Tom Landry

[RiggoForever]

I was pretty young when Landry was fired as the coach of the Cowboys, but I can remember him always dressed nicely in a suit as well as a trademark hat for games.

I'm amazed that he was able to coach in the NFL for nearly 30 years and have 20 straight winning seasons. How was he able to have success for so long, and with such consistency? That's truly remarkable in my eyes.

What type of man was he? Was he a Christian like Joe Gibbs? From what I've seen of him, he seems to have a similar stoic demeanor like Gibbs.

Does anybody think if Jerry Jones had kept him, that the results in the 90s would have been the same? It seems like it would have been a nicer way to end his coaching career. Do you think players like Everson Walls, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and Randy White would have stuck around had Landry stayed?

 

[parchy]

I know a fair amount about the dude so I'll answer what I can.

The key to Landry's run was his unwavering techniques. No matter who he had in there, the system never changed. Now guys like Staubach obviously did some things to change that up, but his incredible 4-3 flex dominated and his offense was always recognizable.

The other key to the run was unbelievable drafting and scouting. Picking guys like Pete Gent out of basketball all the way back in the 60's and awesome drafts almost every year (Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill in consecutive years is really an amazing feat) helped perpetuate the greatness. Tex Schramm is to be praised on this level.

Landry's Christian habits make Gibbs look like Satan himself. The dude was one of the most devout people I've ever heard of. His struggles with the guys who weren't as he was are legendary because of it. It really made his dealings as a coach pretty admirable because his belief and faith were unwavering. It's funny - most of his players never saw Landry smile.

That said, I think Jerry did the right thing in firing him. Maybe he should have allowed him to retire, but Landry had lost the edge and Jimmy was the new breed who knew how to handle the younger generation. Landry couldn't handle the flower power kids and he wouldn't be able to handle Irvin or Newton either. He was still a good coach, but he was being outpaced. Maybe JJ went about his business brashly, but he did what needed to be done.

Landry truly was a model coach and a model citizen. There is/was/probably never will be another coach like him. He always stuck to his guns and developed one of the most amazing models of consistency and success that there ever was.

 

[CalCBFan]

I really doubt it. One thing that Jimmy Johnson brought to the table was the "winning is everything" attitude. Landry often said "football wasn't the most important thing" in his life. His "relationship with Jesus Christ" was. And being very old school, Landry also said many times that winning SBs wasn't all that important to him either. This may be one area in which he and Joe Gibbs were fairly different.

I do think Jones should have given Tom a ultimatum "win or you're fired" or at least done him the courtesy of a private dismissal. Joe Gibbs is a very good coach. One of the best of all times. I think he is better than Lombardi, given the fact that he won his SBs with different teams. Tom won his 2 with different teams too, a sign of real greatness IMHO.

As far as consistency goes, remember, Tex Schramm was a very good GM, and for a long time Gil Brandt was a very good scout, and most of Landry's coaches were with him for a long time. That in itself produces consistency of results. And he did not have to deal w/ free-agency nor the salary cap which helps a lot too...

 

[parchy]

The only serious knock I can think of that developed around Landry was that he was pretty unpersonable, especially in his early days. He was never one of these 'rah rah' guys who would get fired up at any point in any game... pretty static on that front. Some players couldn't really interpret this correctly and took it as coldness and a generally detached way to coach... like he didn't really give a damn what happened to his guys. Most guys understood that that was merely Landry's way of coaching, but some didn't (Dandy Don immediately comes to mind). He obviously did care, but he wasn't forthright about his feelings (his waffling on QB's in the 60's and early 70's was a big point of contention on his strategies) and some guys just didn't like that.

Bottomline, Landry was of the age where he thought players should be "good 'ol boys" and shut up and play... where the money, booze, girls and rock-star lifestyle didn't matter. When his guys started embracing this stuff ad-nausium in the 70's he really never "got it." It doesn't make him any less of a coach, it was just the way he was. He was probably ultimately just too morally firm for the NFL.

 

[Manster68]

I think if you read any books on Tom Landry, his conviction to the Lord, as well as his patriotic services to his country (as a WWII B-17 Bomber pilot), and his family values, stand out before you get to the football aspect of the man.

Bill Walsh even confessed that Landry is one of the greatest coaches ever because not only did he revolutionize the defensive side of the ball, but he also designed an offense to beat it. The man pioneered both sides of the ball!