Barry Switzer: OU football 3-time NCAA champion coach, Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl winner

[Rayman70]

Nah, Chuck was a football coach and History teacher. He's in his late 70s now.. goes on a cruise, once a month. Enjoying life.....we'll deserved. I prefer busting balls on here, hanging with my 90 year old dad, wife, bugging my daughter and messing around on the ranch with my dog, cats and, of course, the cows. That's a great life for me.

Perfect my friend. Don't blame you one but. Or Chuck.

 

[plasticman]

Barry didn't stop the dynasty, the cap did. The clubs that learned how to manage it rose to the top, while others settled to the middle of the pack. We still haven't figured it out.

So how great is a head coach when he's only great so long as he has the best players?

The great Head Coaches can beat you with his team and then use your team to beat his team......or something like that.

The great head coaches give the team a measurable advantage.

Lombardi, Landry, Belichick, Shula....they didn't always have the best players. However, they knew how to take their players and make the best teams.

Switzer had his attributes, I'm not denying that. However, I wouldn't put him in the realm of the great ones when it came to the NFL.

Switzer's advantage in college was his ability to recruit, irrelevant in the NFL.

How could the cap have been such an influence in 1997 when they went 6-10 and Switzer was fired? The very next season their rookie head coach, Chan Gailey took them to 10-6,

In 1997 they still had Aikman, Irvin, and Smith. They had two All-Pros, Larry Allen and Deion Sanders. They had two additional Pro Bowlers, Darren Woodsen and Erik Williams.

Smith ran for over a thousand yards. Irvin was a thousand-yard receiver.

In 1997 a 9-7 record would have given them the wildcard. They lost games they should have won.

They defeated the Steelers, eventual division champion. Their first four losses were by 5 points or less.

The Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997 and their total point differential was -10. their yardage differential was +262 yards.

Coaching made a difference that year and that is why he was fired.

 

[Rayman70]

So how great is a head coach when he's only great so long as he has the best players?

The great Head Coaches can beat you with his team and then use your team to beat his team......or something like that.

The great head coaches give the team a measurable advantage.

Lombardi, Landry, Belichick, Shula....they didn't always have the best players. However, they knew how to take their players and make the best teams.

Switzer had his attributes, I'm not denying that. However, I wouldn't put him in the realm of the great ones when it came to the NFL.

Switzer's advantage in college was his ability to recruit, irrelevant in the NFL.

How could the cap have been such an influence in 1997 when they went 6-10 and Switzer was fired? The very next season their rookie head coach, Chan Gailey took them to 10-6,

In 1997 they still had Aikman, Irvin, and Smith. They had two All-Pros, Larry Allen and Deion Sanders. They had two additional Pro Bowlers, Darren Woodsen and Erik Williams.

Smith ran for over a thousand yards. Irvin was a thousand-yard receiver.

In 1997 a 9-7 record would have given them the wildcard. They lost games they should have won.

They defeated the Steelers, eventual division champion. Their first four losses were by 5 points or less.

The Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997 and their total point differential was -10. their yardage differential was +262 yards.

Coaching made a difference that year and that is why he was fired.

That's any coach. That's the truth. It takes good players, and needs said player to buy in or all the talent in the world won't help the hc win. It's not one or the other. Both things must be true and working like two cogs in the Wheel. Coaching and good players that buy into a strategy. Pretty simple

 

[Vtwin]

The salary cap certainly played a role in the fall but so did Switzer.

If ever a team needed a task master at HC it was the 94 and on Cowboys. Fat and happy after the success. Voices in the locker room that weren't exactly dialed in to hard work and a team mentality. A vocal owner who ate the cheese more than anyone else.

Success can breed complacency and the combo of Switzer and Jones did nothing to get ahead of that. They fostered it.

 

[cowboyec]

tom landry.
2x super bowl winning coach.
5x nfc champ.

 

[rynochop]

If it wasn't 21-0 right after the coin flip in SF he probably woud have had two rings

 

[basel90]

He was not the buffoon some want to make him
Only Jimmy Johnson
Pete Carrol
ALSO won the NCAA title and the SB

Switzer came in a very difficult situation and won a ring despite massive depletion of talent and assistants. Not to mention having to manage players Jerry influenced or picked. He should be given credit. He is a winner everywhere he coached and a great human being. Players love him. He helped and helps many impoverished ex players and is a genuine person. Met him twice.

 

[gimmesix]

Troy wanted Barry to kiss his butt in college, Barry stuck with the bone. Troy got his feelings hurt...worked out for both of them.
Personally, I never liked the Bone, but I ran the hell out of the inverted Bone in short yardage, i even ran it out of the gun. Called it Diamond. Awesome....

I covered a coach who ran it and called it the Diamond T.

