Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry (September 11, 1924 February 12, 2000) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) history, creating many new formations and methods. He invented the now popular
4-3 defenseIn American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is probably the most commonly used defense in modern American football and especially in the National Football League. NFL teams that use the 4–3 defense as of 2011 include the...
, and the "flex defense" system made famous by the "Doomsday Defense" squads he created during his 29 year tenure with the
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
.
Landry won two
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
titles (
VISuper Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1971 regular season...
,
XIISuper Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
), 5
NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
titles, 13 Divisional titles, and compiled a 270-178-6 record, the 3rd most wins of all time for an NFL coach. His 20 career playoff victories are the most of any coach in NFL history. He was named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975. His most impressive professional accomplishment is his 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966–1985), an NFL record that remains unbroken and unchallenged. It remains one of the longest winning streaks in all of professional sports history.
Personal life
Born in
MissionMission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,058 at the 2010 census Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mission is located at ....
,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Ray (an auto mechanic and volunteer fireman) and Ruth Landry, Tom was the second of four children (Robert, Tommy, Ruthie and Jack). After playing quarterback (primary passer and runner, and also punter) for Mission High School (including leading his team to a 12-0 record his senior season), he attended the
University of TexasThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in
AustinAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
as an
industrial engineeringIndustrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
major.
He interrupted his education after a semester to serve in the
United States Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Landry earned his wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field, and was assigned to the
493d Bombardment GroupThe 493d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945....
at
RAF DebachRAF Debach is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 3 miles NW of Woodbridge, Suffolk.-USAAF use:Debach was one of the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber stations to be occupied. being built by the 820th Engineer Battalion of the US Army during 1943/1944...
, England, as a
B-17 Flying Fortress bomber co-pilot in the
860th Bombardment SquadronThe 860th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 493d Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota on 28 August 1945.-History:...
. From November 1944 to April 1945, he completed a combat tour of 30 missions, and survived a crash landing in
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
after his bomber ran out of fuel.
He returned to his studies at UT in the fall of 1946. On the football team, he played fullback and defensive back on the Texas Longhorns' bowl game winners on New Year's Day of 1948 and 1949. At UT, he was a member of the
Delta Kappa EpsilonDelta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity (Omega Chi chapter). He received his
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from UT in 1949. In 1952, he earned a
Master's degreeA master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in
Industrial engineeringIndustrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from the
University of HoustonThe University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
Landry was known as a quiet, religious man, unfazed by the hype that surrounded the Cowboys, then being billed as
America's TeamThe term America's Team is a popular nickname in American sports that refers to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. The nickname originated with the team's 1978 highlight film, where the narrator opens with the following introduction: The term is recognized and often used by media...
. A Methodist
Sunday schoolSunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher, he would sometimes arrive for home games only moments before a noon kickoff after teaching an adult
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
study class in the morning. He was in a
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
promoting
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in 1973. Landry was active in the
Fellowship of Christian AthletesThe Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...
. Landry was a friend of the Reverend
Billy GrahamWilliam Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
, speaking at many of his crusades. In fact, one of the suit coats Landry commonly wore was a gift from Graham.
Landry married the former Alicia Wiggs on January 28, 1949. The Landrys were married for 51 years, prior to his death and had three children; a son, Tom, Jr. and daughters Kitty and Lisa (d. 1995).
NFL player
Landry played in the
AAFCThe All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
in 1949 for the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. The team played in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and often played in front of sold-out crowds . They were owned by Dan Topping, who brought many of his Brooklyn...
, then moved in
1950The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both...
across town to the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. In
1954The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...
he was selected as an all-pro. He played through the
1955The 1955 NFL season was the 36th regular season of the National Football League. NBC paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the NFL Championship Game...
season, and acted as a player-assistant coach the last two years, 1954 through 1955. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games.
NFL coach
For the
1954The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...
football season, Landry became the
defensive coordinatorA defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
for the Giants, opposite
Vince LombardiVincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
, who was the
offensive coordinatorAn offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
. Landry led one of the best defensive teams in the league from 1956 to 1959. The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty within the unit they coached that drove the Giants to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years. The Giants beat the
Chicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
47–7 in
1956The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
, but lost to the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in
1958The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season of the National Football League.The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game...
and
1959The 1959 NFL season was the 40th regular season of the National Football League. Tragedy struck as NFL Commissioner Bert Bell died of a heart attack on October 11 at Philadelphia's Franklin Field while watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers play...
