Richard Paolinelli 
The 40th season – and the final one of the 20th Century – was less than stellar for the Cowboys. In an attempt to ignite the passing game Dallas acquired free agent wide receiver Rocket Ismail. But the team’s drafting continued to underwhelm. Only linebacker Dat Nguyen – … Read more
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With the departure of Barry Switzer the Cowboys turned to Chan Gailey to become the fourth head coach in team history. Gailey brought back a focus on the running game and the Cowboys drafted to upgrade the offensive and defensive lines. Picking eighth, the Cowboys drafted defensive end … Read more
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The Cowboys streak of consecutive NFC Championship game appearance had ended at four in 1996. The team came into the 1997 season looking to get back on top. Instead, the whole thing unraveled. Troy Aikman’s long-running frustration with Barry Switzer’s coaching style boiled over in an epic sideline … Read more
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NFL reporters Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero have both posted/tweeted on X (Twitter) that the New England Patriots are signing former Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott himself appeared to confirm their reporting with a post/tweet of his own minutes later. “One Five, all the way live! @Patriots” … Read more
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Admit it, during Saturday afternoon’s preseason game between the Jaguars and Cowboys you held your beath after Dallas scored its first touchdown. In came Brandon Aubrey, currently the only place kicker in camp in Oxnard, to attempt the point after. Visions of Brett Maher’s last six PAT attempts … Read more
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The Cowboys title defense in 1996 was literally doomed before it even started. Two years of poor drafts by Jerry Jones left the Cowboys without depth. The 1996 draft was better than the previous two, but that was a low bar to clear. So when suspensions and injuries … Read more
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Still stinging from letting a three-peat slip away the Cowboys went to work on getting back to the Super Bowl in 1995. If owner Jerry Jones was hoping to show the world the General Manager Jones had been the genius behind building the team, he fell well short. … Read more
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After a second-straight Super Bowl win over Buffalo in January, the Cowboys were early favorites to make it three in a row at the end of the 1994 season. Barring catastrophic injuries, the team was young and solid at every position. They seemed an unstoppable juggernaut. Only self-sabotage … Read more
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To call the 14 months between Dallas’ victory over the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII and the firing of Jimmy Johnson as tumultuous would be an understatement. Over that period of time, Dallas would celebrate its third Super Bowl victory. They would add Bernie Kosar to back up … Read more
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Just call 1992 the year of the three- and five-game win streaks in Dallas. The Cowboys would win three games, lose a game, then win five straight twice during the season. The pattern carried them all the way to Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena where they lifted the … Read more
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The Herschel Walker trade paid off big in 1991 and continued to do so for several years to come. With the assets gained from that transaction, along with a few additional moves, Dallas had 18 picks over the seven rounds of the 1991 NFL Draft. In the first … Read more
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By virtue of a league-worst 1-15 record in 1989, the Dallas Cowboys should have had the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. They didn’t because they gave up that pick by selecting quarterback Steve Walsh in the 1989 Supplemental draft. While Walsh did start five games … Read more
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You would think after 34 years there would be very little that Jerry Jones would say that would surprise any of us. Yet, Jerry still manages to do just that. Last week, when pressed about getting Jimmy Johnson on the Ring of Honor, Jerry dropped this nugget at … Read more
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If Jerry Jones’ had hoped to ride into town and be proclaimed ‘savior of the Dallas Cowboys’ he would be sorely disappointed. It wasn’t that changes didn’t need to be made. And it wasn’t that everyone knew the game had passed Tom Landry by. It was the way … Read more
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After enduring consecutive losing seasons the Cowboys were looking to turn things around in 1988. Tony Dorsett was traded to Denver during the offseason. Dallas even had a productive draft for a change. Michael Irvin was drafted in the first round and Ken Norton Jr. in the second. … Read more
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One of the bigger storylines in the NFC East this year is that Dan Snyder has finally been shown the exit from the NFL. Josh Harris, a 58-year-old billionaire and long-time fan of the franchise, is the managing partner of the Washington Commanders’ new ownership group. He’s also … Read more
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For the second time in the 1980s, the NFL players went out on strike after the first two games of the 1987 season. But unlike the 1982 strike, which saw seven weeks scratched from the schedule, this time the NFL owners weren’t playing. Cancelling only the Week 3 … Read more
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The Cowboys entered the 1986 with high hopes and with very good reason. They would have the dynamic running back duo of Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker to pound the football. They also brought in Paul Hackett to rejuvenate the passing game with quarterback Danny White. In the … Read more
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The Cowboys came off of missing the playoffs in 1984 with an otherwise uneventful draft in the spring of 1985. They did net a starting guard in Crawford Ker in the third round. They also grabbed Herschel Walker in the fifth round. Walker would not see action until … Read more
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The 1984 season was the Cowboys’ silver anniversary in the NFL. They had much to celebrate about their past. There would be very little to celebrate about the future for the next few years to come. The team marked the occasion with silver stars emblazoned with the number … Read more
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When the Cowboys signed undrafted free agent Hunter Luepke out of North Dakota State he faced long odds to make the roster. His versatility was his best positive to offer. He played both fullback and halfback for the Bison. Luepke was a punishing runner with the ball. He … Read more
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