I think Troy Aikman would make a good head coach!

[Signals]

I don't think Aikman is looking for any more head aches. Pun intended. :laugh1: :starspin

 

[TwoDeep3]

Usually I agree with your posts, but it was a really bad comparison IMO. I dont think completely healthy LaFluer was anywhere near the player Gonzalez turned out to be. We'll have to leave it at that. Greg Cook might have been the next Unitas, but probably not.

Had he been 100% he might have been close to Gonzales.

Subjective, surely, but the kid could play and is the goat for so many.

 

[KJJ]

LeFleur...............REC..Yards..AVG..TD..Ttl Points

1999 DAL 16 35 322 9.2 7 42

I watch the slander of players that wore the star because of incidents where they failed at times and wonder if the one making the remark really understood what was happening at the time.

LaFleur is a prime example.

I wonder if all those that rail on him understand he had a degenerative back issue that caused him to get a cortisone shot before game just to play. The article I read suggested this was a very long needle and a very painful procedure.

But the other issue that appears to have fallen by the wayside is that LaFleur had more TD catches one season than all non-WRs. Now consider the times and how TEs are much more involved than then, except for Novacek who was a lanky slow WR in the TE position.

LaFleur was not Novacek. He was a big kid who was not lanky.

His career ended because of his back and not his skill. Had he been 100% he might have been close to Gonzales.

Aikman's comment on him be hanged, if I were to pick out a GM for this team that was not named Eliot Wolf for the GM spot, Aikman would be a great candidate.

Too many times people post anecdotal incidents and try and support their prejudice or ignorance with such a small slice of information they miss the big picture.

Those surely aren't Witten numbers, nor Novacek. But neither of those guys from jump had the health issues this kid did. I think it's a shame he is treated like Quincy Carter when he was giving it up for the team and playing through a great deal of pain most here would not.

Barco-lounger GMs usually couldn't find their hindquarters with a map and a tour guide.

KJJ, not suggesting that is what you are doing, but most of the fans here that despised LaFleur, or Fasano have no clue how really good both of those guys were/are.

Regardless of LaFleur's back issues which definitely were an issue he would have never been the player Gonzalez has been. I think that's pretty safe to say. Gonzalez developed into arguably the greatest TE in NFL history and is still playing at a high level 13 years after LaFleur was done. Even when Gonzalez and LaFleur were coming out just about everyone had Gonzalez rated well ahead of him. Gonzalez was figured to be drafted ahead of LaFleur so Troy said he thought LaFluer had more upside. Troy talked up Lafleur mainly because he needed a replacement for Novacek. Even during this years post draft PC Jerry joked about Troy's evaluation of LaFleur over Gonzalez.

The back issues turned Lafleur into a blocker which he did well but that's not why the Cowboys used a #1 pick on him. As for Fasano he was drafted to help block for Bledslow who was nailed to the turf. He was regarded as the best blocking TE in the draft the year he came out. I liked Fasano he made some nice receptions for the Cowboys including a huge 3rd down pickup vs the 9-0 Colts in 06. That play helped lead the Cowboys to a big upset in that game. He became expendable after Romo took over as the starting QB. The Cowboys would have been better off keeping Fasano instead wasting a another #2 on Marty B.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Regardless of LaFleur's back issues which definitely were an issue he would have never been the player Gonzalez has been. I think that's pretty safe to say. Gonzalez developed into arguably the greatest TE in NFL history and is still playing at a high level 13 years after LaFleur was done. Even when Gonzalez and LaFleur were coming out just about everyone had Gonzalez rated well ahead of him. Gonzalez was figured to be drafted ahead of LaFleur so Troy said he thought LaFluer had more upside. Troy talked up Lafleur mainly because he needed a replacement for Novacek. Even during this years post draft PC Jerry joked about Troy's evaluation of LaFleur over Gonzalez.

The back issues turned Lafleur into a blocker which he did well but that's not why the Cowboys used a #1 pick on him. As for Fasano he was drafted to help block for Bledslow who was nailed to the turf. He was regarded as the best blocking TE in the draft the year he came out. I liked Fasano he made some nice receptions for the Cowboys including a huge 3rd down pickup vs the 9-0 Colts in 06. That play helped lead the Cowboys to a big upset in that game. He became expendable after Romo took over as the starting QB. The Cowboys would have been better off keeping Fasano instead wasting a another #2 on Marty B.

In context, Dallas was not in position to take Gonzales.

I agree Gonzales is a great player. But LaFleur was robbed of his career by heath. Just like Aikman was robbed of longevity by the same thing - health.

Aikman is judged by some on the length of his career. LaFleur as well.

But with LaFleur there is no discounting his health, which was an issue from the beginning.

So any subjective opinion - including mine - that suggests he was this or that, or would have been this or that, usually ignores his health and makes a broad brush comment on his skill set with health as a determining factor.

I think he gets a raw deal with fans.

He's an easy dog to kick, and I'm not certain he was as woeful as some attribute.

