1990’s San Francisco 49ers v. Dallas Cowboys: 49ers Perspective

July 25, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

Originally written May 6, 2015- Reissued July 25, 2025

Former San Francisco 49er Head Coach Bill Walsh referred to the early years of the organization’s coming of age as “Camelot”. After the 1981 Super Bowl championship they would go on to become “Team of the Decade” winning another 3 titles. San Francisco became the NFL’s gold standard in on field achievement and the corporate way they conducted themselves.

Their players were revered as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott took their place among the league’s greatest ever players. They had been the toast of Presidents as the 80’s drew to a close. In 1989 new Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones traveled to San Francisco to learn from Eddie Debartolo how the league’s model franchise did business. This was nothing new as even former Head Coach Bill Walsh had become a favorite on the corporate motivational speaking circuit.

As the 90’s beckoned, the team was transitioning on the field as Steve Young, Ricky Watters and a new wave of 49ers emerged. It started with a team loss in the 90 NFC Championship to the New York Giants 15-13 ending their chance at a 3-peat. Gone were 80’s holdovers Montana, Roger Craig, and Lott as the new generation took shape in 1991. Montana from a vicious hit that kept him out of football for two years. The others were released as the team looked to get younger to stay competitive.

They finished 10-6 as Steve Young finished his first season as a passing champion. It took awhile for San Fran to find their footing yet they finished on a 6 game winning streak. By 1992 the Niners hit their stride finishing 14-2 and retooled with Ricky Watters rushing for 1,013 yards to join Young, and Rice in the Pro Bowl. Another passing title moved Young into the elite of the sport yet it came crashing down with a loss to the upstart Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship 30-20.

Steve Young being sacked during the 1992 NFC Championship Game.

Yes, those same Dallas Cowboys who had studied the 49er organization some 4 years before. The same Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones who had traded for former 49er Charles Haley to help lead the upstart Cowboys and shift the balance of power. Haley had grown up a 49er and battled T Steve Wallace, G Guy McIntyre, and G Harris Barton for 6 years in practice. His experience and spirit settled the nervous young Cowboys in their ’92 NFC Championship triumph.

Going into the game it was a 50/50 split as to who had the upper hand. What really hurt Steve Young is a now healthy Joe Montana watched from the sideline. As San Fran fell behind in the second half, a growing feeling in the stadium loomed. Would George Seifert put Montana in if the game got away from Young. Even though Young was the NFL’s MVP, he still had the legend looking over his shoulder. As the event drew near it felt like a defining NFC Championship was taking shape. The excitement leading into the game reached a crescendo when…

What if Guy McIntyre doesn’t get called for holding on the game’s 3rd play negating Jerry Rice’s 63 yard TD from Young?? It would have changed the complexion of the game. However Troy Aikman had gone 24 of 34 for 322 yards and 2TDs. Troy Aikman outplayed him and made several signature throws to Alvin Harper while Young threw 2 4th quarter interceptions.Emmitt Smith controlled the clock with 114 yds rushing and 59 yds receiving. They took the measure of San Fran and became the league’s signature team with their Super Bowl XXVII championship.

Going into 1993 the 49ers had traded away Joe Montana making it Young’s team. This added pressure from the fans but their real battle was catching Dallas who was now an established champion. They were brash and played with an in your face bravado that took the 49ers aback. In the locker room following the ’92 Championship, Jimmy Johnson’s boast “How ’bout them Cowboys!?!” reverberated in the CBS cameras & throughout Candlestick Park. It haunted the organization as they set their sights on dethroning the loud, brash Cowboys.

Once they qualified for the NFC Championship rematch in Dallas, it was time to right the ship. Dallas had beat them 26-17 in the regular season to add to their confidence. Then Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson dropped a bombshell. He called a Dallas radio station and declared “We will win the game and you can put it in 3 inch headline!” Now they were calling San Fran out and how would they respond??

Called out and humiliated like an after school fight in 6th grade, the 38-21 loss in the ’93 NFC Championship was worse than it looked. Dallas was up 28-7 in the 2nd quarter and was sitting on the ball with 3:27 to go. The defense, which had struggled all year, was completely exposed. The gap was widening and the team needed to make drastic changes if they were going to compete with the younger Cowboys.

Michael Irvin had emerged as one of the best wide outs in the NFL. Emmitt Smith had the last 2 rushing titles and had his 3rd straight 100 yard rushing game against the 49ers. Troy Aikman had yet to throw an interception in 2 NFC Championship games. Alvin Harper was becoming a serious 49er killer as he emerged with the highest yard per catch average in postseason history. Most of it due to huge plays against San Fran.

Carmen Policy and the 49ers brass moved into swift action. Back then the team that lost the conference championship coached the Pro Bowl squad. Free agency had come to the NFL the year before and they used this as a recruiting trip. They signed future Hall of Famers Rickey Jackson, Richard Dent, Deion Sanders off the NFC Pro Bowl squad. Then stole Ken Norton Jr from the Cowboys and DE Charles Mann all fom the ’93 Pro Bowl.

Floyd and Watters celebrate touchdown during their 44-15 demolition of Chicago in the ’94 playoffs.

“If you can come in and give us the defense, we have an offense that can dethrone the Cowboys and get to the Super Bowl.” They also knew they needed a new approach psychologically and embraced a more brash, in your face swaggering persona. Spearheaded by the outgoing personalities of Ricky Watters, Deion Sanders, and rookie FB William Floyd.

