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Cowboys Resurgance Began With Jimmy Johnson, Parcells
By MoonDog | July 1, 2008
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys recall the dark days of the mid-80’s when the organization fell on hard times. The Cowboys were annual participants in the NFC playoffs and made five of their eight Super Bowl appearances during the 70’s, winning two.
Following an embarrassing 20-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the 1986 NFC Divisional round, the Cowboys completely nose-dived. In 1987 Dallas finished the regular season 7-8 and in 1988 ended 3-13, which ultimately led to then-owner H.R. “Bum” Bright selling the team to current owner Jerry Jones in 1989.
From that point the Cowboy organization was rebuilt from the ground up. Long-time coach Tom Landry was fired and Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Jimmy Johnson was hired to be the new coach of the Cowboys. Jones and Johnson went about the business of molding the roster in their vision. The first step was to acquire a franchise quarterback, and Dallas got their man in 1989 when they drafted Troy Aikman.
Later that same year, Dallas traded running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1-15 record, the worst record since the team’s inception, the trade later allowed Dallas to draft a number of impact players to rebuild the team and to this day, is one of the most significant events in the organization’s illustrious history.
By January of 1993, the Cowboys had returned to the NFL’s elite, compiling a 13-3 regular season record and earning a berth in the NFC Championship against the favored San Francisco 49ers. On a muddy Candlestick Park field, Dallas would defeat the 49ers 30-20, getting back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1978.
The Cowboys would go on to crush the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII. The following year Dallas returned to the NFL’s championship game and defeated the Bills 30-13 in Super Bowl XXVIII. The Cowboys were back.
Following the 1993 season, coach Jimmy Johnson resigned amid reports Dallas owner Jerry Jones, in an inebriated condition, stated “he could get anybody to coach this team,” implying the Cowboys success wasn’t the result of coaching.
Former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer was hired to oversee the Cowboys in 1994, a season that would end with a loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. The following season Dallas rebounded, finishing the regular season at 12-4 and ultimately winning their fifth Super Bowl, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17.
But the dark days would soon return. From 1996 until 2002, the Cowboys made the playoffs only three years behind coaches Chan Gailey and Dave Campo. Following the Cowboys third straight 5-11 season in 2002, Campo was fired and Bill Parcells was hired to once again rebuild Dallas into an annual playoff team.
The Parcells hiring would become another very significant event in Cowboys history. Parcells began rebuilding the roster with “his” guys, bringing in veterans and bigger, more physical players that were best suited for how Parcells wanted the games to be played. The Cowboys signed left tackle Flozell Adams, traded for wide receiver Terry Glenn and selected Terence Newman in the first round of the 2003 draft. With Newman the Cowboys had the shut-down corner every NFL team must have.
Also during the 2003 draft Dallas selected Jason Witten who has become one of the NFL’s best tight ends and is on track to be one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. During the fourth round of that same draft, the Cowboys took Bradie James, who has become the QB of the Dallas defense and led the team in tackles the past two seasons.
Finally, after the draft was completed, Dallas, like every other team in the league, attempted to sign undrafted free agents that could potentially help them. One such player the Cowboys signed was a QB from Eastern Illinois. That player was Tony Romo, now the face of the franchise and the quarterback the team places their hopes upon.
The 2005 draft was huge as the Cowboys selected DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Kevin Burnett, Chris Canty and Marion Barber in the first four rounds, making it one fo the top three draft classes in Cowboys history.
The acquisition of Terrell Owens in 2006, Tank Johnson last season and the recent trade that brought Adam Jones to Dallas were major moves by the team to bolster an already talented roster.
The annual release of Pro Football Weekly’s list of the Top 50 players in the NFL reveals the Cowboys have five players - 10 percent - of the NFL’s best players. From 2003 until 2005, Dallas didn’t have one player among the Top 50.
The contribution Bill Parcells made, especially those in 2003, were just as vital as were the moves made by former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in the early 90’s.
Now primed to make another Super Bowl run, head coach Wade Phillips has a solid coaching staff and the tools on the field to bring it all together. The Cowboys have once again remodeled the house and are building for the long haul, getting this organization back to its rightful place among the NFL’s elite.
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Tags: terence newman, dallas cowboys, Tony Romo, MoonDogSports.com, Jason Witten, Tom Landry, NFL, NFC Championship, Draft Choices, Jerry Jones, Pro Football Weekly Top 50 NFL Players, Herschel Walker Trade, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Wade Phillips, Super Bowl, Troy Aikman, Barry Switzer, Dallas Cowboys News
Topics: Dallas Cowboys News, NFL |
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September 11th, 2008 at 8:06 am
thanks for the information
October 10th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
cowboys are the best