 

[KJJ]

Another reason Troy wouldn't make a good NFL head coach is because HOF players never become good/great NFL head coaches. Ditka had one great team led by his defense but he wasn't a great head coach. Forrest Gregg had that one good Bengals teams that lost the SB. Bart Starr wasn't a great NFL head coach. Mike Singletary flopped as an NFL head coach.

The best NFL coaches weren't great players it was the cerebral part of the game they excelled at. They could relate better to less talented players and were able to bring the best out of those players causing some to overachieve.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Another reason Troy wouldn't make a good NFL head coach is because HOF players never become good/great NFL head coaches.

No player who was a running back EVER won the seasonal rushing title with most yards and then his team won the Super Bowl.

EVER.

Then Emmitt did it three times.

KJJ, I have long respected your thoughts and position on this team.

But what happened yesterday in this game does not dictate what will happen tomorrow.

Records were made to be broken.

 

[KJJ]

In context, Dallas was not in position to take Gonzales.

I agree Gonzales is a great player. But LaFleur was robbed of his career by heath. Just like Aikman was robbed of longevity by the same thing - health.

Aikman is judged by some on the length of his career. LaFleur as well.

But with LaFleur there is no discounting his health, which was an issue from the beginning.

So any subjective opinion - including mine - that suggests he was this or that, or would have been this or that, usually ignores his health and makes a broad brush comment on his skill set with health as a determining factor.

I think he gets a raw deal with fans.

He's an easy dog to kick, and I'm not certain he was as woeful as some attribute.

That's pretty much what I said they weren't in position to take Gonzalez so Troy pitched hard for LaFleur who was the second best option at TE. Had the Cowboys been in position for Gonzalez Troy might have seen things differently between him and LaFleur. When it comes to being robbed of health I wouldn't be putting Aikman in the same boat as LaFleur's. Aikman had a full career achieving HOF status. Hard to say he was robbed of anything with the great career he had. Some judge Aikman on the lack of big numbers and even had he played another couple of years it wouldn't have improved them much with as bad a team as the Cowboys had the next few years.

The lowdown on LaFleur is even before his back issues he wasn't all that impressive. He seemed to specialize in the 5-8 yard catch. His rookie year he only caught 18 passes for 122 yards. He started 13 games in 98 and only produced 20 catches for 176 yards. He wasn't nearly the athlete Gonzalez is that was noticeable right off the bat. I'm not saying his health didn't play a part because it ended up retiring him after only 4 years but even before the back issues he wasn't doing a whole lot.

 

[KJJ]

No player who was a running back EVER won the seasonal rushing title with most yards and then his team won the Super Bowl.

EVER.

Then Emmitt did it three times.

KJJ, I have long respected your thoughts and position on this team.

But what happened yesterday in this game does not dictate what will happen tomorrow.

Records were made to be broken.

You're not making much sense with that analogy that has no correlation with becoming a good head coach. Mike Singletary was the last HOF player to get a head coaching job back in 08 and flopped. Art Shell was given an opportunity years ago with the Raiders and failed. I'm not saying a HOF player will never make a great head coach but it hasn't happened yet and it certainly wouldn't happen with Troy who's 46 and has never coached at any level.

It takes years of development to be an NFL head coach that's why most who get the opportunity have 15 + years of coaching experience. It took Lombardi years of working his way up the coaching ranks to be ready to be an NFL head coach. Had Troy started off coaching after his retirement maybe by now he would be ready to be a good NFL head coach. It's way too late for Troy now unless he wants to be a high school head coach.

 

[TwoDeep3]

You're not making much sense with that analogy that has no correlation with becoming a good head coach. Mike Singletary was the last HOF player to get a head coaching job back in 08 and flopped. Art Shell was given an opportunity years ago with the Raiders and failed. I'm not saying a HOF player will never make a great head coach but it hasn't happened yet and it certainly wouldn't happen with Troy who's 46 and has never coached at any level.

It takes years of development to be an NFL head coach that's why most who get the opportunity have 15 + years of coaching experience. It took Lombardi years of working his way up the coaching ranks to be ready to be an NFL head coach. Had Troy started off coaching after his retirement maybe by now he would be ready to be a good NFL head coach. It's way too late for Troy now unless he wants to be a high school head coach.

To assume because it has never been done before ignores that there are examples of things in the NFL that were never done before until someone did them.

That was my point.

 

[KJJ]

To assume because it has never been done before ignores that there are examples of things in the NFL that were never done before until someone did them.

That was my point.

I know the point you were trying to make but the point I'm making makes a lot more sense and is pretty valid Troy is 46 with no coaching experience at any level. It's pretty safe to assume that it's too late for him at his age to start getting into coaching at the NFL level. He has zero coaching experience and the game has changed a lot since he was a player. Before Jason Garrett who had only 6 years of coaching experience became the HC of the Cowboys in 2011 Ron Rivera had the least coaching experience of any of the NFL head coaches with 15 years under his belt before landing the Panthers job. A head coaching job in the NFL is one of the hardest jobs to get only 32 are available.

