Football Life on Troy Aikman

[yimyammer]

That was always what he said after the fact. Maybe he really did think that. But I think he probably would have won the SB in 1994. Then he's won three in a row and set the NFL record. Maybe he comes back for a fourth. Then who knows. Things may have been different.

Its shit like the management of Landrys departure and Jimmys is why my head about explodes when people want to crown jeri a "marketing genius"

A "marketing genius" would have an excellent grasp of public relations, which he obviously doesn't, as these decisions were made with little to no regard for anything but what would make jeri happy.

The smart thing to do, even if he wanted to get rid of Jimmy, is to bite your tongue and give Jimmy a chance to win a 3rd SB. If he does, well, deal with it, thats a good problem to have. If he doesn't, then maybe Jimmy chooses to ride off on his own or they negotiate a behind the scenes deal where Jimmy steps down without all the fanfare and angst. This would have put jeri in a completely different light. How it actually went down where jeri goes to a bar and starts stewing and asking a reporter what he would think if he fired Jimmy and making the any one of 500 coaches could win with this team comments, made it obvious to the world what a self absorbed jackass he really is.

 

[MrB]

That was always what he said after the fact. Maybe he really did think that. But I think he probably would have won the SB in 1994. Then he's won three in a row and set the NFL record. Maybe he comes back for a fourth. Then who knows. Things may have been different.

If he had stayed I think they would have won in '94 and '96.

 

[Doomsday]

That was always what he said after the fact. Maybe he really did think that. But I think he probably would have won the SB in 1994. Then he's won three in a row and set the NFL record. Maybe he comes back for a fourth. Then who knows. Things may have been different.

Above all Jimmy loves winning. Hell, he even hired a tutor to teach him some basics in ice skating, after his wife arranged a skating party for the staff back in his Iowa State days. There all his co-workers were falling and busting their asses, and here was Jimmy Jumpup doing tricks, totally confident on the ice. The man wants to WIN and isn't afraid of doing the work that winning takes. And I believe he could have eaten more of Jerry's shit, to keep winning. If not only for the one, last, final drunken straw.

So yeah, I agree wicha.

 

[dbair1967]

That was always what he said after the fact. Maybe he really did think that. But I think he probably would have won the SB in 1994. Then he's won three in a row and set the NFL record. Maybe he comes back for a fourth. Then who knows. Things may have been different.

If he had stayed long term, there's no telling what this team would have accomplished (even with the introduction of the salary cap)

For the most part the 94-97 drafts were total abortions. If Jimmy had been running those its pretty safe to assume we'd have drafted far better. 99, 00 and 01 drafts were total wastes too for the most part.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Actually I think he said 500 coaches

Yep, and that's my only disagreement with what you said earlier about Switzer being a mindless decision. Jerry knew exactly what he was doing and it's the same reason he didn't promote Norv or any other assistant: He wanted everything the same except the head coach to prove that any other HC could win with that team. His first and foremost thought wasn't about maximizing his team's chances of winning, it was about sticking it to Jimmy.

And that's pretty much why I have a Vikes avatar on this board and barely care about this team winning anymore.

 

[cockstrong]

And he's really no better today. He just got lucky that 1) he's getting so old that his son had to take over more of the day-to-day duties and 2) he hit the powerball with Dak.

He still does idiotic and petty things, though. In that Lacewell interview I recorded last year, LL pretty much admitted a reason for going back to the 43 defense was to erase Parcells' fingerprints.

Lets be honest. Theres been an incredible amount of luck involved with how even this season has played out. Would Dak even be playing if Kellen Moore didnt break his leg. They would have lived and died on the shoulders of Moore and wouldnt have even thought about playing Dak this year

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Lets be honest. Theres been an incredible amount of luck involved with how even this season has played out. Would Dak even be playing if Kellen Moore didnt break his leg. They would have lived and died on the shoulders of Moore and wouldnt have even thought about playing Dak this year

Plus how they really wanted Connor Cook but the Raiders took him just ahead of us.

Plus how Jerry was lamenting even the morning after the first day that he folded and didn't offer more for Lynch.

I mean, I guess you can look at it like after 20 years of trying, something really good is going to happen. And I do give Linehan credit for good coaching. But yeah, incredible good fortune to get Dak the way we did.

 

[Omegasupreme]

He's speaking about jeri here, but Troy answers your question here:

Why Troy Aikman retired - YouTube

Wow. Myth debunked!

 

[Omegasupreme]

and who names their kid "Stepfret"?

I'm guessing those with dysgraphia attempting to name their kid "Stephen".

 

[Omegasupreme]

Kevin Williams was a terrible route runner too. I still vividly recall Aikman and Irvin just ripping Williams' ass in that GB playoff game his rookie yr (1993) for running the wrong route. And it was something he did his entire stay here.

Then they had no talent slobs like Billy Davis and Jeff Ogden out there running around, in addition to the ultimate publicity stunt Deion playing WR almost FT that one yr.

Aikman was a legit HOFer but his career could have been even more amazing with a better GM.

2 questions here:
1. who were the talent scouts and head of personnel that were bringing in these WRs?
2. If Aikman was not physically disabled and sick of the way the Cowboys ran things, they didn't he go play for another team?

