Troy Aikman: A Football Life

[KJJ]

Damn! I've never seen Troy that angry wow

That was the first time I've ever seen that clip, he was pissed!

 

[Go Big D!]

It's coming back on in about an hour and a half followed by Staubach's in case anyone missed it.

 

[JDSmith]

Jimmy WANTED to leave

But yes, Jerrys ego was way too big

I know, Jimmy was almost certainly going to be gone within another year anyway. But replacing him with Switzer, a guy Jerry could chum around with, was the issue. Had Jerry gone out and gotten a Bill Parcells we would have been stacking Lombardis on top of each other. But he wanted a guy who was just happy to be there and someone he could drink with (purely my perception, not based on factual evidence).

Hell, he could have brought Landry back and we would have won 2 or 3 more Super Bowls.

 

[theebs]

I love Jerry, but damn was he an arrogant, dumb son of a ***** back then. Firing Jimmy and replacing him with Switzer may not have been the sole reason the team fell apart, but it played a huge role. You could see how much it hurt Troy to have to see the discipline of the team degrade while he was forced to play the 'bad cop' in an effort to keep it all together and create a sense of professionalism because the coaches weren't doing it. Combine that with the arrogance of Jerry, assuming he could figure out being a GM on the fly...

Thank god for Stephen and Will McClay, and thank god Jerry started to develop the humility to let other guys take more control in certain areas.

I honestly don't give much credit to stephen jones anymore. It became trendy going into that 05 season when parcells had mentioned to some reporters that he liked stephen and kind of worked with him hand in hand. A lot of people took that to believe that he was different than jerry. I really do not think he is. Every time we get a little success stephen goes overboard just like jerry. If stephen is running things then he also played a role in bringing hardy here and making randle the starting running back. So that is a huge negative to me and shows he doesnt get it yet.

I will say though if he was part of the group that talked him out of manziel then he deserves credit but again hardy is every bit the train wreck manziel is.

garrett and the coaches probably deserve all the credit for the personnel at this point. I would love to know what garrett really thought of hardy.

 

[JDSmith]

I honestly don't give much credit to stephen jones anymore. It became trendy going into that 05 season when parcells had mentioned to some reporters that he liked stephen and kind of worked with him hand in hand. A lot of people took that to believe that he was different than jerry. I really do not think he is. Every time we get a little success stephen goes overboard just like jerry. If stephen is running things then he also played a role in bringing hardy here and making randle the starting running back. So that is a huge negative to me and shows he doesnt get it yet.

I will say though if he was part of the group that talked him out of manziel then he deserves credit but again hardy is every bit the train wreck manziel is.

garrett and the coaches probably deserve all the credit for the personnel at this point. I would love to know what garrett really thought of hardy.

True, I can't really argue with any of those points. The Randle decision was an unmitigated disaster. I actually think Hardy could have worked out, if not for the fact that he apparently wanted to go out and party rather than show up to meetings and other such trivialities. I think Hardy actually had a golden opportunity, he was just too stupid to take it. But I'm sure that people in Carolina knew how Hardy was, and the Cowboys had to know going in what type of person they were getting behind the scenes.

 

[Miller]

For all of the people who didn't respect him those late years I hope this changed your mind. His career was filled with teams that were stacked and the guy had to carry the team...and lead it..while getting killed.

 

[Oh_Canada]

my favorite cowboy of all time. highly underrated.

Same here. Incredibly accurate and a terrific leader.

 

[DandyDon1722]

I honestly don't give much credit to stephen jones anymore. It became trendy going into that 05 season when parcells had mentioned to some reporters that he liked stephen and kind of worked with him hand in hand. A lot of people took that to believe that he was different than jerry. I really do not think he is. Every time we get a little success stephen goes overboard just like jerry. If stephen is running things then he also played a role in bringing hardy here and making randle the starting running back. So that is a huge negative to me and shows he doesnt get it yet.

I will say though if he was part of the group that talked him out of manziel then he deserves credit but again hardy is every bit the train wreck manziel is.

garrett and the coaches probably deserve all the credit for the personnel at this point. I would love to know what garrett really thought of hardy.