.
In
1960The 1960 NFL season was the 41st regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Pete Rozelle was elected NFL commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot. Meanwhile, the league expanded to 13 teams with the addition of the Dallas Cowboys. Also, the Cardinals...
, he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and stayed for 29 seasons (1960–88). The Cowboys started with difficulties, recording an 0–11–1 record during their first season, with five or fewer wins in each of their next four. Despite this early futility, in 1964 Landry was given a ten year extension by owner Clint Murchison Jr. It would prove to be a wise move as Landry's hard work and determination paid off, and the Cowboys improved to a 7–7 record in 1965. In 1966, they surprised the NFL by posting 10 wins, and making it all the way to the NFL championship game. Dallas lost the game to Lombardi's
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, but this season was but a modest display of what lay ahead.
Throughout his tenure, Landry worked closely with the Cowboys general manager,
Tex SchrammTexas Earnest "Tex" Schramm, Jr. was the original president and general manager of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise. Schramm became the head of the Cowboys when the former expansion team started operations in 1960.-Early life and career:Despite his name, Schramm was not born...
. The two were together during Landry's entire tenure with the team. A third member of the Cowboys brain trust in this time was
Gil BrandtGil Brandt was a Vice President of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988.Brandt served as the Cowboys' chief talent scout since the club's birth in 1960. He had served as a part-time scout for the Los Angeles Rams under General Manager Tex Schramm in the 1950s...
.
The Great Innovator
Tom Landry invented the now-popular "4-3 Defense", while serving as
GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defensive coordinator. It was called "4-3" because it featured four down lineman (two ends and two defensive tackles on either side of the offensive center) and three linebackers — middle, left, and right. The innovation was the middle linebacker. Previously, a lineman was placed over the center. But Landry had this person stand up and move back two yards. The Giants' middle linebacker was the legendary
Sam HuffRobert Lee "Sam" Huff is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982....
.
Landry also invented and popularized the use of keys (analyzing offensive tendencies) to determine what the offense might do.
When Landry was hired by the
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, he became concerned with then-
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
Coach
Vince LombardiVincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
's "Run to Daylight" idea, where the
running backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
went to an open space, rather than a specific assigned hole. Landry reasoned that the best counter was a defense that flowed to daylight and blotted it out.
To do this, he refined the
4-3 defenseIn American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is probably the most commonly used defense in modern American football and especially in the National Football League. NFL teams that use the 4–3 defense as of 2011 include the...
by moving two of the four linemen off the line of scrimmage one yard and varied which linemen did this based on where the Cowboys thought the offense might run. This change was called "The Flex Defense," because it altered its alignment to counter what the offense might do. Thus, there were three such Flex Defenses — strong, weak, and "tackle" — where both defensive tackles were off the line of scrimmage. The idea with the flexed linemen was to improve pursuit angles to stop the Green Bay Sweep — a popular play of the 1960s. The Flex Defense was also innovative in that it was a kind of zone defense against the run. Each defender was responsible for a given gap area, and was told to stay in that area before they knew where the play was going.
It has been said that, after inventing the Flex Defense, he then invented an offense to score on it, reviving the man-in-motion and starting in the mid-1970s, the
shotgun formationThe shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in American and Canadian football. This formation is used mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. In the shotgun, instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmage,...
. But Landry's biggest contribution in this area was the use of "pre-shifting" where the offense would shift from one formation to the other before the snap of the ball. This tactic was not new. It was developed by Coach
Amos Alonzo StaggAmos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
around the turn of the 20th century; Landry was the first coach to use the approach on a regular basis. The idea was to break the keys within the defense used to determine what the offense might do. An unusual feature of this offense was Landry having his offensive linemen get in their squatted pre-stance, stand up while the running backs shifted, and then go back down into their complete "hand down" stance. The purpose of the "up and down" movement was to make it more difficult for the defense to see where the backs were shifting (over the tall offensive linemen) and thus cut down on recognition time. While other NFL teams later employed shifting, few employed this "up and down" technique as much as Landry.
