The Dallas Cowboys Coach is one of the most prized jobs in football. Working with a franchise that has money to spend, a proud history, and a large fan base gives the coach the potential to go as far as his talents can take him.
This was not always the case, and a great debt is owed to the exceptional coach who took the Cowboys from humble and unsuccessful beginnings to domination of the NFC throughout the 1970s. When the Dallas franchise was formed back at the start of the 1960s, Tex Schramm brought in Tom Landry as head coach. Landry had been a player in New York, with the Yankees and then the Giants, and also a defensive coordinator with the Giants.
Those first seasons in Dallas were tough, but the management of the franchise, to their eternal credit, stuck with Tom Landry. Landry continued to build the team throughout the 1960s, and in 1966 the work started to pay off, as Dallas enjoyed their first winning season, which then grew into a league record twenty consecutive winning seasons.
By the start of the 1970s, the Cowboys were ready to move up another level. They won the Super Bowl twice under Landry during the 1970s, and won the NFC Championship five times.
As Dallas Cowboys Coach, Tom Landry was responsible for innovations that were to change the way the game of football was played for ever. The "4-3 Defense", now so popular throughout the game, was a Tom Landry development, started in his years with the Giants. The system of having four down linemen, and only three linebackers, gave defenses a new flexibility. Whereas before a lineman had always lined up opposite the center, now the middle linebacker was able to stand two yards deeper. His system was further improved during his time with Dallas, as two of the linemen were moved a yard off the scrimmage line, depending on circumstances.
Although the Dallas fans were incensed when Tom Landry was dismissed by Jerry Jones at the start of 1989, Jones did at least replace him with a coach who was capable of reviving the team's fortunes in a very big way.
Coach Jimmy Johnson took over at a time when the Cowboys' fortunes were at rock bottom, and within three years he had led them to a Super Bowl victory. This was retained the following year. Johnson was in the enviable position of having top draft picks with which to build his team, but he still had to pick the right players, and his record of picking future Hall of Fame players speaks for itself. Although his tenure was short lived, Johnson has certainly proved his right to be considered a great Dallas Cowboys Coach.
Bill Parcells is currently the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
