bubba9497 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080225/SPORTS08/718116992/1005/SPORTS No Hall of Fame treatment February 25, 2008 By Dick Heller - For once, the Great Stone Face showed his feelings when Jerry Jones and Tex Schramm brought him the news at his villa near Austin, Texas. As Sports Illustrated reported it, he flinched, his eyes went glassy and all he could manage were seven words of disbelief: "You've taken my team away from me." The date was Feb. 25, 1989, 19 years ago today, and Tom Landry was out after nearly three decades as coach of the Dallas Cowboys ... just like that. Jones, an oil and gas millionaire from Arkansas, had just bought "America's Team" for $140 million and wanted his former Razorbacks teammate, Jimmy Johnson, as coach. So Landry had to go despite a career record of 270-178-6 (including postseason play), 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966 to 1985), two Super Bowl championships, five NFC titles and 13 divisional crowns. Over the previous three seasons, however, the Cowboys had gone 17-30, causing speculation the game had passed Landry by. Nonetheless, his abrupt dismissal at age 64 was a shock to the community, Cowboys fans everywhere and the NFL. "It was a very difficult meeting," longtime Cowboys president Schramm said tearfully afterward. "Tom was emotional. It's tough when you break a relationship you've had for 29 years. That's an awfully long time." Landry did not comment at the time, maintaining his usual public stoicism. Wearing a suit, fedora and poker face during games, Landry always stood with his arms folded on the sideline showing no reaction as his teams crushed most opponents. The Redskins and Cowboys were archrivals for much of his tenure, making Landry a reviled figure in the nation's capital. Once in the late 1970s, a Washington reporter spotted him after a game bareheaded and laughing in the locker room. The sight was startling. Tom Landry without a hat — and laughing! Impossible!" Landry was a relentless disciplinarian, and many of his players undoubtedly resented his inflexible approach. "I never saw him smile," running back Walt Garrison once said. "But then again I was only there nine years." Landry, a devout Christian, later denied he was cold and unfeeling. "People based their judgments on what they saw on the sideline," he told the Dallas Morning News weeks later. "[That was] the way I trained myself to concentrate. I blanked everything out. ... The image never bothered me too much. My friends know me." Landry was an All-Pro defensive back and later an assistant coach for the New York Giants before being hired as the expansion Cowboys' first coach in 1960. The team was 0-11-1 its first season and 13-38-3 after four seasons, but owner Clint Murchison showed his faith in Landry by giving him a 10-year extension. Three seasons later, the Cowboys were in the NFL title game. Since 1989, Jones' Cowboys have had six — count 'em, six — coaches: Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips, with none staying longer than five years. Somewhere Tom Landry must be — yes! — smiling. After abruptly canning Landry, Jones sobbed more than his share of crocodile tears. "This man is like Bear Bryant to me, like Vince Lombardi to me," he said. "If you love competitors, Tom Landry is an angel. ... Jimmy Johnson would be the first to tell you he couldn't carry Tom Landry's water bucket. Tom Landry is the Cowboys." So why the pink slip? "I wouldn't have bought the Dallas Cowboys if Jimmy Johnson couldn't be my coach." Pete Rozelle, then NFL commissioner, stated his feelings much more honestly, saying of Landry's departure, "This is like Vince Lombardi's death [while coach of the Redskins in September 1970]. There are relatively few coaches whose careers compare with Tom's. ... He's been a tremendous role model for kids and fans. He has contributed a tremendous amount to the league." Landry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. And when he died of leukemia at 75 on Feb. 12, 2000, Jerry Jones (or his PR man) was at it again: "We will never be able to measure the complete significance of Coach Landry's contributions to the Dallas Cowboys. Simply stated, he is the most important figure in the history of this franchise." Hypocrisy, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDFan5 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 While Landry was a legend it was his time to go. Jerry was given the choice by Tex where Tex would have fired Landry before Jerry bought the team Jerry was a man about it though and did his own dirty work. He then built a dynasty with Jimmy Johnson proving he made the right decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 a dynasty? Dynasties win a playoff game at least once in a dozen or so seasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HapHaszard Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Landry was the coach I loved to hate. But he had my respect. He was one fine person and coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 He