Old but Interesting EPSN Article: What if Jimmy Johnson had not left the Cowboys?

[Gryphon]

ESPN.com
Updated: February 10, 2007

Wade Phillips recently became only the seventh coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys -- remarkable stability for the NFL's most ballyhooed franchise. Yet, it was a rare moment of instability that might have cost the Cowboys dearly.

On Jan. 30, 1994, the Cowboys stood atop the football world, having defeated the Bills, 30-13, to claim their second consecutive Super Bowl title. It was the fourth Lombardi Trophy in team history, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers, with the promise of much more success to come.

Thanks to head coach Jimmy Johnson's ability to find talent in the draft, the Cowboys had assembled a remarkable collection of young players, and seemed poised to become the league's greatest dynasty. But there was trouble in paradise.

Just days after the Super Bowl victory, Johnson walked away from the Cowboys due largely to owner/general manager Jerry Jones' desire to be more actively involved in player personnel moves. Both men also wanted credit for the team's success.

Former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer replaced Johnson and the Cowboys did add another Super Bowl title two seasons later, but have won just one playoff game since. For his part, Johnson went on to coach the Dolphins in 1996, but enjoyed only marginal success, failing to win another Super Bowl before retiring from coaching in after the 2000 season. But what if Jones and Johnson had each been capable of curtailing their massive egos? How many more Super Bowl titles might America's Team have added to its trophy case, and what would Jimmy Johnson's legacy be today?

-- David Mosse

 

[Boyzmamacita]

Yep.

 

[Direwolf63]

It would have been 5 in a row.....

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

It would have been 5 in a row.....

At the very least 4... we WOULD NOT have lost to San Fran in 3rd NFC title game. Jimmy would have stopped the bleeding before it was too late. Spotted them 21pts in 12 mins or so of 1st qtr.

 

[TwoDeep3]

No matter what Jimmy would not have prevented the injury to Step nor the fumbles a which led to the 21-points spotted Frisco in the NFC Championship game.

I weould like to know how the non-call against Deion when he held Michael's wrist would have played out with a more respected coach on the dallas sidelines.

But I have watched an endless line of fans suggest four in a row was doiable, and I do not believbe Jimmy had the inside track on injury which caused more havoc to the team in 1994 than anything else.

 

[zeromaster]

We will never know for sure, but I suspect there'd be at least one more trophy than we have now, and a better than average chance that the consecutive SB titles record would never be equaled.

JMO

 

[joseephuss]

Jimmy would not have prevented losing Erik Williams to a car accident, having rookie Larry Allen sprain his ankle in the playoffs or having Emmit Smith pull a hamstring in the second to last regular season game leaving him at less than 100% for the playoffs.

Jimmy may have kept the team from sputtering at the start, but it did not guarantee a victory when the team was not playing a full strength.

 

[bbgun]

It was really three problems: Jimmy's departure, the cap, and free agency. Even with Bozo the Coach at the helm, we might have won more had we kept the team together .... and kept guys like Deion and Norton away from the Niners. The previous NFL dynasties never had to worry about other teams raiding their rosters. We were lucky to get that third one under our belt before it was too late.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

Jimmy would not have prevented losing Erik Williams to a car accident, having rookie Larry Allen sprain his ankle in the playoffs or having Emmit Smith pull a hamstring in the second to last regular season game leaving him at less than 100% for the playoffs.

Jimmy may have kept the team from sputtering at the start, but it did not guarantee a victory when the team was not playing a full strength.

And to think, Jimmy's commentary was that Switzer didn't have the team prepared. He didn't mention injuries.

Jimmy was a better motivator than Barry, so who knows how well we would've done? I'm a firm believer that we would've won four in a row and a fifth was certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

It's hard to go on could of and would of's but they HAD a GREAT thing going but egos prevailed unfortunately...:cry:

 

[CrazyCowboy]

only seven coaches--remarkable

 

[Biggems]

im surprised that few have even mentioned the draft.....i am sure under Jimmy, we would have done a better job with the draft throughout the 90s.

 

[gbrittain]

Jimmy could have closed his eyes, put cotton in his ears, and tied his hands behind his back and performed eons better than Switzer/Gailey/Campo.

I do believe Dallas would have won at least two more Super Bowls with Jimmy at the helm.

 

[Kolemmitt]

im surprised that few have even mentioned the draft.....i am sure under Jimmy, we would have done a better job with the draft throughout the 90s.

Bingo. I'm not sure if Jimmy would have been the difference in the game against the 49er's, but the talent we lost to free-agency would have been replaced by young talent instead of the (mostly) scrubs we drafted until the Parcells era.

 

[burmafrd]

Actually Jimmy was not that great at percentages as regards our picks. Its just that we had so many. Remember there were still 12 rd drafts back then. And Lacewell and company did not have as much input. Would that have changed if Jimmy had stayed 2-3 more years?

 

[burmafrd]

Most of our really bad drafts happened 97 and later. I really Doubt THAT JIMMY would have still been here past 96 at best.

 

[iceberg]

At the very least 4... we WOULD NOT have lost to San Fran in 3rd NFC title game. Jimmy would have stopped the bleeding before it was too late. Spotted them 21pts in 12 mins or so of 1st qtr.

isn't it amazing what we can do with the unknown?

 

[Randy White]

only seven coaches--remarkable

Four too many.

 

[AmishCowboy]

It was really three problems: Jimmy's departure, the cap, and free agency. Even with Bozo the Coach at the helm, we might have won more had we kept the team together .... and kept guys like Deion and Norton away from the Niners. The previous NFL dynasties never had to worry about other teams raiding their rosters. We were lucky to get that third one under our belt before it was too late.

We were very Lucky to get that 3rd one in.

 

[JJB500]

I know one game he would of made a difference, the regular season game against the 49ers in 94. They outgained the niners by a large margin and Troy kept throwing int's in the redzone, they would have had a better focus on the game with Jimmy. They had the 49ers number & they knew it, they would have still had the mental edge and most likely homefield so no championship game in that slop in SF.