The greatness of Gil Brandt

[lurkercowboy]

How about Jethro Pugh from Elizabeth City College. The only NFL player ever drafted from that school I believe in New Jersey.

Cliff Harris from Ouichita Baptist. Where? Lol

Pugh played at what is now Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Go Vikings!
https://www.ncshof.org/jethropugh

 

[Bobhaze]

I was just reading about Gil Brandt and another of his interesting discoveries was mentioned. Tony Frisch - an Austrian soccer player who had never played American football before.

Hilarious true story about Tony Frisch. His first year as a Cowboy was ‘71 or ‘72. Frisch flew into LA from Austria in July, rented a sports car and headed for Thousand Oaks for training camp.

On the way, Frisch was pulled over by a California highway patrol officer for speeding in excess of 100 mph. When the cop asked for ID and other papers, Frisch told the officer in very broken English, “I play for Dallas Cowboy(no “s”, lol) Looking at the chubby Austrian behind the wheel smoking a cigarette, the cop obviously didn’t believe it.

As the story goes, about 5 hours later, Tex Schramm dispatched a Cowboys official to bail Frisch out of jail for driving without a license. Supposedly, the cops were floored when the Cowboys bailed him out and proved that the 5’8” 220 lb Austrian was indeed the kicker for the Cowboys! LOL!

 

[Shake_Tiller]

No argument about Brandt's greatness, but 1960-1975 was one thing and 1976-1988 was another. If Dallas had been mediocre drafters instead of terrible drafters in that period, the 80s would have been a different story. Brandt had a few hits in those later drafts, but very few. Why the drop in quality? It seems that the rest of the league not only caught up with Dallas, but surpassed them.

The string of poor drafts really began in 1980 rather than in 1976. In '76, Dallas drafted Butch Johnson and Tom Rafferty, a very good WR and OL. They also drafted Beasley Reece who became a good DB for the Giants. Brandt didn't cut him, presumably. In '77, they drafted Tony Dorsett, Tony Hill (the WR), Andy Frederick and Jim Cooper, two good OL, and Steve DeBerg who had a long career as an NFL starter/backup. In '78, they took Todd Christiensen who balked at being moved to TE. He went to the Raiders and became an all-pro TE. They also took Dennis Thurman.

In '79, Robert Shaw, the first pick, would have been a great center but for a career-ending injury. And they took Doug Cosbie and Ron Springs. They also took Garry Cobb who became a good NFL LB. Again, Brandt didn't get rid of him, presumably.

Trouble started in 1980, and some of those drafts are hard to defend. Really, the drafts were poor through 1986 (the best picks being Jim Jeffcoat in '83, Eugene Lockhart in '84 and Herschel Walker in '85). Those drafts led to the disaster that brought down Landry. There was a little bad luck (Billy Cannon was going to be really good, as was Mike Sherrard) from injury, but all teams have that. There were signs that Brandt and company had adjusted. The '87 draft brought in Kelvin Martin and Kevin Gogan. The '88 draft yielded Michael Irvin, Ken Norton and Chad Hennings -- even David Widell, a good NFL OL the Cowboys let go. But the era had passed.

Years ago, either Brandt or Schramm said the biggest mistake the Cowboys made was in continuing to take chances after the rest of the NFL had caught up to their sophisticated draft model. They continued to try to force boom/bust picks, but while the other teams were behind, many of those picks were boom. As other teams caught up, most of those picks were bust. I think that's probably true.

Bottom line -- Brandt was instrumental in creating one of the great runs in all of sports. From the mid-'60s through the early-'80s, the Cowboys were almost always good to great. Brandt should have been in the Ring of Honor a long time ago. He really did change the face of the NFL, and he picked some of the greatest players who ever lived.

 

[erod]

And Brandt was a pioneer in scouting small black colleges where many super talented black players were being completely overlooked. His ability to find great talent at tiny, little known places was incredible.

Guys like like Cornell Green, Too Tall Jones and Rayfield Wright all played college basketball but Brandt saw their ability to make great football players.

He also found Drew Pearson. A quarterback from Tulsa.

 

[Bobhaze]

He also found Drew Pearson. A quarterback from Tulsa.