Gone was the laced up corporate attitude of the team on the field. This group showed its emotions on the field, celebrated with end zone dancing and Deion highstepping downfield after interceptions. The only thing that made the 49ers recognizable were their helmets. Thanks to the NFL commemorating their 75th season, the Niners elected to play most of the season in their “throwback” uniforms of the 1950s. The 49ers were reborn in 1994.

It worked as the 49ers blew through the regular season 13-3 and scored a team record 505 points. Steve Young was league MVP and Sanders was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. They retooled and had specific match ups ready as they eyed the defending champion Cowboys. They beat them during the season 21-14 to earn the right to homefield advantage for the ’94 NFC Championship. If the Cowboys were going to 3peat, they had to go through the last team that had that same chance just 4 years before.

Sanders impact on the Conference Championship Game was immense. While he intercepted Aikman at a critical juncture of the 3rd quarter, it was the strategy to put him on 49er killer Alvin Harper at the start of the game that proved fatal. The first two scores were set up by turnovers as the Cowboys threw away from Sanders on Harper. By the third drive Harper was removed from the game so the Cowboys coaches could get a grasp of how they would deploy Deion in his absence. Harper returned to the game a series later but so decisive was Deion’s coverage you could trace the decline of Harper’s career to this point.

The vanquished became the victors with their 38-28 defeat of the Dallas Cowboys in the ’94 NFC Championship Game. Super Bowl XXIX was an anticlimactic 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers. Steve Young liberated himself from the ghost of Joe Montana. For 3 straight years these two teams pushed each other to heights they would not have achieved without each other. However the final shot was fired by the 49ers.

Young and Rice celebrate in Super Bowl XXIX.

Jerry Jones had become obsessed with overtaking the 49ers who themselves made practical business decisions. They didn’t match Ricky Watters free agent contract with Philadelphia, which was a mistake, and they had to enter a bidding war for Deion Sanders. In ’94 they signed him to $1.1 million for one year where other teams were offering 4 years $17 million. Coming off a Super Bowl triumph and his 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year it was time to cash in. San Francisco baited jones and he took it and overspent for Deion at a cost of $35 million.

This crippled Dallas who wouldn’t be a player in free agency the rest of the decade. The Cowboys had all their money tied to Aikman, Smith, Irvin, and Sanders. The 49ers had freed themselves of the Dallas stranglehold and would go on to be an elite team the rest of the decade. They just didn’t see a new foe emerging in Mike Holmgren’s Green Bay Packers.

However there was the 1995 season where the 49ers were more in the spirit of the pre ’94 group. At midseason they took on the revenge minded Cowboys in Texas Stadium. The Cowboys were 8-1, healthy and ready to show with Deion Sanders in tow, they had overtaken San Fran. Going into the game they were missing QB Steve Young, FB William Floyd and staggered into the game with a 5-4 record. Perfect timing for the Cowboys to provide the knock out blow. Nobody believed the 49ers had a chance…

After being upset by the Packers in the 1995 NFC Divisional Playoffs 21-17, they began a new rivalry chapter with them. As for Dallas, they did win Super Bowl XXX to make it 4 wins in 4 years between these two organizations. New teams would emerge before the decade concluded. Most notable was Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos. Shanahan was San Francisco’s Offensive Coordinator during the heat of the 49er v Cowboys rivalry.

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1990’s San Francisco 49ers v. Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys Perspective

July 25, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

Originally written April 15, 2015 -Reissued July 25, 2025

Back on January 10, 1982, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship in what came to be known as “The Catch”. Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin were 12, 15, & 15 yrs of age respectively at the time. Over the next decade, a football generation came to know the 49ers as the dominant team in pro football. Yet here they were in January 1993, as men, having conquered the 49ers in the ’92 NFC Championship 30-20 in a true changing of the guard.

The passing of the torch

Joe Montana, an iconic symbol of the old guard, was shaking hands congratulating the young Cowboys. They had vanquished not only the team with the NFC’s best record, 14-2, they toppled the team that epitomized conference excellence over the last decade. Now they were navigating uncharted waters and off to Super Bowl XXVII to take on the Buffalo Bills.

By the time they made it to Pasadena to take on the Bills, they’re confidence was at an all time high. However beating Buffalo was anticlimactic to what had taken place in soggy San Francisco 2 weeks before.

Troy Aikman came of age in the 1992 NFC Championship Game.

Troy Aikman fulfilled the promise of being a #1 overall pick with his 1992 NFC Championship Game performance.

They had come through the gauntlet which was the NFC at the time. A conference that had won the last 8 straight Super Bowls and would ultimately win 13 in a row. The physical nature of the conference was one thing, but they had to beat the mystique of the best organization in San Francisco.

Once the 49ers unseated the Cowboys back in the ’81 NFC Championship Game, they became the gold standard of NFL franchises. Every veteran wanted to play for Eddie Debartolo’s organization. Once Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, he traveled to San Francisco to study how the league’s model front office operated.

By the time Jimmy Johnson (the [[_]]) had rebuilt “America’s Team” in a few short years, they were ready to take on a 49er team that was prepared to rule the 1990’s just as they had the 80’s. They were built with a different breed of player. Fast, aggressive and an in your face bravado reminiscent of the Miami Hurricane teams Johnson coached in college. The most indelible image from that ’92 Championship was in the locker room when he boasted “How ’bout them Cowboys!??!” loud enough you could nearly hear it in the 49er locker room.