Theebs - this might make you feel better.

Although Stephen will still be tied at the hip to McClay and football operations, Charlotte Jones will succeed Jerry as the head of the Cowboys and I think she will reign all that stuff in.

 

[J_Allen]

I've concluded that I don't want to watch it. I will never get over only winning three out of four Super Bowls in the nineties. We had the talent to win a lot more. Being a perfectionist I know exactly how Troy felt and I just don't want to see it.

 

[tyke1doe]

This was a great segment. I enjoy "A Football Life," and have to say this was one of the best.

Troy Aikman was the prototypical quarterback, as if chiseled by God to play the position - and maybe he was. He had the strength and stature of Bradshaw and very nearly the same type of arm, a perfect release like Marino or Fouts, and better accuracy than Montana, yes, Montana. And Troy was the consummate leader.

I don't think Troy gets the respect he deserves. Even today, many place him in the shadows of contemporaries Brett Favre and Steve Young, despite winning more Super Bowls than both of them combined and despite going 4-1 against them in the playoffs. For me, going into battle against any team at any time, I take Troy over Favre and Young every time.

I mentioned recently on another thread that Super Bowl XIII was the greatest heartbreaking loss in Cowboys history because it was not just a game that determined the champion of the 1978 season, it was a game that determined the team of the 70s and one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Similarly, one cannot look at the 92-95 Cowboys and not come away thinking of what could have been. The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years, and yet we all know they "left a lot of meat on the bone."

Had Jimmy Johnson not left, had the team not lost control, had Erik Williams not hit that retaining wall in October '94, had they kept their focus and had Jimmy been there to drive them hard, I believe those Cowboys would have won four or five world championships in a row. And, had they done so, it would not have been a matter of naming the Dallas Cowboys the team of the 90s - it would have been the recognition, beyond all disputing to the contrary, that the 90s Cowboys were the greatest football dynasty in NFL history.

Thanks Troy. It was a pleasure and privilege to watch you play.

Great post.

Jimmy Johnson leaving likely changed the history of the game. Steve Young and Brett Favre would be viewed as Romo is today - great quarterbacks who couldn't win the big one - had Jimmy stayed.

 

[MrMom]

 

[tyke1doe]

Wow, I knew Switzer and Jerry were bad, but seeing Aikman's sideline rants and his candor opinions really hits home just how pathetic things were.

I remember even back then the sunshine and Kool-aid drinkers were trying to defend Switzer. But anyone who had clear eyes could see he was along for the ride. When Jimmy left, the disciple left with him. And the Cowboys were no longer a mistake-free team they were under Jimmy.

 

[erod]

I'm a dad of 3 girls ... it's a piece of cake.

But Troy is a single dad with full custody.

 

[tyke1doe]

That's exactly what was said. I meant that Jerry had no business hiring Switzer at that time, Barry did not really care anymore. He just so happened to be flavor of the month when Johnson left.

Remember, Jerry wanted to prove that any of 500 coaches could coach the Cowboys to a Super Bowl.

 

[tyke1doe]

But Troy is a single dad with full custody.

And a multimillionaire, which helps.

 

[erod]

And a multimillionaire, which helps.

Money won't raise the kids.

See Johnny Manziel.

 

[JDSmith]

I'm a dad of 3 girls ... it's a piece of cake.

I've got 2 daughters, it's easy. They're like feral cats who live in the yard (except they have a room) - they pretty much raise themselves.

 

[tyke1doe]

Money won't raise the kids.

See Johnny Manziel.

Johnny Manziel has kids?

I didn't say it will do it alone, but it helps. it definitely helps.

 

[JDSmith]

Johnny Manziel has kids?

I didn't say it will do it alone, but it helps. it definitely helps.

I think it was a reference to the fact that Manziel's parents had money and he's a complete disaster.

 

[1972COWBOY]

After Jimmy built that team, Cowboys didn't even need a coach and neither did the 49'rs