 

[gtb1943]

So how great is a head coach when he's only great so long as he has the best players?

The great Head Coaches can beat you with his team and then use your team to beat his team......or something like that.

The great head coaches give the team a measurable advantage.

Lombardi, Landry, Belichick, Shula....they didn't always have the best players. However, they knew how to take their players and make the best teams.

Switzer had his attributes, I'm not denying that. However, I wouldn't put him in the realm of the great ones when it came to the NFL.

Switzer's advantage in college was his ability to recruit, irrelevant in the NFL.

How could the cap have been such an influence in 1997 when they went 6-10 and Switzer was fired? The very next season their rookie head coach, Chan Gailey took them to 10-6,

In 1997 they still had Aikman, Irvin, and Smith. They had two All-Pros, Larry Allen and Deion Sanders. They had two additional Pro Bowlers, Darren Woodsen and Erik Williams.

Smith ran for over a thousand yards. Irvin was a thousand-yard receiver.

In 1997 a 9-7 record would have given them the wildcard. They lost games they should have won.

They defeated the Steelers, eventual division champion. Their first four losses were by 5 points or less.

The Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997 and their total point differential was -10. their yardage differential was +262 yards.

Coaching made a difference that year and that is why he was fired.

it was not as close as you want the numbers to claim

Yes we still had the all pros BUT very little left outside of them
The O line was going downhill fast and the Dline was not far behind

They simply did not have the overall talent to reach the championship

 

[MikeT22]

He was not the buffoon some want to make him
Only Jimmy Johnson
Pete Carrol
ALSO won the NCAA title and the SB

Barry was 1 of 500 who could've won with what he inherited. But I do give him a nod because I don't think Campo or Garrett would've won a SB if they took over that same team.

 

[gimmesix]

Barry didn't stop the dynasty, the cap did. The clubs that learned how to manage it rose to the top, while others settled to the middle of the pack. We still haven't figured it out.

Well, the cap and Jerry Jones/Larry Lacewell. Our drafts after Jimmy left were pretty close to awful. We found Larry Allen, but little else. In a time when the cap was putting the squeeze on owners like Jones, he devalued the draft to our detriment.

I mean, here's our drafts under Switzer (starters in bold):

1994: DE Shante Carver, OL Larry Allen, OL George Hegamin, WR Willie Jackson, LB DeWayne Dotson, DB Darren Studstill, DE Toddrick McIntosh

1995: RB Sherman Williams, TE Kendall Watkins, G Shane Hannah, DB Charlie Williams, TE Eric Bjornson, DB Alundis Bruce, LB Linc Harden, WR Edward Hervey, LB Dana Howard, DE Oscar Sturgis

1996: DE Kavika Pittman, LB Randall Godfrey, C Clay Shiver, WR Stepfret Williams, DT Mike Ulufale, T Kenneth McDaniel, LB Alan Campos, DB Wendell Davis, RB Ryan Wood

1997: TE David LaFleur, LB Dexter Coakley, G Steve Scifres, DB Kenny Wheaton, DT Antonio Anderson, WR Macey Brooks, RB Nicky Sualua, DB Lee Vaughn, DB Omar Stoutmire

And to be honest, the draft Jimmy's last year wasn't that great, either. Our best players were probably LB Darrin Smith and S Brock Marion. We did get a few other contributors, though, like WR Kevin Williams, G Ron Stone and RB Derrick Lassic.

 

[Ranching]

I covered a coach who ran it and called it the Diamond T.

I was a young 7th grade coach when I ran it the first time, I thought I had invented it, until a friend told me, hey I hadn't seen the inverted bone in years. Lol...busted my bubble

 

[gimmesix]

I was a young 7th grade coach when I ran it the first time, I thought I had invented it, until a friend told me, hey I hadn't seen the inverted bone in years. Lol...busted my bubble

Yeah, I actually had thought at first that this coach, Don Campbell, invented it.

https://www.arksportshalloffame.com/post/arkansas-high-school-coaching-icon-don-campbell-dies

 

[KJJ]

Did he die or something?

That’s what I thought.

 

[Plankton]

Well, the cap and Jerry Jones/Larry Lacewell. Our drafts after Jimmy left were pretty close to awful. We found Larry Allen, but little else. In a time when the cap was putting the squeeze on owners like Jones, he devalued the draft to our detriment.

