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When I was growing up, the Cowboys were heroes in my mind. I mean Staubach had been a fighter pilot; a real hero. They were "all that was right in America" to me.

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Roger was a huge hero of mine when I was a kid but his military service was rather mundane due to colorblindness which is a no go for pilots and even restricted his ability for most shipboard duty. He did do a one year stint in Vietnam (which he requested) after graduation from Annapolis as a Supply Officer but most of his service time was spent playing football for Naval Service teams.

boomer on social security said:

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Landry and the Cowboys went 3-13, losing 10 games in a row in 1988. Landry needed to be fired, kudos to JJ.

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Yes, the game had passed Landry by and it was time for him to go. He just should have been allowed to step down gracefully in the same manner that Chuck Noll & Don Shula were allowed to do under similar conditions.

But that's a long closed book. Currently, it's obvious that Jones's management style isn't getting the job done and hasn't for a long time. And it seems like it isn't going to change anytime in the near future.

boomer on social security said:

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Landry and the Cowboys went 3-13, losing 10 games in a row in 1988. Landry needed to be fired, kudos to JJ.

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Agreed. Had it happened in today's world, people would've reacted differently.

Tom Landry should have stepped down (or been fired) after the 1986 season when he had to admit after a game that he'd lost track of downs during an offensive drive. He stayed two seasons too long, IMHO.

My main issue with Jerry (I think he's a low-life) has nothing to do with Tom Landry.

jeffdjohnson said:

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There are 16 NFC teams. 2 teams make the NFC championship game every year. If all things were equal you would have a 1/8 chance of making the NFC title game in any given year. Therefore in a 30-year stretch, you should expect to make ~4 NFC championship game appearances. Obviously, things are unequal, and some will make it more than others. However, it is frankly improbable that the Cowboys haven't made the NFC title game even once in this period.

What is a bit odd is that the Cowboys have made the Divisional round 6 times in this 30-year stretch. You would expect the average team to make the Divisional round ~8 times if everything is equal. So the Cowboys are actually not that far off in Divisional round appearances. Yet they have managed to go 0-6 in those games, which is once again improbable.

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Since the start of the 1996 season, the Dallas Cowboys have reached the Divisional Round 7 times: 1996, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022. 5 of those Divisional Round games were on the road, but 2 of them were at home. As the No. 1 seed, the Cowboys had excellent opportunities to host the NFC Championship Game in 2007 and 2016, but they went one and done both times. In 2007, the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants stunned the Cowboys 21-17. In 2016, the Green Bay Packers upset the Cowboys 34-31.

During this span, the Cowboys went one and done 5 times in the Wild Card Round: 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2021. 3 of those 5 were on the road, but the 2 of them were at home. In 1998, the Arizona Cardinals stunned the Dallas Cowboys 20-7. In 2021, the San Francisco 49ers upset the Dallas Cowboys 23-17. In summary, the Cowboys have gone 5-12 in playoff games (4-4 at home and 1-8 on the road) since winning Super Bowl XXX.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/playoffs.htm

dabo man said:

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Tom Landry should have stepped down (or been fired) after the 1986 season when he had to admit after a game that he'd lost track of downs during an offensive drive. He stayed two seasons too long, IMHO.

My main issue with Jerry (I think he's a low-life) has nothing to do with Tom Landry.

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Bum Bright wanted to fire Landry when he bought the team but was talked out of it by Tex Schramm. The next year Schramm was very close to firing Landry and Jimmy Johnson was his primary target as a replacement. He was hopeful that Landry would step down after the 1988 season so that would not have to happen. The news of the impending sale from Bright to Jones leaked to the media and all hell broke loose.

As soon as the sale was final Jones flew to Austin to meet with Landry and informed of the change. I have always looked at this as more of a business acquisition where you being in your own people more than a malicious firing. Jones has said publicly that he could have handled it better and I'm sure that's true.