Terry Bradshaw once said “Once you win a Super Bowl the regular season is boring. All you care about is getting back to the playoffs where it can be fun again.”

Jimmy Johnson on gameday.

Well the boredom Dallas had to endure was losing Defensive Coordinator Dave Wannstedt, Emmitt Smith’s holdout, and the advent of free agency. In time free agency would prove to be the bigger foe, but when the Cowboys started 0-2 without Smith’s services, it was clear what priority one was.

The reality set in these were the two best teams in football. Steve Young had won the last two passing titles but Aikman was thought of as the better quarterback. Troy entered ’93 as a Super Bowl winning QB, something Young had yet to do. Michael Irvin (78 rec. 1,396 yds 7 TDs) was beginning to challenge Jerry Rice (84 rec. 1,201 yds 10 TDs) as to who was the best receiver in the game.

In every way these two team were eyeing each other for another postseason date but first had to get through a regular season affair that offered some answers.

The 26-17 win over the 49ers gave the Cowboys the inside track to Super Bowl XXVIII. In fact when they won homefield advantage for the ’93 playoffs, the only question was the status of Emmitt Smith’s separated shoulder suffered in the clinching finale against the New York Giants. Smith was one of 11 Pro Bowlers that included QB Troy Aikman, FB Darryl Johnston, WR Michael Irvin, linemen Mark Stepnoski, Nate Newton, and Eric Williams. By the time you include TE Jay Novacek, they were 3 starters away from sending every player to the Pro Bowl.

The defense, which ranked 10th in the league sent LB Ken Norton Jr, DT Russell Maryland, and FS Thomas Everett to Honolulu. A far cry from the year before when they ranked #1 defensively and sent 0 players to the Pro Bowl. We’ll talk about the importance of Everett later but this team was riding high after the emotional win vs. New York. They kept their eye out west on the 49ers as they blew out the wildcard Giants 44-3 in the divisional round. Dallas beat Green Bay 27-17 to set up the NFC Championship rematch in Texas Stadium.

As pundits lauded the 49ers lopsided win in Candlestick, it belied the fact they had actually struggled down the stretch losing 3 of their last 4. Sure their defense had put it together in taking down the 1 dimensional Giants, but that is after they had the huge battle in the season finale at Dallas and a hard fought wildcard against the Vikings.

After listening to the experts all week, Jimmy Johnson had had enough and called in to a Dallas Radio show on Friday night and declared “We will win the game! You can put it in 3 inch headline!” There was no easing into it now….this was a street fight in the school yard. They called the laced up shirt and tie corporate 49ers out and how would they respond.

They beat down the 49ers 38-21 and were actually ahead 28-7 in the 2nd quarter. Texas Stadium for the first time ever was raucous. Even in the Tom Landry days crowds in Dallas responded like they were at a play or something. They cheered when it was time to but this felt different. It was boisterous and the tempo of the team and the audience fed off Jimmy Johnson’s bravado and echoed in kind. Who knew it was going to be Johnson’s last game ever at Texas Stadium??

After beating The Chancellor of Football’s Buffalo Bills for the Super Bowl XXVIII championship, we had Johnson’s departure in the offseason. On March 29th was the press conference where there was a mutual parting of the ways. The shock wave could be felt through the NFL. The youngest team in the league that won back to back Super Bowls was going on without their vocal leader?? Jerry Jones erroneously stated there were 50 coaches who could coach the Dallas Cowboys and hired Barry Switzer to succeed him.

The Cowboys were that talented and headed into 1994 as the best team in football on paper. Or so they thought… the 49ers had retooled and fashioned much of their team and personality based on the bravado that left them whipped in Dallas the preceding January. The Niners had signed away Ken Norton Jr. and 6 defenders to bolster their defense including future Hall of Famers Ricky Jackson, Richard Dent, and Deion Sanders. All off the NFC Pro Bowl roster. Back then the team that lost the conference championship coached the Pro Bowl and San Francisco used this as a recruiting trip.

Free agency had robbed the Cowboys of Norton, DTs Tony Casillas & DT Jimmie Jones, and to the Chancellor the most valuable defender in FS Thomas Everett. Before Everett’s arrival in ’92, the 11-5 Cowboys struggled with Run & Shoot offenses especially, and at times was awful against the pass. Why do you think they drafted CBs Kevin Smith, Clayton Holmes, & S Darren Woodson, and traded for Everett to start 1992??

Not Charles Haley...it was Thomas Everett that pushed the Cowboys over the top back in the early 1990s.

Not just Charles Haley…it was also Thomas Everett that pushed the Cowboys over the top back in the early 1990s.

Dallas had been 1-3 against Run & Shoot teams in 1991. They went 5-0 against those teams including the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII that finished as the #1 defense against the pass in ’92 that year with Everett. It was this end zone interception in Super Bowl XXVII that started the 1990’s reign of the Dallas Cowboys. Otherwise the Bills take a 17-14 lead and the Bills take control of the game. In big games he starred….in each NFC Championship Game against the 49ers he picked off Steve Young. You cannot underscore his importance in gluing a young secondary together and teaching them to be pros by example.

