Troy Aikman’s Lyrics Speak Loudly About the Hidden Poverty of Coaching the Dallas Cowboys

Terry Bradshaw didn’t exactly leave Pittsburgh gracefully all those decades ago, but think how many times you’ve heard Fox say “the Steelers head coaching job isn’t one of the best to get “. How many times have you heard Steve Young say to an ESPN audience, “I don’t think anyone is rushing to coach the San Francisco 49ers.” »

Without checking all bands, I can comfortably say that this number is zero.

That’s what makes Troy Aikman’s comments before the Monday Night Football game in Arizona more than just passing thoughts from a former elite passer. This is the last Hall of Fame quarterback the Cowboys had, someone whose post-playing job was cut short of him by winning three Super Bowls here. And this is someone who has watched games from the booth longer than he has played in this league and knows where the Cowboys stand in the 21st century.

“Since it’s a coveted job, I don’t know if that’s accurate. The Cowboys obviously have a high profile position. Whoever is the head coach of this team will definitely attract a lot of attention,” Aikman said. Most of these problems arise, nationally, when you fail to win playoff games or even reach the playoffs.

He continued: “But I think most football players who take over as head coach want to do it on their terms, and that’s hard to do (in Dallas). Take Dan Campbell of the Lions, for example. Is Dan Campbell Dan Campbell if he’s with the Dallas Cowboys? It’s hard to imagine he is.

Related:Troy Aikman rips Cowboys after Mike McCarthy decision, doesn’t view Dallas as ‘coveted’ gig

There you have it. In just a few sentences, without mentioning Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ name, Aikman summed up the overarching flaw that never goes away from this club. If I say Jones is a hindrance, I’m just a sideline who covered games for several decades and was a beat guy and talked to a few people over the years. This is a former Super Bowl MVP for the Cowboys introducing it to everyone.

“I think coaching is important in the NFL,” Aikman said. “The coach counts and the players count. You just have to bring someone in, no matter how good they are – I think Mike McCarthy is an exceptional football coach, I think he’s proven that in this league, the amount of times he’s won 10 or more games as head coach. But you have to hold that head coach accountable. That’s what’s been missing since Jimmy Johnson walked through the door.

It was the day after Barry Switzer’s 1994 introductory press conference, a much smaller media gathering, during which the public relations team revealed that the Cowboys had cut tight end Alfredo Roberts. “I guess the general manager decided to make a move,” Switzer joked.

And basically, in the 31 years since, the club has been Jerry’s plaything. He owned it while Jimmy was here, but he took ownership of the whole procedure after he sent Johnson packing to Florida. This is what you have known for some time, but the considerable drawback is what Aikman explained in carefully worded terms.

Do you want a winning coach like Andy Reid or Sean Payton or one of the Harbaughs? They don’t come. We may discover that the club was lucky to have McCarthy present for five years. Who knows where this research will lead and how long it will take?

Names mentioned either through conversation with Jones or an actual interview request are Deion Sanders and Robert Saleh. I think we can rule out the latter because Jones is unlikely to see a defensive fixer who struggled with the Jets (no real shame in that, given the circumstances dictated by ownership and Aaron Rodgers) as his next solution . The discussion about Deion seems more like someone trying to squeeze a little more money out of Colorado before committing to several years without his kids on hand.

Related:Dallas Cowboys head coach search: Everything we know about candidates, interviews and more

But I would never dismiss anything that has any sort of grand slam aura when it comes to Jones. Think about how important the Cowboys already are in the national conversation. They get five prime-time games a year, even if they’re coming off losing seasons. Add the Coach Prime circus to the mix and we may have to move the Mavericks, Rangers and Stars to another section of the newspaper.

I suspect that in the end, Jones will make a more pedestrian hire. This has been the case in his last three moves since the departure of Bill Parcells. I’m not bashing anyone in this group, it’s just that Wade, Jason and Mike don’t take center stage like a Jimmy or a Parcells or, yes, a Prime (if that’s how he chooses to ‘be labeled).

Just know that no matter how long it lasts, maybe until February as far as we can guess, the Joneses are not in a position to interview the cream of the crop. These kinds of coaches demand a certain amount of respect and written proof that they are responsible for much more than developing game plans.

No one has had that in their contract here since Johnson. No one will have one again on Jerry’s watch.

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