Actually there's a little more I remember about Deion. In 95 someone alleged that Aikman was a racist cause he throw more to white WRs then to the black WRs. Also at the same time there were allegations that Aikman was gay. In Skip Bayliss's book about the Cowboys published sometime in 95(?) I believe both allegations were mentioned by him. In fact it entirely possible Bayliss book was where the first allegation that Aikman was gay might have surfaced. Anyway, Aikman was furious & confronted Deion claiming/believing he was the instigator of the whole lie re Aikman being a racist. While Deion allegedly denied he ever said any such thing, Aikman didn't believe him. It's entirely possible that Aikman's belief was based on the division he might have seen along racial lines that was going on in the lockerroom and which Aikman probably rightly believed Deion was behind. As for the gay allegation, it was believed that one of the Cowboys coaching staff was part of a campaign by Switzer, or done on Switzer's behalf, to hurt/destroy Aikman because Switzer believed Aikman had the power to get him fired & was out to do so. And what better way to do so then to destroy Aikman's manhood in the eyes of his teammates and the public. The Cowboy coach who allegedly responsible for the gay allegation against Aikman then accepted a head coaching job at Oklahoma arranged by either Jerry Jones or Switzer. It entirely possible Jerry actually fired the coach or forced his removal on Switzer. What does seem possible is there certainly was a growing tension between Aikman & Deion which went on for years. Sometime in 97/98 Deion was behind a effort to put the blame for the Cowboys demise on Aikman's shoulders & sounded his views in the Cowboy lockerroom. Don't recall if this was done behind Aikman's back or what. I do remember hearding that Irvin eventually had enough of it & at some point called Deion out.
I also believe I read/heard that the Cowboy players totally supported Aikman that he wasn't a racist & that issue really didn't divide the lockerroom to the extent some thought it might. Heck, Aikman's favorite WRs were Novacek & Michael Irvin & Kevin Martin; Novacek was the only white WR. Does that mean that Tony Romo is a racist cause his favorite WRs are Witten & TO? Of course not. Anyway, at some point it became clear that the Cowboys weren't interested in bringing Deion back & he eventually signed a contract with the Commanders. Frankly, I've never liked Deion cause I've always thought he was such a snake in the grass. Have always believed he was very jealous about the role that Aikman, Irvin & Smith held within the Cowboy organization and their popularity with the public. Deion desperately wanted to be the main man; he was able to cultivate Irvin & Smith to a certain extent but his lack of discipline & devotation to the work ethic Aikman thought necessary if the Cowboys were to continue to win (and Aikman's continued belief Deion was behind whole racist allegation) ensured Deion was never be the big man on campus he wanted to be.
BTW: Deion helped us win our 3rd Lombardi simply cause he wasn't playing for the 49ers & thus couldn't help them to beat us in the championship game so we were able to win the SB in 95. But I also believe Switzer's hiring & his lack of discipline on the team started the Cowboys descent helped by Deion's personal ambitions at the expense of the Cowboy team itself. Lastly, like I said I don't remember the name of the coach who might have been the source of Bayliss book on Switzer's behalf but he did become (I believe) the first black head coach at Oklahoma.
FYI: For those who don't know, Aikman already had an unpleasant history with Switzer while he was a student & playing at Oklahoma. Switzer recruited Aikman to play QB & lead him to believe he was changing to a passing offense which suited Aikman's talents. When Aikman got to the school, he found out Switzer intended to continue the old running game Oklahoma had used for years vs what he told Aikman. Aikman transferred out after he got hurt after one year at Oklahoma to UCLA; Switzer greased the wheels with the UCLA head coach so Aikman could make that transfer. But there were also a lot of allegations that Oklahoma players were involved in lot of unsavory things including selling tickets, etc. Aikman was never involved in any of those activities but was called back from UCLA to testify. Aikman wasn't happy to be in any way involved in the unsavory aspects of what was happening at Oklahoma. I doubt Jerry ever consulted Aikman whether to hire Switzer as head coach. If he had, it entirely possible Aikman might have mentioned some of the problems that had been ongoing in Oklahoma while Switzer was head coach. Believe Oklahoma was punished by the NCAA for those activities.
I have to go buy this book!