Yet 1994 saw this team try to move on without this defensive firepower and they did go 12-4. DE Charles Haley was healthy and made the Pro Bowl with 12.5 sacks, S Darren Woodson, and Leon Lett came into their own making their first Pro Bowl trips. The offense was as potent as ever with Smith’s 1,461 yards and 21 TDs. Although he battled leg injuries the 2nd half of the season. Did they have enough in the gas tank to get to win a 3rd straight Super Bowl and make it into NFL lore?? All they had to do was take a trip out to beat the 49ers for the right to go to Super Bowl XXIX.

So Dallas had to watch the 49ers go on to win Super Bowl XXIX 49-26 over San Diego. They did return the following year to beat Pittsburgh 27-17 to win their 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years yet the rivalry came to an end for this era. Both teams kept raising the bar on each other and pushed themselves to a height no other team could reach. In each of these seasons they were the best teams in football and won all 4 Super Bowls… yet lingering questions are still being debated to this day…

How many Super Bowls would Dallas have won if Johnson coaches the whole decade??
Would they have won 3 in a row if Johnson coached them in ’94??
Would the 49ers have won in 1994 if they hadn’t built a defense from the ’93 Pro Bowl roster??
How would the 1990’s play out for Dallas if there had not been free agency??
Why isn’t Jimmy Johnson in the Pro Football Hall of Fame??
Would the Cowboys have won in 1994 if T Erik Williams doesn’t get in that car accident??

However one of the indelible moments from the 1994 NFC Championship Game was the near pass interference call in the 4th quarter between Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin. Instead of a 1st and goal where the 49er lead could have been trimmed to 3, an irate Barry Switzer bumps an official in protest incurring a 15 yard penalty. Dallas was forced to punt and never threatened again. In 1995, in a quiet Texas Stadium Courthouse the two Hall of Famers had a hearing to discuss this disputed play which altered the course of football history.

LMAO “Panicked state of mind!” Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Epilogue: When it came to Jimmy Johnson’s success in Dallas, it was bitter sweet being a Buffalo Bill fan. We lost those two Super Bowls but I was a fan of his back to Herschel Walker and when he first coached the Cowboys. Nope not Dallas…we’re talking the Oklahoma St Cowboys. I first read about Jimmy Johnson during the ’82 season when his running back Earnest “Sparkplug” Anderson became the 5th back to run for 1,000 yards in just the 5th game of the season.

Herschel walker won the Heisman but I kept screaming it was “Sparkplug” Anderson that led college football in rushing! Alas…no blog back in ’82. Yet remember following Johnson and as a tradition would watch the Bluebonnet Bowl played on New Year’s Eve and watched Oklahoma St win that game. When it was announced he was coming to my favorite college team at The [[_]] of Miami, talk about excited… I knew Schnellenberger’s replacement and the rest is history.

I did get to meet Johnson and the Dallas Cowboy coaching staff at Houlihan’s on St Patrick’s Day in 1993 just after the first Super Bowl with Buffalo. I remember having him sign my Golden Nugget /Mirage jacket from Vegas and talked a little football. If only cell phones with cameras, Instagram & Facebook existed then…

Dedicated to the memories of Mark Tuinei, Godfrey Myles, and Joe Avezzano

Next Up: 1990’s San Francisco 49ers v. Dallas Cowboys: 49ers Perspective

The Golden Age of Hating The Dallas Cowboys

July 23, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

Originally Written June 16, 2013 -Reissued July 23, 2025

It was a feeling which manifested sometime during the 1970’s. We can put it on the late George Allen, former coach of the Washington Redskins, who was first to voice a total disdain for everything Dallas Cowboys. It raised the level of rancor between the Redskins and Cowboys elevating the rivalry to the national level.

Below the surface the rivalry began to take shape when the Cowboys became the NFL’s southern most team when they began play in 1960. Prior to this, the Redskins of George Preston Marshall were. It’s one of the reasons they sang “Dixie” at their welcome back luncheon when the team reported to camp. Yet this new team came along and began to eat into their fan base.

Keep in mind the Atlanta Flacons and. New Orleans Saints werent founded for another half decade. With the Falcons beginning play in ’66 and the Saints following in ’67. By then the Cowboys were had grown in stature and had taken the Packers for NFL supremacy.

However the disdain Allen felt during the early 1970’s was more palpable. More real.

A growing resentment felt by many teams and fans. The feeling was the late Tom Landry and his Dallas Cowboys were given too much publicity by the networks and the print media. CBS was constantly covering the Cowboys and the level of success they had in the 1970’s, with 5 Super Bowl visits, seeded hatred in their rivals. Especially within their division. Yet none of them were good enough to challenge them in the NFC East.

By the time NFL Films made the 1978 Dallas Cowboys yearbook and labeled it “America’s Team” hatred was at an all time high. Even jealousy if you will. It was the arrogance and air of supremacy the Cowboys organization painted during those CBS days that fueled two schools of fans.

You had those who thought of themselves as beautiful and carried themselves with a sense of arrogance and identified with the team and their cheerleaders. Then you had the regular meat and potatoes folks who loved when the Pittsburgh Steelers punched them square in the mouth during Super Bowls X and XIII. They were also fans of all other teams. Yet when your team is no longer in it, they cheered for whoever was facing Dallas in the playoffs or Super Bowl.