At 46 Troy would have to land a coordinator job and have years of success at that before even being considered a candidate for a head coaching job. If you research all the current NFL head coaches these men spent a number of years working their way up the coaching ladder before a head coaching opportunity came along. Teams have made the mistake of choosing HOF players as their HC simply because they were great players and thought maybe they could bring a winning attitude to the team. All those HOF coaches from Ditka, Starr, Gregg, Shell and Singletary played for great teams that won SB's.

It's obvious why GB chose Bart Starr to be their HC back in the 70's he won 5 championships as a player for them but the guy couldn't coach. Believe me Jerry is the only owner that would take Troy with little to no experience and throw him on the sidelines as a HC. In Jerry's eyes it would be great marketing to have his golden boy that won him 3 SB's leading his team at HC. Jerry would have Troy walking around the sidelines flashing his 3 SB rings trying to inspire the team. :laugh2:

 

[Fredd]

IMO, Troy would never want to be a coach. he has never coached and at his age, why start now?

It's like you go to college and major in education. You land a job as a teacher and teach very successfully for many years. you win awards as a great teacher and are respected by your peers as an educator. then, in your mid 30's, you decide to write for the local newspaper regarding the local schools. a fine job, and you enjoy it. then, at 46, you decide that you want to go back to school to be the superintendent of the school district. but, you are away from it for too long and you are low on the totem pole. you have never done it before either. but now you want a career change to try to be in charge of the school district?

can't see it happening from a "going back to school" perspective, or more importantly, from the perspective of somone wanting to hire you to do it.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I think the whole question is moot as I am pretty sure that Aikman said he would not want to be a coach.

 

[Clove]

Umm, no...

 

[DenCWBY]

I'm not saying bring him here, although I wouldn't be opposed to it down the road, but I have always thought Aikman would make a good head coach. He is very serious about winning and is highly intelligent. He just has the right personality to command respect. I think he could someday take that route since he's so competitive. What do you think? I think if Jim Harbaugh can do it, Aikman can. They both are very confident and demanding.........

I think Aikman is too intelligent to jump into the coaching realm at this point in his career as a to NFL sportscaster. He seems to currently have a pretty good gig with Fox and I'm sure he's well compensated so there's no big $$ to have to go after as an incentive. He's also seen (first hand) the hours, dedication and scrutiny you have to be under as a head coach and from what I understand he's very close with his children so his privacy is somewhat intact.
Most obviously, he would never want to coach the Cowboys under their current "management". He's far too intelligent to fall into that trap.

 

[conner01]

many of these players could have been good coaches had they decided they wanted to coach. but few people start out as a HC. you need to learn from others to be a great coach and that takes time. also why would they want it? they have plenty of money and much easier jobs. being a HC is a very time consuming and difficult job.

 

[KJJ]

No player who was a running back EVER won the seasonal rushing title with most yards and then his team won the Super Bowl.

EVER.

Then Emmitt did it three times.

KJJ, I have long respected your thoughts and position on this team.

But what happened yesterday in this game does not dictate what will happen tomorrow.

Records were made to be broken.

Emmitt had been an RB probably ever since he put on cleats in pop warner. He had been trained as an RB for years which made him one of the best college backs. It was a process with Emmitt that eventually made him a first round draft pick. At the time he accomplished that feat with the Cowboys he was a great back who was playing for a great team behind one of if not the greatest OL's in NFL history. It wasn't a stretch for Emmitt to do what he did. Until Jimmy won a SB in 92 no college head coach had ever made the leap from college to the NFL and accomplished a SB championship.

Jimmy went through a long coaching process that started many years earlier way down the coaching ladder to reach the point he did with the Cowboys. As I keep saying Aikman has never coached at any level and at 46 it's way too late to start now and develop into an NFL head coach. To be an NFL head coach takes a lot of passion, long hours and years of development at different coaching levels. Had Troy started coaching after his retirement at 33 who knows he may have developed into a quality NFL head coach but he didn't have the desire to pursue coaching.

All great NFL head coaches had the desire and passion as young players to be coaches someday. Some started as player/coaches. Coaching has to be in a persons blood it's a grind that consumes a lot of time and energy not many are cutout for it. Troy has a great gig in the booth he's good at it and he clearly enjoys it. Most head coaches end up in the booth where it's a lot more relaxing discussing other peoples head aches and unstable job status. No point leaving a stable job that pays well for an unstable one that could have you back in the booth in 2-3 years.

 

[Red Dragon]

Aikman's legacy has already been cemented as that of a 3-time Super Bowl champion, Hall of Fame quarterback.


For him to come and coach the Cowboys - and potentially experience several subpar, 8-8 or losing seasons as a result - could tarnish his legacy. Wouldn't be worth it.

 

[erod]

Why would he take a severe paycut from a veryeasy, low-pressure job to be an 18-hour-a-day head coach with the world on his shoulders?

 

[Eddie]

I don't know.

How many HOF QB's have transitioned into successful coaches?

None.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Troy, Emmitt and Irvin = none are coaching material.