has to be the last NFL coach to have never worn team merchandise on the sidelines the way they're required nowadays. I also don't remember seeing him in a headset or holding a clipboard, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 He then built a dynasty with Jimmy Johnson proving he made the right decision :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: "Earth to BigD....Earth to BigD..." :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sableholic Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 a dynasty?Dynasties win a playoff game at least once in a dozen or so seasons The Cowboys dominated the 90s. That makes that team he built with Jimmy Johnson a dynasty. Their performance after that period doesn't make that team any less of a dynasty. Thee Super Bowls in 4 years. They were the first team to ever do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Jerruh treated Landry shabbily. Thank God Minnesota came through with five picks...otherwise, Jerruh would have nothing to hang his hat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 The Cowboys dominated the 90s. That makes that team he built with Jimmy Johnson a dynasty. Their performance after that period doesn't make that team any less of a dynasty. Thee Super Bowls in 4 years. They were the first team to ever do that. :no: that isn't a dynasty.... Jerrah run Jimmy out after two.... and Switzer lucked into one if Jimmy had stayed and dominated the decade like the Packers under Lombardi, or Cleveland under Brown ...... maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sableholic Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 :no: that isn't a dynasty.... Jerrah run Jimmy out after two.... and Switzer lucked into oneif Jimmy had stayed and dominated the decade like the Packers under Lombardi, or Cleveland under Brown ...... maybe ... They won a super bowl in 3 years of the 90s over a 4 year span. Thats a dynasty. The packers you mention won 3 championships in 3 years. In the 1990's they were: Combined = 101-59 Top 10 in pts and yards 6 years on offense Top 10 in pts and yards 6 years on defense (7 years for pts alone) Pts differential Top 5 - 5 years (7 years for top 10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_%28sports%29 Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s (First team to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years ('92, '93, '95), 3 conference championships in 4 straight appearances, 5 straight division titles, 6 total) Don't let being a fan blind you, plain and simple they were a dynsasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins:Victory_or_Death Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I always root for the Cowboys to 'Die Nasty' Ha! :laugh: Wow. That was terrible, even for me. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDFan5 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 ... They won a super bowl in 3 years of the 90s over a 4 year span. Thats a dynasty. The packers you mention won 3 championships in 3 years.In the 1990's they were: Combined = 101-59 Top 10 in pts and yards 6 years on offense Top 10 in pts and yards 6 years on defense (7 years for pts alone) Pts differential Top 5 - 5 years (7 years for top 10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_%28sports%29 Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s (First team to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years ('92, '93, '95), 3 conference championships in 4 straight appearances, 5 straight division titles, 6 total) Don't let being a fan blind you, plain and simple they were a dynsasty. The Cowboys dominated the 90s. That makes that team he built with Jimmy Johnson a dynasty. Their performance after that period doesn't make that team any less of a dynasty. Thee Super Bowls in 4 years. They were the first team to ever do that. Bubba knows this, he just wont admit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGreenistheBest Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 ... They won a super bowl in 3 years of the 90s over a 4 year span. Thats a dynasty. The packers you mention won 3 championships in 3 years. 5 in 7 years. 61, 62, 65-67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sableholic Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 5 in 7 years. 61, 62, 65-67. right. I didn't neglect them purposefully, but this is true. Either way I still think the Cowboys were a dynasty and I think most people would agree. In a 32 team league what they did was pretty impressive even if I hate them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG4Life Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 a dynasty?Dynasties win a playoff game at least once in a dozen or so seasons This NEVER gets old! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Jimmy Johnson built that juggernaut, not Jerry. If Jerry really had any eye for talent, why has the team been such a failure for more than a decade now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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