Ironically, this is where the Steelers gained their nationwide fan base. It had nothing to do with the fact they won 4 Super Bowls in the 1970’s, it was the fact they beat the Cowboys in two of those Super Bowls that made them remain as fans.

As the 1980’s beckoned, many of the teams that Dallas had squashed the last decade began to grow anew. A fresh generation of coaches and players started to internalize the disdain for the bully on the block and began their ascent. It was known that you had to take out Landry’s Cowboys if you really want to be recognized as champions. Although the Redskins were the one with the more acknowledged rivalry, it was the Philadelphia Eagles under Dick Vermeil that got the first crack at the boys from the Lone Star State.

Much of the animosity started at the beginning of the week, when the Eagles were cast as underdogs against Landry’s Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game. Although they were hosting, the Eagles were made underdogs by Vegas. Right on cue, the Eagles were being treated as bit role players even though they split their games with Dallas that year.

An upset Dick Vermeil made a declaration that ratcheted feelings up when he vowed “Never allow anyone to take you for granted! I get the feeling the Dallas Cowboys are taking us for granted right now. We’re here because we earned the right to be here. If the Dallas Cowboys are going to take us for granted, we’ll whip their ass!”

To further irk Tom Landry, Vermeil opted to play in their white uniforms forcing the Cowboys to play in the blue jerseys, which they felt were jinxed. Dallas complained to the league office yet for once the powers that be didn’t allow Gil Brandt and Tex Schramm to get their way. The crowd at Veteran’s Stadium was unforgiving as the two teams emerged from the tunnel. It was 4* and -17* windchill when on the Eagles second play from scrimmage:

The roar of the crowd during Wilbert Montgomery’s touchdown was the loudest ever at Veteran’s Stadium. Cowboy haters everywhere delighted as the Eagles held the early upper hand on the Cowboys 7-0. As the game wore on and Landry’s charges behind 17-7 late in the fourth quarter, they were able to punt and pin the Eagles to their own 5 yard line. From their own 5 yard line the Eagles ended fading hopes for Dallas when in 3 runs Philadelphia moved the football to the Dallas 25. Montgomery was putting the finishing touches on a signature day when he struck with this 54 yard masterpiece.

The Eagles vanquished the Cowboys 20-7 on their way to Super Bowl XV. Wilbert Montgomery etched his name into Philadelphia lore with a 194 yard performance. They had destroyed the Flex Defence, rushing for 263 yards on 40 carries averaging 6.575 yards a pop!! Cowboy haters everywhere rejoiced in hearing Landry, Danny White and Cowboy apologists have to answer the questions as the defeated football team. In fact many Cowboy haters pulled for the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl two weeks later. People weren’t cheering for the Eagles as much as they were for Dallas to lose.

The following year the Cowboys had revamped their secondary & national press covered the exploits of rookies Everson Walls (who should be a Hall of Famer), Michael Downs, and Ron Fellows. Although the publicity was on this group in Big D, they were overshadowing an even greater group in San Francisco. Where Bill Walsh had drafted and started rookie CB Ronnie Lott, CB Eric Wright, and S Carlton Williamson to go along with scrappy veteran S Dwight Hicks. Yet through most of the 1981 season, you didn’t hear about the 49ers. Even after a 45-14 devastation of the Cowboys in week 5 with Ronnie Lott scoring the decisive touchdown.

Did you know the 49ers didn’t make the Monday Night Football highlight package?? Don’t tell our CEO there was no media bias. Nor can you say the coverage of Dallas’ rookie trio of defensive backs didn’t motivate the group by the bay. Was it borne from the Cowboys propaganda and success of the 1970s?? Or was it borne from Tom Landry’s ties to the New York media since his pro coaching career started there??

Did you know the late Pat Summerall who broadcast many of the Cowboys games in that era, was a teammate and friend of Landry back in New York?? So when they didn’t make the ABC Monday Night package it fed into the hating Dallas mantra that much more by the 1981 NFC Championship Game.

There had been a history between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas. In fact you could say the 49ers were who Dallas had built their reputation on with wins over them in the 1970 and 1971 NFC Championship Games. At that point the Cowboys were called “Next Year’s Champions” for four straight playoff defeats to Vince Lombardi’s Packers and the Cleveland Browns. As a new decade beckoned it was the Niners and the Cowboys who stepped to the fore.

Once Dallas emerged and won Super Bowl VI, their prestige soared where the vanquished 49ers went into a tailspin the rest of the decade. Yet before that happened, there was the 1972 NFC Divisional playoff where a measure of revenge was going to be exacted against Landry’s troops when Roger Staubach led a furious 4th quarter rally. Staubach led Dallas to a 30-28 win after they were behind 28-13 with 5:00 to go in the game. This is when he earned the nickname Captain Comeback.

Fast forward to the 1981 NFC Championship where the resurrected 49er franchise, now under Coach Bill Walsh & owner Eddie DeBartolo, were preparing for the game. Still smarting from the lack of respect afforded his group after the 45-14 win and no media coverage, set the tone of a franchise when talking to a reporter. “They ate it once and they can eat it (defeat) again.” DeBartolo bellowed. Reminiscent of Dick Vermeil the year before, Cowboy haters were all pulling for the 49ers in this game when they took the field.