Landry also was ahead of his time in his philosophy of building a team. When the Packers were a dynasty in the 1960s with 245 lb (111.1 kg) guards and 250 lb (113.4 kg) tackles, he was busy stockpiling size for the next generation of linemen. Tackles
Rayfield WrightLarry Rayfield Wright is a former American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-High school and college years:...
stood 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) and
Ralph NeelyRalph Eugene Neely is a former American football offensive tackle who played 13 seasons and 172 games for the Dallas Cowboys from 1965 to 1977.-Early years:...
weighed 265 lb (120.2 kg). Center
Dave MandersDavid Francis Manders was an American football center in the National Football League from 1964 through 1974. He played college football at Michigan State University...
weighed 250 lb (113.4 kg). All went on to block in Pro Bowls and Super Bowls in the 1970s.
The same with defense. The better linemen of the 1960s were the shorter, stockier, leverage players like Willie Davis,
Alex KarrasAlexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
and
Andy RobustelliAndrew Richard "Andy" Robustelli was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. He played college football at Arnold College and was drafted in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft...
. But Landry drafted the taller, leaner linemen like 6 in 7 in (2.01 m)
George AndrieGeorge Joseph Andrie is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. Andrie prepped at Catholic Central High School.-College career:...
and 6 in 6 in (1.98 m)
Jethro PughJethro Pugh, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-College career:...
in the 1960s and later 6 in 9 in (2.06 m)
Ed JonesEd Lee "Too Tall" Jones is a retired American football player in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. By the end of his 15 years with the Cowboys, he was officially credited with 57 quarterback sacks. Unofficially, his career sack total is 106...
in the 1970s. Long arms allow for increased leverage in the pass rush. A quarter of a century later, all NFL teams covet pass rushers who resemble thickly muscled
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA)
power forwardPower forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
s.
In the days before strength and speed programs, Landry brought in Alvin Roy and Boots Garland in the early 1970s to help make the Cowboys stronger and faster. Roy was a weightlifter and Garland a college track coach. Now every NFL team has specialty coaches.
Landry also was one of the first NFL coaches to search outside the traditional college football pipeline for talent. For example, he recruited several soccer players from Latin America, such as
Efren HerreraEfren Herrera is a former placekicker in the National Football League from 1974–1982. After a college career at the University of California, Los Angeles, Herrera kicked for the Dallas Cowboys in 1974 and 1976–1977. Herrera was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1977 season. He was a part of...
and Raphael Septien, to compete for the job of placekicker for the Cowboys. Landry looked to the world of track and field for speedy skill position players. For example,
Bob HayesRobert Lee "Bullet Bob" Hayes was an Olympic sprinter turned American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University...
, once considered the fastest man in the world, was drafted by and played wide receiver for the Cowboys under Landry.
Landry also was the first to employ a coach for
quality controlQuality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
.
Ermal AllenErmal Allen is a former NFL quarterback. Before playing professionally, we attended the University of Kentucky and lettered in four sport—basketball, track, golf, and football. He was drafted in 1947 by the Chicago Cardinals, but was sent to play for the Cleveland Browns...
would analyze game films and chart the tendencies of the opposition for the Cowboys in the 1970s. That gave Landry an edge in preparation, because he knew what to expect from his opponent based on down and distance. Now every NFL team has a quality control coach, and most have two.
Landry produced a very large coaching tree. In 1986, five NFL head coaches were former Landry assistants:
Mike DitkaMichael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
,
Dan ReevesDaniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...
,
John MackovicJohn Mackovic is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of United States national American football team, which was formed to compete in the American Football World Cup...
,
Gene StallingsEugene Clifton Stallings, Jr. is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University , where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971. Stallings was also the head coach of the St...
, and
Raymond BerryRaymond Emmett Berry is a former football wide receiver. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their two NFL championship wins. He later had a career in coaching, highlighted by his trip to Super Bowl XX as head coach of the New England Patriots...
.
Retirement and legacy
In the 1980s, the Cowboys won two Division Championships, made five playoff appearances which included reaching the NFC Championship Game three consecutive years (1980–1982) but failed to reach the Super Bowl. In 1984, H.R. "Bum" Bright purchased the Dallas Cowboys from Clint Murchison, Jr. As the Cowboys suffered through progressively poorer seasons (from 10–6 in 1985 to 7–9 in 1986, 7–8 in 1987, and 3–13 in 1988), Bright became disenchanted with the team.
