It’s been nearly three decades since the Dallas Cowboys last played for a championship, but one former player is just one win away from capturing one.
Former defensive back Ray Horton was on the team when the Cowboys trounced Buffalo to win Super Bowl XXVII in 1992.
He was also a coach on the Steelers staff when Pittsburgh stole won Super Bowls XL and XLIII.
Tonight, at 8 p.m. EDT, Horton will go looking to add a fourth ring.
He’ll lead the Pittsburgh Maulers against the defending champion Birmingham Stallions in the USFL Championship game.
An Unlikely Playoff Run
The Maulers were, in the USFL’s return to action last year, awful in 2022. And that’s being nice.
Pittsburgh went 1-9 last year under then-Head Coach Kirby Wilson.
The lowlight of Wilson’s tenure occurred off the field when he cut a player for ordering pizza instead of chicken salad.
Wilson resigned in January and Horton was announced as the new head coach by another former Cowboys player, Daryl Johnston, the USFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
Under Horton, the team played better, but still dropped its first two games of the 10-game season.
After winning two of their next three games, the Maulers suffered a three-game losing streak.
With two games remaining, Pittsburgh sat at 2-6, but were still alive for the playoffs.
Playing in the weaker North Division, the Maulers upended both the Michigan Panthers and New Jersey Generals to finish 4-6.
It was just good enough to win the division despite a three-way tie with the Panthers and the Philadelphia Stars.
The Maulers then held off the Panthers, 31-27, in overtime in the Division playoff game and earn the right to meet the Stallions for the championship.
It may not be the prettiest playoff run, but Horton has his team on a three-game winning streak and playing solid football at just the right time.
A Winner On The Field
Horton was no stranger to winning playoff games as a player.
He was 6-2 in the postseason during his 10-year NFL playing career.
Playing for the Bengals from 1983-1988, Horton was part of Cincinnati’s Super Bowl XXIII run in 1988.
The Bengals dispatched Seattle and Buffalo before falling to the 49ers 20-16 in Miami.
He went 4-1 during his four years in Dallas, capping off his playing career with Dallas’ 52-17 drubbing over the Bills in Pasadena.
His playing experience, and his Super Bowl winning resume in uniform and on the sideline, has played a huge role in Pittsburgh run.
The Maulers will come in as underdogs in tonight’s game.
But, like his former coach Jimmy Johnson, Horton will have his team prepared to play.
Another Cowboys’ Connection
Another former Cowboys’ player will be involved in tonight’s game.
Former Cowboys’ quarterback and Head Coach, Jason Garrett, will be the color analyst up in the booth for NBC.
The man many consider to be mostly to blame for wasting Tony Romo’s chances at playing for a Super Bowl, has been trying his hand in the booth during the USFL season.
It’s safe to say he isn’t the worst at the job among the many other networks.
But he isn’t much better at it than he was at being the Cowboys’ Head Coach.