The final stint came when the Washington Redskins had their turn to climb over Dallas to make it to the summit of pro football. After a strike shortened season where the 8-1 Redskins entered a playoff tournament to make it to Super Bowl XVII, most pundits picked the media darling Cowboys to win the NFC Champoinship citing the Redskins only loss was courtesy of the Cowboys. Our CEO can remember being fired up for the NFC Championship between Washington and Dallas and knew it was going to be a thing of beauty.

It actually started when the Redskins were putting the finishing touches on a 21-7 win over the Vikings to set up the NFC Conference final when the chant “We want Dallas!! We want Dallas!!” resonated from the jam packed crowd at RFK. Just moments before, John Riggins who had rushed for 185 yard was in the midst of a curtain call, turned and gave a bow to the crowd sending them into a frenzy. Those sights and sounds reverberated throughout the stadium and CBS chose instead of showing the final plays of that game, panoramic views of the raucous fans.

As for the rest of the Cowboy haters who gathered to watch this team go down again. Look no further than another bulletin board comment that jump started the festivities. It started with Dexter Manley professing in the paper that he “hated Dallas” that Monday that got the ball rolling. Then back and forth in the newspaper ensued from Danny White of the Cowboys, to Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke, EVERYONE was stoking the fire. How bad did it get? There was even a heated argument about the game within the House of Representatives the Friday before the game and the late Thomas “Tip” O’Neill adjourned session an hour early. It was on!!!!

Over a football game? Yes over a football game. The hating of Dallas really grew wings in the George Allen era. He preached it, lived it, and over all the treatment America’s Team received as a media darling kept breeding that hatred within rival teams. Real Redskin fans will talk with high regard of the fact that they beat Dallas in the ’72 NFC Championship when the Cowboys were defending champions. So here we were some 10 years later and all that animosity was a thing of the past right? After all new owner, new coach, new quarterback and cast of characters comprised the Redskins roster. Right?

For a more visceral look:

With that we were at an end of an era where other NFL teams were able to get their due as the 1980’s moved on. Media coverage transferred from Dallas to new teams coming from Chicago, the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, of course the 49ers and the Redskins who were dominant the rest of the decade. From this era came the nationwide fan base of the San Francisco 49ers much like the Steelers. The backlash of the “America’s Team” name and favorable coverage brewed hatred from the majority of NFL fans and players.

Notice in these videos, the look in their eye and the description of elation for vanquishing the Dallas Cowboys of that era. In all three cases before the NFC Championship, where decorum was to be quiet, and not give the Cowboys bulletin board material. Coaches and owners in these instances were doing it let alone players. It set the table for things to come and put their organizations on high alert of what was expected of them.

The hatred for everything Dallas began to dissipate at this time. There was some animosity left when the ’85 Bears bloodied them 44-0 in Texas Stadium after 9 straight losses to them. Yet by the time of Tom Landry’s departure, people felt bad about what happened to the Cowboys and watched the dismantling of a franchise with mixed emotions.

You were almost mad that they were 1-15 in 1989, because the villain from Texas was gone. The Jimmy Johnson Cowboys of the 1990’s were an envied team, not a hated one. To be hated you had to be more than a good football team, and in retrospect that was what made hating the Dallas Cowboys worthwhile.

The way they were marketed, branded, and packaged. The way their coach was treated like a God and their quarterback in Roger Staubach was the idol which gave way to Danny White. Well until these NFC Championship losses tarnished White’s legacy.

Their cheerleaders were even made famous. They had telvision specials and still do to this very day. All of this tapped into the inferiority complex of many players and fans of other teams. When it came time to beat them for a championship or a game of importance, it was the Holy Grail.

One of Taylor Blitz’s finest Sarah, shrugs it off and has this message “How ’bout them Cowboys?”

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How Did Colin Cowherd Survive The FS1 Purge? Always Arguing QBs Need Offensive Coaches Which Totally Is NOT True!

July 15, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

FS1 decided to shake up their lineup and cancelled Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak which was disappointing but somehow Colin Cowherd survived the purge. In listening to The Facility it was fun to hear the opinions of players with their own stories they could offer in dealing with past colleagues and coaches. It mirrors what you hear now in Podcasts and when I speak to players away from public social media venues to what they believe and see.

I’ve always been a fan of Stink Schlereth and Carton grew on me with his silly antics covering New York teams. It was fun, a little analytical and very opinionated. Yet Carton and Stink were like talking sports with your friends. Hell thats what Taylor Blitz is… but somehow Cowherd survived the purge.

Year after year and show after show I’ve listened to Cowherd give opinions that help shape the narrative around the country. The one that I’d hear from him on a consistent basis thats totally wrong are QBs need an offensive coach. He’d scoff and put down any team that brought in a defensive coach insisting the league has passed them by. He couldn’t wait to tout the new offensive wizard every chance he had which shuts the door on former defensive players becoming head coaches in impressionable GMs minds and the sporting opinion lexicon. Ohhh… don’t think they’re listening?? Look around… First a little housekeeping on the inaccuracy of that mindset:

Did you know Peyton Manning set the NFL record for points scored (606 points) passing yards (5,554) & touchdowns (55) while playing for defensive coach John Fox in 2013? Fox was the Defensive Coordinator for the NY Giants in 2000 when they went to Super Bowl XXXV.

Yet 13 years later he returned to Giants Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII with a record setting Manning as his QB. Yet every time I turn around I hear Colin Cowherd & ESPN talking heads state QBs have to have Offensive Coordinators as Head Coaches to get the most out of them. This has never been true & I’ll prove it to you and no… “that was a different era” argument is just a copout for the person losing.