Landry had signed a three-year contract in the summer of 1987. However Schramm brought in Paul Hackett as the new offensive coach in 1986, and in 1987 he hired offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck and special teams coach Mike Solari. Some suggested that Schramm's moves divided the coaching staff, a plan to first undermine and then dismiss Landry. Bright who usually stayed behind the scenes from the time he purchased the Cowboys in March 1984, publicly criticized Landry after an embarrassing home loss to the
Atlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1987, saying that he was "horrified" at the play-calling and complaining "It doesn't seem like we've got anybody in charge who knows what he's doing, other than Tex". Bright was also upset at how top draft pick, defensive tackle
Danny NoonanDaniel Nicholas Noonan is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1987–1992 and Green Bay Packers also in 1992....
and and running back
Herschel WalkerHerschel Junior Walker is an American mixed martial artist and a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and earned the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He began his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League...
weren't being used enough.
Two weeks later, one day after the Cowboys' 27-17 loss to the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, a team that had come into the game tied with Kansas City, the Giants and the Rams for the worst record in the NFL, president and general manager Tex Schramm said on his radio show "There's an old saying, "If the teacher doesn't teach, the student doesn't learn". Nonetheless, Bright maintained his hands-off approach on the team while Schramm retained his confidence in Landry. Landry's game strategies and single-mindedness in the past few seasons left him open to public criticism.
Landry's Cowboys finished the 1988 season going 3-13 which earned the No. 1 pick in the draft with the worst record in the NFL, taking his personal record to 270-178-6. It was the fourth time in five years that they missed the playoffs, as well as their third consecutive losing season. Nonetheless in February 1989, before the start of the
1989The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
season, Landry remained determined to coach into the 1990s "unless I get fired", as he dismissed or reassigned his assistants. Landry had one year left on his contract which paid $1 million a season.
Two weeks later on February 26, 1989, Landry was dismissed as head coach, shortly after H.R. "Bum" Bright sold the team to
Jerry JonesJerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.-Early life:Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School...
. Bright had suffered major losses in his banking, real estate and oil businesses in the last three years; during the Savings and Loan crisis, Bright's Cowboys and Savings and Loan were taken over by the FSLIC who later forced the team's sale to Jones. During a more solid economic climate, it was said that Bright could have held on and Landry may have remained as coach. Jones hired Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate at the
University of ArkansasThe University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
who had been serving as coach of
University of MiamiThe Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
football team. Schramm was in tears at the press conference which announced the coaching change, and he was forced out as general manager shortly afterwards; Schramm and Landry had been together for 29 years since the Cowboys' inception in 1960. When Landry met with his players two days later to tell them how much he would miss them, he began to cry, and the players responded with a standing ovation.
Right after Landry's firing was announced, there was an outpouring of support for Landry as the city of Dallas and fans everywhere forgot about the team’s decline during the 1980s and instead remembered the memories of the legend in the fedora who built America’s Team from nothing to champions. Jones stated that he did not give consideration to retaining Landry for even a season, as he said that he would not have purchased the team unless he could hire Johnson as coach. Jones also did not discuss the matter beforehand with Landry before announcing the decision. Landry's unceremonious dismissal by Jones was denounced by football fans and media as totally lacking in class and respect, as pride and tradition were part of the Cowboys where great performance and loyal service were expected to be rewarded. In the years since, while most fans retain their support for the team, there persists significant levels of resentment towards Jones over the mistreatment of Landry.
Landry's success during nearly three decades of coaching was the impetus for his induction into the
Pro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1990, less than two years after his last game. Landry was inducted into the
"Ring of Honor"The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
at
Texas StadiumTexas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
in 1993. Landry had declined several earlier offers by Jones to enter the Ring of Honor before accepting in 1993.
Landry died February 12, 2000 from
leukemiaLeukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. Landry's funeral service was held at Highland Park United Methodist Church, where he was an active and committed member for forty-three years. He was interred in the
Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park CemeterySparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 7405 West Northwest Highway in north Dallas, Texas . Among the notable persons interred here are:*Sawnie Robertson Aldredge , mayor of Dallas, Texas...
in Dallas. A
cenotaphA cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
dedicated to Landry, complete with a depiction of his
fedoraA fedora is a men's felt hat. In reality, "fedora" describes most any men's hat that does not already have another name; quite a few fedoras have famous names of their own including the famous Trilby....
was placed in the official
Texas State CemeteryThe Texas State Cemetery is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, it was expanded into a Confederate cemetery during the Civil War...
in
AustinAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
at the family's request.
