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Former Dallas Cowboys S Darren Woodson explains what made team most successful
By Rainer Sabin
2:45 pm on January 15, 2014
Darren Woodson experienced the glory. He suffered through the despair. The Cowboys soared and crashed during his 12-year run at safety.
As the downward spiral occurred, the current ESPN analyst immediately recognized the problems that afflicted the franchise soon after it collected three Super Bowl trophies in the 1990s. Bad drafts. Poor management of the salary cap. An aging roster. And veteran players who turned complacent. By 2002, when they finished 5-11 for the third consecutive season, the Cowboys had hit rock bottom. The next season Bill Parcells arrived.
“When they brought in Bill Parcells, I was the happiest guy in the room,” Woodson said.
Why?
Because, according to Woodson, the Cowboys were at their best when they were led by a no-nonsense authority figure who wielded power. That was the case when Jimmy Johnson resurrected the organization after it crumbled in the final stages of Tom Landry’s reign.
“I think if you look at those years from ‘89 to ‘95 or ‘92 when Jimmy was involved to when Parcells came in the early 2000s, I think you’ve got to look at it and say those were our most successful years in the last 20 and in those two instances we had two coaches that dominated the locker room, that changed the culture in the locker room,” said Woodson, a current ESPN analyst. “Jimmy was a guy who held everyone accountable from Troy Aikman to the punter, Mike Saxon. Parcells was exactly the same way. He held everyone accountable. He had control over the draft. Jimmy had control over the draft. He had control over his own personnel. If you weren’t playing well, well, you get the boot, find yourself on the street. That’s when they were most successful. When no one can circumvent the coach is when they were very strong as an organization. Outside of that, they have been extremely average.”
How average?
The number of postseason victories Johnson secured in his five-year tenure with the Cowboys is higher than the combined total of all of the coaches that followed him, including Parcells.
“We lost a lot of years in which this organization could have gotten back on its feet,” Woodson said.
And years later, the Cowboys still remain down for the count.
By Rainer Sabin
2:45 pm on January 15, 2014
Darren Woodson experienced the glory. He suffered through the despair. The Cowboys soared and crashed during his 12-year run at safety.
As the downward spiral occurred, the current ESPN analyst immediately recognized the problems that afflicted the franchise soon after it collected three Super Bowl trophies in the 1990s. Bad drafts. Poor management of the salary cap. An aging roster. And veteran players who turned complacent. By 2002, when they finished 5-11 for the third consecutive season, the Cowboys had hit rock bottom. The next season Bill Parcells arrived.
“When they brought in Bill Parcells, I was the happiest guy in the room,” Woodson said.
Why?
Because, according to Woodson, the Cowboys were at their best when they were led by a no-nonsense authority figure who wielded power. That was the case when Jimmy Johnson resurrected the organization after it crumbled in the final stages of Tom Landry’s reign.
“I think if you look at those years from ‘89 to ‘95 or ‘92 when Jimmy was involved to when Parcells came in the early 2000s, I think you’ve got to look at it and say those were our most successful years in the last 20 and in those two instances we had two coaches that dominated the locker room, that changed the culture in the locker room,” said Woodson, a current ESPN analyst. “Jimmy was a guy who held everyone accountable from Troy Aikman to the punter, Mike Saxon. Parcells was exactly the same way. He held everyone accountable. He had control over the draft. Jimmy had control over the draft. He had control over his own personnel. If you weren’t playing well, well, you get the boot, find yourself on the street. That’s when they were most successful. When no one can circumvent the coach is when they were very strong as an organization. Outside of that, they have been extremely average.”
How average?
The number of postseason victories Johnson secured in his five-year tenure with the Cowboys is higher than the combined total of all of the coaches that followed him, including Parcells.
“We lost a lot of years in which this organization could have gotten back on its feet,” Woodson said.
And years later, the Cowboys still remain down for the count.