Keep in mind all these Head Coaches were defensive position coaches with most rising through as Defensive Coordinators. Not only this but wait until I show you the NFL offensive records these coaches were a part of:

Peyton Manning from 1998-2001 played for Colts HC Jim Mora (Linebacker & DB Coach) then Tony Dungy (DB Coach) 2002-2008.
Tom Brady from from 2000-2019 played for Patriots HC Bill Belichick (Giants DC & LB Coach) winning 6 Super Bowls.
Warren Moon in The Run N Shoot rose to PFHOF status with HC Jack Pardee (former Charger DC & long time NFL Linebacker)
Dan Marino shattered NFL records for TDs (48) and yards (5,084) in ’84 playing for Don Shula (Former DB Coach Baltimore Colts)
Josh Allen just won NFL MVP in ’24 playing for Sean McDermott (Eagles DC & Panthers DC) accounting for 40 touchdowns.
Jayden Daniels won ’24 NFL Rookie of the Year taking Washington to the NFC Championship with Dan Quinn (DC Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas)
CJ Stroud won ’23 NFL Rookie of the Year & beat Cleveland 45-14 in the AFC Wildcard Game for HC DeMeco Ryans (DC 49ers)
Cam Newton won ’15 NFL MVP throwing 35TDs and rushing for 10 more taking HC Ron Rivera (DC Bears, Chargers) to Super Bowl L.
Lamar Jackson won ’19 & ’23 NFL MVP with Ravens HC John Harbaugh (DB & Special Teams Eagles).

Marino’s stats in 84 courtesy of CBS.

Aside from the 7 Super Bowls won from this list, you have 22 conference championship appearances, 12 NFL MVPs, and the last 3 single season passing TD record holders. Dan Marino ’84 (48TDs) Peyton Manning ’04 (49TDs), Tom Brady ’07 (50Tds) and as mentioned earlier Manning ’13 (55TDs). Keep in mind this isn’t accounting for Peyton’s Super Bowl XLIV run where he won league MVP under offensive HC Mike Caldwell and not Tony Dungy. Nor does this account for Brady’s 7th Super Bowl win with Bruce Arians.

So 3 of the last 5 NFL MVPs have played for defensive coaches and 2 of the 3 winningest coaches of all time Don Shula and Bill Belichick were defensive coaches. On top of that these two accounted for the only undefeated regular seasons in NFL history in 1972 & 2007. There were over 100 NFL records before counting 4 Super Bowl MVPs. Of those records the undefeated ’07 Patriots (589 points) & ’13 Broncos (606 points) are the highest scoring teams in NFL history. Not these so-called offensive gurus Colin mentions.

The Super Bowl champion Eagles & Kansas City Chiefs withstanding, the Bills, Ravens, Washington, and Houston Texans are all predicted to have late playoff runs. In fact the Bills and Commanders, on the strength of their offenses were in last year’s conference championship games with a defensive coach.

The issue is media laziness that pushes this narrative setting the climate where NFL Execs believe the noise they need the next “offensive mind”. A young innovative play caller with 800 pick plays that don’t work. I can remember Steve Spurrier “The Old Ball Coach” who was going to conquer the NFL. He got laughed out of the league in 2 years. Urban Meyer? Marc Trestman? Chip Kelly? All these gurus, even Sean McVay and his wizardry fell in Super Bowl LIII 13-3 to Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Remember that?? They lined up in the “I” Formation and ran it down the Rams throats.

Championship Gatorade Bath in ’21

Its cheating the game as defensive coaches know that balance is what wins football games. Taylor Blitz is pulling for Aaron Glenn in New York to have a great career with the Jets. I want to see and hear the pathway for former Jet Linebacker Marvin “Shade Tree” Jones to move up to the NFL ranks. He is head coach of the Tulsa Oilers just a few seasons removed from winning the ’21 Indoor Football League Championship with Omaha Beef. This is a league with a wide open style of offense and showcases his chops to adust philosophy to a different style of play then what he emerged from as a player.

This isn’t new as I mentioned Houston Oiler Coach Jack Pardee earlier. Keep in mind he was a 15 year Middle Linebacker in the NFL. As a coach he ushered in The Run & Shoot offense in the NFL that eliminated the position he played for most defenses that faced his Oilers! Opponents routinely deployed 7 defensive backs and no Middle Linebacker.

One aspect of this issue is this is being done to keep the NFL coaching ranks from having too many black coaches. I’ve written about this before back in ’22 “The Media’s Role Selectively Omitting Genius of Black Coordinators” where media is a willing partner nefariously working toward this narrative. In the same manner we saw Shedeur Sanders name tainted in NFL circles before the draft, we saw this with the way 2 time Super Bowl champion Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy was “sidelined” with his coverage in his head coaching search.

So the next time you hear the b.s. narrative and why defensive coaches don’t win, remind whoever the highest scoring teams in league history and all the NFL’s passing records came from QBs led by defensive coaches. The reigning NFL MVP & the last 2 Rookie of the Year recipients are quarterbacks on defensive coach’s teams as well.

If I hear Colin start in on this again, I’m throwing a brick through my television and suing FS1 for damages.

