Dallas Cowboys quarterback great Troy Aikman on Monday said the team was no longer a highly desired destination for a head coach. (Watch the video below.)
Those could be construed as fighting words for those who call the franchise “America’s Team.”
In the wake of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announcing the team had parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt noted that “this job is as coveted as any, ’cause you’re gonna run the Dallas Cowboys.”
Aikman ― who would later call the Rams’ playoff win over the Vikings on the sports network ― pushed back hard … twice.
“As far as the coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” he said pointedly.
For good measure, Aikman again bounced off Van Pelt’s remark.
He said he loved the Cowboys and wished them well, “but to say that it’s a coveted job, I’m not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”
Aikman accused the club of not having a succession plan and for potentially discouraging some candidates who want to run things “on their terms.” Jones, who bought the team in 1989, has been accused of “meddling” and being a “megalomaniac.”
“You have to empower that head coach, and that’s what’s been missing in Dallas since Jimmy Johnson walked out the door,” Aikman said.
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Funny he should say that. Johnson, who was hired as head coach by Jones, teamed with Aikman to win Super Bowl titles in 1993 and 1994 before a falling-out with the owner. Aikman won a third Super Bowl with the Cowboys in 1996 under head coach Barry Switzer.
It was the last time the Cowboys even made it to the big game. Aikman retired in 2001 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.