Mentioned in the OP. (#5)

 

[lurkercowboy]

The string of poor drafts really began in 1980 rather than in 1976. In '76, Dallas drafted Butch Johnson and Tom Rafferty, a very good WR and OL. They also drafted Beasley Reece who became a good DB for the Giants. Brandt didn't cut him, presumably. In '77, they drafted Tony Dorsett, Tony Hill (the WR), Andy Frederick and Jim Cooper, two good OL, and Steve DeBerg who had a long career as an NFL starter/backup. In '78, they took Todd Christiensen who balked at being moved to TE. He went to the Raiders and became an all-pro TE. They also took Dennis Thurman.

In '79, Robert Shaw, the first pick, would have been a great center but for a career-ending injury. And they took Doug Cosbie and Ron Springs. They also took Garry Cobb who became a good NFL LB. Again, Brandt didn't get rid of him, presumably.

Trouble started in 1980, and some of those drafts are hard to defend. Really, the drafts were poor through 1986 (the best picks being Jim Jeffcoat in '83, Eugene Lockhart in '84 and Herschel Walker in '85). Those drafts led to the disaster that brought down Landry. There was a little bad luck (Billy Cannon was going to be really good, as was Mike Sherrard) from injury, but all teams have that. There were signs that Brandt and company had adjusted. The '87 draft brought in Kelvin Martin and Kevin Gogan. The '88 draft yielded Michael Irvin, Ken Norton and Chad Hennings -- even David Widell, a good NFL OL the Cowboys let go. But the era had passed.

Years ago, either Brandt or Schramm said the biggest mistake the Cowboys made was in continuing to take chances after the rest of the NFL had caught up to their sophisticated draft model. They continued to try to force boom/bust picks, but while the other teams were behind, many of those picks were boom. As other teams caught up, most of those picks were bust. I think that's probably true.

Bottom line -- Brandt was instrumental in creating one of the great runs in all of sports. From the mid-'60s through the early-'80s, the Cowboys were almost always good to great. Brandt should have been in the Ring of Honor a long time ago. He really did change the face of the NFL, and he picked some of the greatest players who ever lived.

Yes, I would agree that the four drafts of 1976-1979 drafts were better than what followed, but that is not saying a whole lot. Dorsett and Christensen were the all-pro standouts. Cosbie made the Pro Bowl a few times as well. I'm counting 8 other guys who were solid contributors (like Dennis Thurman and Springs) and 7 others who were role players/bottom roster players (like Guy Brown) from those four drafts. The draft had a lot more rounds then too. The first rounders were Aaron Kyle, Dorsett, Larry Bethea, and Shaw.

Once we get to the 1980s, it becomes hard to find even solid contributors. Only role players/bottom roster players in the 80, 81, and 82 drafts. Jeffcoat in 83 was a solid pick (also Michael Walter) and so was Lockhart in 84, but that was basically it for those two drafts. Walker in 85 was a fifth round futures gamble, but the other picks that year were soon out of the league. Sherrard was a good pick in 86 but no one else from that draft did much. Even the role players were getting scarce by then. Martin and Gogan were solid picks in 87, but were only journeyman level guys with the Cowboys. The 88 draft was a big improvement with Irvin, Norton, Widell, Hennings but like you said the time had passed by then.

To balance this out, there were some really good UDFAs during this period. Everson Walls, Michael Downs, Dexter Clinkscale, Anthony Dickerson, Bill Bates, Nate Newton, and Mark Tuinei. That was a big credit to the scouting dept.

I think you are correct about the boom-bust thing, especially in the high rounds, that cost the Cowboys. Also picking late in the draft order (most years) hurt them as well. Injuries also hurt.Take a look at the 1985 starters (the last season the Landry teams had any success). According to https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1985_roster.htm 11 of the 22 starters were drafted in the 1970s.

