heated arguments with folks.

 

[GORICO]

On this day 31 years ago the great Tom Landry was fired.

I was 9 years old in 1989 so I missed the Landry golden years but for those of you who witnessed it all consider yourself fortunate.

it was my first week in rehab after getting paralyzed in car wreck...but i still remember going through all of that i shed a tear when Landry was fired