Video: Aikman on why he left the Cowboys - never hear this before

[Desperado]

I think that may just be his view from his 2024 lens. At the time, he had several concussions and a back injury issue that seemed to keep him from being 100% most of the time. He was also extremely frustrated by the team's inability to build through the draft (part was his fault - hand picked TE who was a bust). I remember him commenting they had not had a rookie break into the starting lineup in 3 years.

 

[DallasInDC]

Nope, it ended when Jimmy left.

To be fair Jimmy left/was pushed out before he had to deal with the real effects of the new salary cap era...not sure how that would have played out. The. Cowboys were at a crossroads with so many pro bowl talented players coming due with new FA contacts.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

In the end, he discovered he wasn't impressed with coach Jerry....................and his clown show.

 

[john van brocklin]

It wasn't the non-PI call that killed us.
It was the Personal Foul 15 yards that Bozo the Coach tacked onto it.

That's how I remember it as well.

 

[tunahelper]

All that leadership and winning went away once the salary cap couldn’t keep him surrounded by hall of famers on both sides of the ball

Did you watch the leadership in all those playoff games and Superbowls? Did you see that QB stand in and take big shots that would buckle most QB's today and still deliver a perfect pass on 3rd and long?

Aikman earned his way and helped all those great players around him just as much as they helped him.

 

[Flamma]

Nah I’m calling Troy a puss for that. It’s all good when we’re flying high winning rings and he’s surrounded by the best team money could buy. Then he wants to dip out because he “didn’t see a way forward”. Clown business

People do it all the time. Your job starting to suck? Transfer or retire if you can. He went through the suffering in '89 and '90.

There's no more loyalty in sports than any other place of business. Players do what's best for themselves, and owners do what's best for the team.

 

[Cmac]

Troy simply didn't like some of the BS and lackadaisical way things were playing out.......and he was right. He didn't like poor effort, bad execution and too much giggling on the sidelines. He got in people's faces about poor play, poor practice efforts, and undisciplined play that we've seen in the years after.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Actually this is not new. I heard Aikman say something similar to this a long time ago when asked about why he left. The Cowboys were a mess and being on the inside, he knew things would not get better in enough time for him to have success there again.

Remember, Aikman had multiple injuries (concussion, bad back, etc.) that was affecting his play. He might have had moderate success on a team that was not in a rebuild like Dallas was; but he was clearly in decline by 2000.

Also he had offers to play for the Dolphins (I think Norv Turner was there in some capacity) and a year or two later the Eagles. Aikman said somewhere he never seriously considered the possibility of playing for Philadelphia, so exhale.

 

[eromeopolk]

He basically said what every Dallas Cowboys fan pre-1994 said.

Jerry Dumbo GM Jones. I told everyone that Troy confronted Jerry before a telecast when Jerry lied and said the Cowboys 5-11 trifecta was because Troy retired. Troy ripped into him that Jerry Dumbo GM ways (firing Jimmy, not drafting Moss, etc.) was the reason he left and the reason for Jerry's 3-peat.

Troy left this mess just like I did but remained a True Dallas Cowboy not an Arlington Jonesboy.

 

[TNCowboy]

I won't post it because the language is atrocious so it violates the rules, but there's a clip of Aikman in a 2000 game going nuts on the sideline, first at his OL, then at OC Jack Reilly, asking why he had to do the coaches job for them. Aikman required discipline, not just in his game, but his teammates. He had that order and structure under Jimmy, and he could not stand that Jerry brought in Barry Switzer and Deion Sanders and knew that any hope of discipline was gone.

"Once Jimmy left, we were just hanging on."

Thanks Jerry.

 

[KJJ]

It’s already been posted. He’s making it sound like it was his decision to leave but all the reports said he was released because he couldn’t stay healthy and the Cowboys would have owed him around $20M had he been on the roster by a certain date. He wasn’t going to walk away from $20M. Years ago he claimed he retired because of his back.

 

[Mark]

I respect the fact that Troy spoke out against what eventually became an undisciplined clown-show after Jimmy's departure. And appreciate his frustration.

One of the finest football organizations ever assembled got lazy, and fell apart more rapidly than anyone anticipated.

It can happen to anybody, or anything. And right quick. It's the nature of things.

 

[BoysForLife]

I respect the fact that Troy spoke out against what eventually became an undisciplined clown-show after Jimmy's departure. And appreciate his frustration.

One of the finest football organizations ever assembled got lazy, and fell apart more rapidly than anyone anticipated.

It can happen to anybody, or anything. And right quick. It's the nature of things.

Sometimes staying on top is more difficult than getting there. Success can sometimes result in a lapse in discipline and commitment.

 

[visionary]

All that leadership and winning went away once the salary cap couldn’t keep him surrounded by hall of famers on both sides of the ball

LOL, what a PATHETIC and loser post for the man who won this franchise 3 SBs

 

[visionary]

I respect the fact that Troy spoke out against what eventually became an undisciplined clown-show after Jimmy's departure. And appreciate his frustration.

One of the finest football organizations ever assembled got lazy, and fell apart more rapidly than anyone anticipated.

It can happen to anybody, or anything. And right quick. It's the nature of things.

This just solidifies that Jerry not only ran away Jimmy but also Troy

For my money the worst owner in sports from a fan perspective

 

[lostar2009]

What A Puss move. Throw the whole organization under the Bus. Troy never was one of My faves but this definitely, Knocks him off my list a favorite Cowboys.

Where's the loyalty ? Where's having your brother's (His words Not mine) Back ? Self serving hypocrite.

Way to go out like a Sucker !!!!!!!

Chill, the team was going in a hole and he saw it ahead of time. The hits on Troy Aikman, missing out on Randy Moss, the Joey Galloway trade took a toll on this team.

 

[Cowboyfanforlife]

It wasn't the non-PI call that killed us.
It was the Personal Foul 15 yards that Bozo the Coach tacked onto it.

Thats absolutely correct!!!!!! They were still already in field goal range and that pass was on a second down, so they would have probably would have at least got a field goal out of it to make it 38-31 instead of 38-28 with about 6 mins left in the game, and because of that freakin bozo....what could have been.....

 

[Cowboyfanforlife]

To be fair Jimmy left/was pushed out before he had to deal with the real effects of the new salary cap era...not sure how that would have played out. The. Cowboys were at a crossroads with so many pro bowl talented players coming due with new FA contacts.

to be even more fair, Jimmy would have retooled that defense by drafting players like.....jason taylor, zach thomas, patrick surtan.....who played for him in miami.....imagine that defense to go along with the triplets......more chips would have been coming for sure!!!!!!

 

[Jstopper]

LOL, what a PATHETIC and loser post for the man who won this franchise 3 SBs

All you old heads let nostalgia glasses taint your memories. Dude had one of the greatest teams ever assembled HOFers and all pros everywhere, but sure let’s act like he carried a subpar team to 3 championships. Whooo aikman

 

[NickZepp]

The talent level from about 2000-2005 or so was just so bad. Particularly on offense. Aikman was right when looking at the offense. The offensive lines we had those years were a disaster.