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By Mac Engel
November 07, 2018 07:00 AM
Michael Irvin is the loudest, Emmitt Smith will say a careful thing or two, and Troy Aikman is the best.
Of the Triplets that made the Dallas Cowboys of the ‘90s, and now are on the tele, only one offers the unvarnished truth about their former team without fear of what anyone associated with the Dallas Cowboys thinks.
That’s not a coincidence: Irvin and Emmitt were both presented into the Pro Football Hall of Fame by Jerry Jones. Aikman was presented into the Hall of Fame by his former offensive coordinator, Norv Turner.
Neither Irvin nor Emmitt knock Jerry publicly, but Troy is a different beast.
This is a man who is over 50, comfortable in his own wealth and opinions, and his feelings for Jerry Jones as a person, and how he runs the Dallas Cowboys.
Those are separate feelings, and can co-exist peacefully.
On Tuesday morning following the Cowboys’ 28-14 home loss to the Titans, Aikman made his weekly appearance on 1310 The Ticket in DFW and crushed Jerry in a way us sports hacks, and commentators, have for years.
Aikman told The Ticket: “Go through the list and this team, over a long period of time, has been what it’s been. It hasn’t always mattered who the head coach has been. So to me, if you’re asking me, I’d say there has to be a complete overhaul of the entire organization. You can’t just can’t simply replace head coaches and say, ‘Now it’s going to be better.’ No, it’s been shown that it’s not better. And you have to address how everything is being done.”
Aikman tried to offer a disclaimer to his commentary, stating he has not been with the team since 2000, so he doesn’t know. Then he also said, “But I talk to people. I talk to people who have been inside the building and have a pretty good understanding of how things are run, and in a lot of ways there’s a lot of dysfunction. And that has to change if this team is going to be able to compete on a consistent basis like the teams you look to around the league that seemingly are in the hunt each and every year.”
Aikman does not believe Jerry is going to make a coaching change in the middle of the season. He also thinks Jerry, after every season, routinely does something to offer fans hope.
“There’s been times where I’ve heard Jerry say, ‘OK, look, we’re going to do it differently. I’m going to do it differently.’ But it’s the same. Nothing changes,” Aikman told The Ticket. “And that to me is the bigger issue, beyond, ‘Yes, coaching’s important, personnel,’ all those things are important, but how are you going about evaluating? How are you going about running the organization?”
Give Aikman credit for doing what an analyst should do and that is to offer his opinion. It doesn’t mean he’s right, but it does mean Aikman does his job well.
He did not, nor does he allow, any perceived personal bias towards his former team and employer to cloud what he sees going on with the Cowboys.
Now, will Jerry listen to the quarterback who made those three Super Bowl trophies possible?
Go with “N-O” and start from there.