 

[lurkercowboy]

There are many reasons to consider:

1. Timing of the draft changed. Starting in 1978, the draft moved from taking place in January to moving first to March, then to May before settling into April. Once this change happened, it gave other teams much more time to scout (many teams still relied on their coaching staffs for assistance in this endeavor), and made many more of the "diamonds in the rough" mainstream players.
2. Drafting to need instead of BPA. In 1979, in the third round, the Cowboys had Joe Montana as the highest rated player on their board. The braintrust felt that with a 37 year old Roger Staubach, a 27 year old Danny White and a 24 year old Glenn Carano that they didn't need a QB. Instead, they drafted Doug Cosbie. Cosbie was a very good tight end. Montana is one of the best to have ever played, and with Staubach retiring following the season, the non-selection stands out even more as a bad move. Go forward to 1983. The Cowboys tried to trade with the Colts for John Elway, and failed. With Dan Marino sitting in their laps, they passed on him and selected Jim Jeffcoat, a need at DE with Harvey Martin deep in the throws of cocaine problems, and about to play the last year of his career. Jeffcoat was a very good defensive end. Marino, well, see Montana.
   
3. Bad ability to self-scout. The team didn't move on from older players when they should have, and as a result (and one can argue whether this is chicken-->egg), they went less for sure things and more for off the beaten path selections (see Rod Hill), or just plain reaches (see Howard Richards). They also let guys like Mike Walter and Mike Wilson, who could play and would be big contributors to the 49ers, go while keeping guys like Doug Donley (who couldn't play) and Steve DeOssie, who only contributed on special teams.
   
4. Failure to adapt to change. By the 1980's, most teams around the league had caught up to the Cowboys computerized system. Brandt, in reality, wasn't a true scout. He couldn't look at a player per se and tell you if he could play or not. What made him was his information network with coaches around college football. As he got older, so did his contacts. Collectively, the information wasn't as reliable, and the Cowboys suffered.
5. Injuries. Two Cowboy first round picks played less than three seasons due to injuries. Robert Shaw, drafted to replace John Fitzgerald at center, got into a car wreck that ended his career in his second year. Billy Cannon Jr., selected with the intention of replacing Bob Bruenig, injured his neck in his rookie season, and never played again. Mike Sherrard, the Cowboys first rounder in 1986, shattered his tibia while jogging on the beach, and proceeded to break it again the following season in camp. He never built off of a very promising rookie season.

Any of the above reasons contributed to the misses seen post-1977.

Excellent analysis. Sad though

 

[Bobhaze]

The string of poor drafts really began in 1980 rather than in 1976. In '76, Dallas drafted Butch Johnson and Tom Rafferty, a very good WR and OL. They also drafted Beasley Reece who became a good DB for the Giants. Brandt didn't cut him, presumably. In '77, they drafted Tony Dorsett, Tony Hill (the WR), Andy Frederick and Jim Cooper, two good OL, and Steve DeBerg who had a long career as an NFL starter/backup. In '78, they took Todd Christiensen who balked at being moved to TE. He went to the Raiders and became an all-pro TE. They also took Dennis Thurman.

In '79, Robert Shaw, the first pick, would have been a great center but for a career-ending injury. And they took Doug Cosbie and Ron Springs. They also took Garry Cobb who became a good NFL LB. Again, Brandt didn't get rid of him, presumably.

Trouble started in 1980, and some of those drafts are hard to defend. Really, the drafts were poor through 1986 (the best picks being Jim Jeffcoat in '83, Eugene Lockhart in '84 and Herschel Walker in '85). Those drafts led to the disaster that brought down Landry. There was a little bad luck (Billy Cannon was going to be really good, as was Mike Sherrard) from injury, but all teams have that. There were signs that Brandt and company had adjusted. The '87 draft brought in Kelvin Martin and Kevin Gogan. The '88 draft yielded Michael Irvin, Ken Norton and Chad Hennings -- even David Widell, a good NFL OL the Cowboys let go. But the era had passed.

Years ago, either Brandt or Schramm said the biggest mistake the Cowboys made was in continuing to take chances after the rest of the NFL had caught up to their sophisticated draft model. They continued to try to force boom/bust picks, but while the other teams were behind, many of those picks were boom. As other teams caught up, most of those picks were bust. I think that's probably true.

Bottom line -- Brandt was instrumental in creating one of the great runs in all of sports. From the mid-'60s through the early-'80s, the Cowboys were almost always good to great. Brandt should have been in the Ring of Honor a long time ago. He really did change the face of the NFL, and he picked some of the greatest players who ever lived.

Good stuff. I just think it’s hard for anyone in football to have more than a decade or two at best of being on top. It’s why sports dynasties are so hard to come by. In highly competitive sports leagues, staying dominant is almost impossible.

Gil Brandt was the best from 1960-79.