 

[peplaw06]

2 questions here:
1. who were the talent scouts and head of personnel that were bringing in these WRs?
2. If Aikman was not physically disabled and sick of the way the Cowboys ran things, they didn't he go play for another team?

He also talked about he almost went to play in Miami when Wannstedt and Norv were there.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

who were the talent scouts and head of personnel that were bringing in these WRs?

Well you know Jim Garrett was one of them...

But I remember Lacewell talking about how Jimmy was great at knowing which scouts and coaches to listen to and which ones to ignore. Some always oversell and some undersell, and you have to know how to read each guy and weight their opinions. He said when Jimmy left, they lost that.

I think that's when you get Jerry listening to the guy who talks the loudest, or is the best salesman.

 

[yimyammer]

Plus how Jerry was lamenting even the morning after the first day that he folded and didn't offer more for Lynch.

That makes this season (like 2014 when he distanced himself from Zack Martin lamenting Johnny Manziel) even sweeter because he cant crow about his football acumen, not that he wont try. Of course these facts probably wont stop the ignorant people who may vote him GM of the year again proving what a meaningless award it is.

 

[yimyammer]

2. If Aikman was not physically disabled and sick of the way the Cowboys ran things, they didn't he go play for another team?

IIRC, he didn't want to go play for a team that didn't have a team good enough to contend, especially a team rebuilding. Like Pep said, he almost went to Miami (which was enlightening because I had always heard the rumor was he almost went to play for Andy Reed in Philly, maybe it was both. I wonder why he didn't mention the Philly offer in this show.)

 

[dbair1967]

Yep, and that's my only disagreement with what you said earlier about Switzer being a mindless decision. Jerry knew exactly what he was doing and it's the same reason he didn't promote Norv or any other assistant: He wanted everything the same except the head coach to prove that any other HC could win with that team. His first and foremost thought wasn't about maximizing his team's chances of winning, it was about sticking it to Jimmy.

And that's pretty much why I have a Vikes avatar on this board and barely care about this team winning anymore.

He never had a chance to promote Norv, Norv left right after the Super Bowl for the Redskins job

I think he should have been up front with Norv about the potential for him being HC there had he stayed though, and I don't think there's any doubt he would have stayed in Dallas instead of going to Washington

 

[dbair1967]

IIRC, he didn't want to go play for a team that didn't have a team good enough to contend, especially a team rebuilding. Like Pep said, he almost went to Miami (which was enlightening because I had always heard the rumor was he almost went to play for Andy Reed in Philly, maybe it was both. I wonder why he didn't mention the Philly offer in this show.)

He's mentioned the Philly thing in the past. He said ultimately he didn't want to go and learn a new system at that point.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

He never had a chance to promote Norv, Norv left right after the Super Bowl for the Redskins job

I think he should have been up front with Norv about the potential for him being HC there had he stayed though, and I don't think there's any doubt he would have stayed in Dallas instead of going to Washington

Ugh. The whole point was that he wouldn't have done that because of just what I said. He wanted to change the HC only so he could stick it to Jimmy. Probably didn't hurt that Barry was a rival of Jimmy's from college, either.

Besides, from what I've seen Norv does have some principles (see Minny resignation) and would stand up to Jerry. Barry wouldn't, because he was only there to do Jerry a favor and make some quick bucks anyway.

 

[dbair1967]

Well you know Jim Garrett was one of them...

But I remember Lacewell talking about how Jimmy was great at knowing which scouts and coaches to listen to and which ones to ignore. Some always oversell and some undersell, and you have to know how to read each guy and weight their opinions. He said when Jimmy left, they lost that.

I think that's when you get Jerry listening to the guy who talks the loudest, or is the best salesman.

I still think after Jimmy left Jerry wanted to prove to everyone he was a real football guy and made a lot of the calls on personnel himself, regardless of what anyone else in the room told him. And I think he did that up until Parcells came in, and that's when they changed everything about how the scouting department was ran etc etc and some better decisions started being made.

 

[yimyammer]

I still think after Jimmy left Jerry wanted to prove to everyone he was a real football guy and made a lot of the calls on personnel himself, regardless of what anyone else in the room told him. And I think he did that up until Parcells came in, and that's when they changed everything about how the scouting department was ran etc etc and some better decisions started being made.

That almost certainly is the case, he seemed so much more involved (even though he's still running his dumb mouth as much as he ever has) with personnel in the immediate years following jimmys departure, whereas now he appears to have abdicated the throne to others and is not following his idiotic urges (although Hardy, McClain, Jaylon, Gregory sure seem like his style of picks, so he's probably still trying to throw ingredients at the chefs---anti RKGs---which I think is why Garrett keeps preaching he wants RKGs as a subtle message that those weren't his guys, but that's speculation for another day)

 

[dbair1967]

Ugh. The whole point was that he wouldn't have done that because of just what I said. He wanted to change the HC only so he could stick it to Jimmy. Probably didn't hurt that Barry was a rival of Jimmy's from college, either.

Besides, from what I've seen Norv does have some principles (see Minny resignation) and would stand up to Jerry. Barry wouldn't, because he was only there to do Jerry a favor and make some quick bucks anyway.

I'm not saying that didn't play a factor, but he did the breakup so late he didn't leave a lot of hope to get anyone of note other than someone else on the staff. I still think had Norv still been here, he'd have gotten the nod though.