Throughout the mid to late 80's it seemed to me that a lot of Cowboy fans were saying the game had passed Landry and wanted a change. I thought it was highly disingenuous that many of those same fans were crying when it happened.

I have no issues with Landry being fired. I loved him but it was time. I never ever used to think Jerry cared more about making money than championships but the fact he never makes big moves now where signing bonuses are needed makes me wonder.

Like I said in the other thread..either Jerry and Stephen are totally incompetent at managing the cap or they just prefer pocketing all the cash instead of spending that money.

I don't think it'll happen but I'd love for Jerry to sell. I used to love Jerry the owner until about 7-8 years ago .

Orlando Ayala Cant Read said:

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I have no issues with Landry being fired. I loved him but it was time. I never ever used to think Jerry cared more about making money than championships but the fact he never makes big moves now where signing bonuses are needed makes me wonder.

Like I said in the other thread..either Jerry and Stephen are totally incompetent at managing the cap or they just prefer pocketing all the cash instead of spending that money.

I don't think it'll happen but I'd love for Jerry to sell. I used to love Jerry the owner until about 7-8 years ago .

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The NFL salary cap has a maximum and minimum I think. A few years back I remember teams being required to spend 95%. So they really can't pocket $$$ by not spending. Not sure if you've seen the 2023 cowboy budget but they are not in great shape with salary cap. Over the past several years they have been in cap trouble many times. Since Will Mcclay took over as director of player personnel several years ago their drafts have been much better and that's what this team is built on. I think Jerry and Stephen are still negotiating the contracts and they have been mostly awful at that. Most of the time they get worked by the agents (ex Zeke's contract). Nobody has ever accused them of being cheap.

What a horrible take. I mean, exceptionally bad. Dude has guided his company to be the most valuable sports franchise in the history of humans.

ac04 said:

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yes i understand and that is textbook selection bias. his legacy includes three super bowls whether his detractors like it or not.

does robert kraft not get credit for the patriots super bowls because belichick is the de facto GM?

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As soon as I clicked on this thread I knew it would be someone trying to slanders JJ's legacy by removing the 3 Super Bowl wins.

If you are an exec and the first two coaches you hire each win the Super Bowl......you get credit for that.

SilverTongueDevil said:

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dabo man said:

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Tom Landry should have stepped down (or been fired) after the 1986 season when he had to admit after a game that he'd lost track of downs during an offensive drive. He stayed two seasons too long, IMHO.

My main issue with Jerry (I think he's a low-life) has nothing to do with Tom Landry.

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Bum Bright wanted to fire Landry when he bought the team but was talked out of it by Tex Schramm. The next year Schramm was very close to firing Landry and Jimmy Johnson was his primary target as a replacement. He was hopeful that Landry would step down after the 1988 season so that would not have to happen. The news of the impending sale from Bright to Jones leaked to the media and all hell broke loose.

As soon as the sale was final Jones flew to Austin to meet with Landry and informed of the change. I have always looked at this as more of a business acquisition where you being in your own people more than a malicious firing. Jones has said publicly that he could have handled it better and I'm sure that's true.

Throughout the mid to late 80's it seemed to me that a lot of Cowboy fans were saying the game had passed Landry and wanted a change. I thought it was highly disingenuous that many of those same fans were crying when it happened.

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Someone already mentioned it.....but deep down many people never forgave Jones for firing Landy, and then making the Dallas Cowboys the Miami Hurricanes-North.

A lot of longhorn fans that were Cowboys fans were still smarting over Miami killing them in the 1991 Cotton Bowl 46-3.
You see all these guys kicking your ass in Dallas and then months later they are playing for the Cowboys in Texas Stadium....it left a raw taste in many people's mouth.

Jimmy Johnson
Michael Irvin
Steve Walsh
Jimmie Jones
Kevin Williams
Russell Maryland
Darrin Smith
Danny Stubbs

All came from The U.
A lot of the hurt feelings went away after the Super Bowl wins....but many people held onto those emotions.