The Cowboys wore a patch on their uniforms during the 2000 season depicting Landry's trademark
fedoraA fedora is a men's felt hat. In reality, "fedora" describes most any men's hat that does not already have another name; quite a few fedoras have famous names of their own including the famous Trilby....
. A bronze statue of Landry stood outside of
Texas StadiumTexas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
, and now stands in front of Cowboys Stadium since the Cowboys relocated in 2009. The section of
Interstate 30Interstate 30 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. I-30 runs from Interstate 20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, Texas, and Texarkana, Texas, to Interstate 40 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route parallels U.S. Route 67 except for the portion west of...
between Dallas and Fort Worth was named the Tom Landry Highway by the
Texas LegislatureThe Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
in 2001. The football stadium in Landry's hometown of
Mission, TexasMission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 77,058 at the 2010 census Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.-Geography:Mission is located at ....
was named Tom Landry Stadium to honor one of the city's most famous former residents. Similarly, Trinity Christian Academy's stadium in
Addison, TexasAddison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...
is named Tom Landry Stadium in honor of Landry's extensive involvement and support of the school.
In popular culture
- In 1959, while defensive coach of the Giants, Landry pretended to be a Catholic missionary priest on the TV panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
To Tell The TruthTo Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
(on an episode that included balloonist Commander Malcolm Roth).
- The coach in Peter Gent
George Davis Peter Gent was a Michigan State University basketball player and National Football League wide receiver turned novelist.-Early days:...
's novel North Dallas Forty is based on Tom Landry. G.D. Spradlin played the role in the film of the same name.
- In Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's animated sitcom King of the Hill, the local middle school is named after Tom Landry, and Landry is a personal hero of the show's main character Hank HillHenry Rutherford "Hank" Hill Age 50 animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people...
. He mentions being "mortified" because he went to work on the date of Landry's death after his cousin Dusty (guest star Dusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
of ZZ TopZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
) had previously tricked him into thinking Tom Landry had died, and he thought it was a repeat of that prank. Hank also has a Tom Landry Ceramic plate that he sometimes consults in times of need, on one occasion saying "Where did I go wrong, Tom?" Landry also occasionally appears to Hank in dream sequences to counsel him in times of need, like during Hank's varnish induced hallucination on the episode "Hillennium".
- In an episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
("You Only Move Twice"You Only Move Twice" is the second episode of The Simpsons eighth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 3, 1996. The episode, based on a story idea by Greg Daniels, has three major concepts: the family moves to a new town; Homer gets a friendly, sympathetic...
"), Homer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
buys Tom Landry's trademark fedora in an effort to improve his leadership qualities, and is shown in several later episodes wearing the hat. Landry was also featured in Season 7 episode ("Marge Be Not Proud"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
") as one of the Christmas carolA Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
ers introduced by Krusty the Clown early in the episode.
- The series Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
features a character named Landry hinted to be named after Tom Landry, given the town's obsession with football.
- In a Campbell's Chunky Soup
Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
commercial, the game takes place in mythical Reginald H. WhiteReginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
Memorial Park, on the corner of Landry Road and Halas DriveGeorge Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
.
- The fantasy football
Fantasy football is an interactive, virtual competition in which people manage professional football players versus one another and that allows people to act as general managers of a pseudo-football team. The players that an individual is able to manage are professional American Football players...
board gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
Blood BowlBlood Bowl is a Fantasy Football game created by Jervis Johnson for the British games company Games Workshop as a parody of American Football. The game was first released in 1987 and has been re-released in new editions since...
features a necromantic team coach called Tomolandry the Undying.
- University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Landry JonesLandry Jones is an American football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners.-Early years:Jones attended Artesia High School in his hometown where he led the football team to two consecutive Class 4A state championships, throwing for a combined 7,013 yards and 89 touchdowns. As a senior in 2007,...
is named in honor of Coach Landry.
Quotations
- "When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn."
- "Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control."
- "Leadership is the ability to get a person to do what he doesn't want to do in order to achieve what he wants to achieve...it's getting the best out of people."
Further reading
- Summerall, Pat and Levin, Michael (2010), Giants:What I learned about life from Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley and Sons, Inc., (eISBN
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H...
978-0-470-90908-9)
External links
- Profile at Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
- Archive at The Sporting News
- Gravesite