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This is a day I'll never forget. I remember watching the 1989 Rose Bowl specifically because I wanted to see Aikman play. I told everyone he would be the next great Cowboys QB. I remember some of the "experts" on ESPN saying the Cowboys should draft Tony Mandarich. Luckily Jimmy knew you don't pass on franchise QB's and the new era in Dallas started off with a new super bowl QB. Here is a great article about the Cowboys Dynasty of the 90's and how it got going.
For three decades, the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s has been attributed for the most part to the Herschel Walker trade, a.k.a. "The Great Trade Robbery," and the subsequent draft picks that came along with it. That's partly accurate, too. No one is disputing that Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson, all selected with picks from the deal, didn't help win three Super Bowls.
However, somewhat lost to history is the 1989 NFL Draft, the one before the most memorable and lopsided trade since the Louisiana Purchase.
This was the first under Jimmy Johnson, less than two months after Jerry Jones purchased the team. The upheaval for the Cowboys and the NFL during the seven weeks between the sale in February and the draft that April is simply mind boggling. Jones buys the Cowboys, fires Tom Landry, hires Johnson, Pete Rozelle announces he will soon step down as league commissioner after 29-plus years, Ring of Honor and Hall of Famer Randy White retires after 14 seasons with Dallas, and Cowboys President Tex Schramm, either the first or second most powerful man in professional football for 30 years, resigns.
Whew. Quick breather.
In the midst of that whirlwind was the everyday storyline of the No. 1 overall pick. Having finished 3-13 the season before, the Cowboys were in possession of that first selection, and while they could have just come out and said what everyone sort of, kind of, knew anyhow, that they would select UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, Johnson decided against that mindset.
More: https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/how-1989-draft-shaped-the-cowboys-dynasty
How 1989 Draft Shaped The Cowboys' Dynasty
Jeff Sullivan Apr 06, 2022For three decades, the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s has been attributed for the most part to the Herschel Walker trade, a.k.a. "The Great Trade Robbery," and the subsequent draft picks that came along with it. That's partly accurate, too. No one is disputing that Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson, all selected with picks from the deal, didn't help win three Super Bowls.
However, somewhat lost to history is the 1989 NFL Draft, the one before the most memorable and lopsided trade since the Louisiana Purchase.
This was the first under Jimmy Johnson, less than two months after Jerry Jones purchased the team. The upheaval for the Cowboys and the NFL during the seven weeks between the sale in February and the draft that April is simply mind boggling. Jones buys the Cowboys, fires Tom Landry, hires Johnson, Pete Rozelle announces he will soon step down as league commissioner after 29-plus years, Ring of Honor and Hall of Famer Randy White retires after 14 seasons with Dallas, and Cowboys President Tex Schramm, either the first or second most powerful man in professional football for 30 years, resigns.
Whew. Quick breather.
In the midst of that whirlwind was the everyday storyline of the No. 1 overall pick. Having finished 3-13 the season before, the Cowboys were in possession of that first selection, and while they could have just come out and said what everyone sort of, kind of, knew anyhow, that they would select UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, Johnson decided against that mindset.
More: https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/how-1989-draft-shaped-the-cowboys-dynasty