I mean, here's our drafts under Switzer (starters in bold):

1994: DE Shante Carver, OL Larry Allen, OL George Hegamin, WR Willie Jackson, LB DeWayne Dotson, DB Darren Studstill, DE Toddrick McIntosh

1995: RB Sherman Williams, TE Kendall Watkins, G Shane Hannah, DB Charlie Williams, TE Eric Bjornson, DB Alundis Bruce, LB Linc Harden, WR Edward Hervey, LB Dana Howard, DE Oscar Sturgis

1996: DE Kavika Pittman, LB Randall Godfrey, C Clay Shiver, WR Stepfret Williams, DT Mike Ulufale, T Kenneth McDaniel, LB Alan Campos, DB Wendell Davis, RB Ryan Wood

1997: TE David LaFleur, LB Dexter Coakley, G Steve Scifres, DB Kenny Wheaton, DT Antonio Anderson, WR Macey Brooks, RB Nicky Sualua, DB Lee Vaughn, DB Omar Stoutmire

And to be honest, the draft Jimmy's last year wasn't that great, either. Our best players were probably LB Darrin Smith and S Brock Marion. We did get a few other contributors, though, like WR Kevin Williams, G Ron Stone and RB Derrick Lassic.

The 1993 draft was actually a great draft by the Cowboys. Mike Middleton (3rd round S from Indiana) and Derrick Lassic (4th round RB from Alabama) were the only washouts (Lassic was partially due to injury - he tore his quadricep tendon in 1995 training camp). Darrin Smith played 13 years in the NFL, and was a quality LB. Kevin Williams played 8 years in the league, and while never great, was a solid WR and outstanding kick returner. Ron Stone was a Pro Bowl guard and played 12 years. Barry Minter was a good MLB for the Bears for 9 years (traded for John Roper - horrible trade and we know how that one ended). Brock Marion was a good safety for 12 years. Dave Thomas played for 9 years, and was a solid DB for the Jags and Giants. Reggie Givens was in the league for 3 years as a LB, and kicked around on practice squads for a couple of years as an 8th rounder. That's a good draft class, though most didn't do it in Dallas, but that was a stacked roster they were trying to break into, and the expansion draft for the Jaguars and Panthers caused some of those players to leave early.

 

[gtb1943]

between FA and the CAP and terrible drafts, the dynasty was doomed no matter who was coach

 

[gimmesix]

The 1993 draft was actually a great draft by the Cowboys. Mike Middleton (3rd round S from Indiana) and Derrick Lassic (4th round RB from Alabama) were the only washouts (Lassic was partially due to injury - he tore his quadricep tendon in 1995 training camp). Darrin Smith played 13 years in the NFL, and was a quality LB. Kevin Williams played 8 years in the league, and while never great, was a solid WR and outstanding kick returner. Ron Stone was a Pro Bowl guard and played 12 years. Barry Minter was a good MLB for the Bears for 9 years (traded for John Roper - horrible trade and we know how that one ended). Brock Marion was a good safety for 12 years. Dave Thomas played for 9 years, and was a solid DB for the Jags and Giants. Reggie Givens was in the league for 3 years as a LB, and kicked around on practice squads for a couple of years as an 8th rounder. That's a good draft class, though most didn't do it in Dallas, but that was a stacked roster they were trying to break into, and the expansion draft for the Jaguars and Panthers caused some of those players to leave early.

Several contributors, but only two starters for us, and neither was great. I don't consider that a real good draft even if some of the players had good careers elsewhere. All that does is show that Jimmy still had an eye for talent.

I'm talking about impact on this team, and 1993's impact was less than previous drafts. Couple that with the drafts while Switzer was coach and it doesn't make for much roster building.

 

[DZSierra]

He was not the buffoon some want to make him
Only Jimmy Johnson
Pete Carrol
ALSO won the NCAA title and the SB

Swizter was however lucky that he came in right after Johnson left. Bring Switzer in a coach or two later and he'd do nothing. Took Jerry some time to get into his groove.

 

[plasticman]

it was not as close as you want the numbers to claim

Yes we still had the all pros BUT very little left outside of them
The O line was going downhill fast and the Dline was not far behind

They simply did not have the overall talent to reach the championship

.....but went from 6-10, Switzer's last season, to 10-6 under Gailey the following season.

 

[gimmesix]

Swizter was however lucky that he came in right after Johnson left. Bring Switzer in a coach or two later and he'd do nothing. Took Jerry some time to get into his groove.

I'm not sure any coach would have (and the past 30 years have proven that). We were a talent sieve as players were leaving in the new free agency for lucrative deals elsewhere and Jerry was doing a bad job replacing them.

I no longer blame any of our coaches for doing nothing. They had one hand tied behind their back. That doesn't mean I've liked all of the coaching choices. I just put the blame for our failures where I believe it belongs, with the Joneses.

When we only had to make a few "costly" moves, such as signing Ray Donaldson and Deion Sanders, because we still had the depth to overcome losing players like Alvin Harper, Jim Jeffcoat, James Washington and Kenneth Gant, Jerry could do that. He just didn't have the system in place to rebuild the roster around the remaining (but aging) stars as free agency picked it apart.