Are we saying crazy takes because we believe what we’re saying with context or spouting what corporate wigs want discussed?? It could be just about ratings but you can’t have me pull out all these NFL records and MVPs and even glean this is an honest truth. We also don’t want this to be the squashing of black voices & points of view in the media as well…

Anyway, we at least have Schlereth still in the booth during games although this allowed us to get to know his basketball likes and appreciation for athletes from multiple sports.

I’m going to miss those guys on Breakfast Ball, listening to former players James Jones, “Shady”, Chase Daniel & Acho. I didn’t get into Speak as much once the crew broke into 2 shows. I’d be listening to it from the other room while working. Joy will rebound and Keyshawn has his All Facts Podcast

So we’ll see Key around…and no you did not have better hands than Marvin Harrison.. yet I digress… FS1, if you fill the studios with blowhards who didn’t play and have a certain “milk toast personality”, count me out as a fan. I’ll still have First Things First (Cogent Analysis lol ) on in the background while working afternoons but the rest? Sigh… I’ll have on podcasts and ditch network tv like so many others.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

By the way… I didn’t even bring up Mike Tomlin (Tampa DB Coach) 18 non-losing seasons in Pittsburgh, Jimmy Johnson HC in Dallas (DC and Defensive Line Coach) or Bill Cowher 16 seasons in Pittsburgh (DC with Chiefs/Special Teams Browns) which brings you another 4 Super Bowl championships in 6 appearances. Now if I throw in Tom Landry HC in Dallas (DC New York Giants) it goes up to 6 more Lombardis and 10 total Super Bowl visits.

Ok… I’m done… bring your argument… wait Chuck Noll of the Steelers was DC for Baltimore Colts who lost Super Bowl III.

Now… I’m done. Walk your weak ass argument on over.

When Pittsburgh Was The Center of The NFL’s Defensive Universe

July 9, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

Over the last two weeks NFL pundits, including yours truly have been upset at the way the Steelers organization is playing games with TJ Watt. How can you play games with a future Hall of Famer like this? Sign him and go into the 2025 season with optimism and your defensive play maker ready to lead the charge! I joked about it on my Facebook page with a few former players when it hit me… wait a minute we’ve been here before.

Now all of us historians harken back to the great Steelers defense of the 1970’s and in particular focus on the ’74 draft where they selected 4 future Hall of Famers. Only Jack Lambert on the defense was drafted that year as FS Donnie Shell was an undrafted free agent. The Steel Curtain front four, Linebackers Ham and Russell had been assembled from 1963-74 when they broke through to win Super Bowl IX. Not one group that grew into menace from a single draft class.

Not only did this group achieve accolades but they shaped the next generation of NFL defensive excellence and the Steelers penchant for pinching pennies derailed that group also.

It was their 1987 draft class…. let’s set this up for you:

First round selection, HOF CB Rod Woodson went to 7 of his 11 Pro Bowls in the Steel City, won the 1993 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and made the All Time 75th team in ’94. Woodson came within a few votes from back-to-back NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards & finished in the top 5 – 3 times in 4 years (1993-’96). He was one of the most physically gifted CB which allowed him to excel once he aged and moved to Safety.

Rod went to the Pro Bowl 4 times at his new position and was All Pro twice for the Baltimore Ravens & Oakland Raiders. He was one of the leaders on one of the greatest defenses in NFL history in 2000 as a mentor to Ray Lewis. A #2 defense that set the record for fewest points in a season (165) and won Super Bowl XXXV going away. Before these stays he started at CB for the ’97 49ers who ranked #3 defensively and made it to the NFC Championship Game. His 2002 Raiders played in Super Bowl XXXVII where at the age of 37, received his 11th Pro Bowl and his 8th All Pro selection after a career high 8 interceptions. In addition to Canton, Woodson was named to The NFL’s All Time 100th Anniversary Team in 2019.

The most intimidating Steeler of them all…. Greg Lloyd

Greg Lloyd came in the 6th round & crashed the pass pocket from his OLB position making 5 straight Pro Bowls (’91-’95). They deployed him in Nickle and Dime situations both off the ball and as an edge rusher. In those 5 seasons he had 37 sacks, 27 forced fumbles and 6 interceptions in what The Chancellor believes was a Hall of Fame career. We’ll cover his total numbers later but we have to introduce everyone. Lloyd matured into the menacing face of the Steelers defense and twice was in the top 3 in NFL Defensive Player of The Year voting. Yes… at the same time as Woodson…in ’94-95.

Not a bad start until you get into the frugal way the Steelers are with homegrown talent. This led to a holdout after 5 years for FS Thomas Everett who was a hard hitter in the secondary who didn’t receive the accolades nationally his teammates had but how valuable was he? The Steelers dealt him to Dallas during his holdout at the start of ’92. #27 was a 4th round selection out of Baylor. The same school that produced HOF Mike Singletary.

Now you’re thinking “wait, this isn’t greatest ever talent”… well…. going into the 1992 season the Cowboys Achilles’ heel was their secondary. Their draft tells you that picking up SS Darren Woodson, CB Kevin Smith, and CB Clayton Holmes in the first few rounds. In 1991, Dallas had lost to 4 run and shoot teams including a 38-6 drubbing to Detroit in the divisional round of the playoffs. The biggest blowout loss of any NFC team in the 1990’s. They had some coverage issues but Everett solidified the secondary, put players in good spots and made several plays that defined the Super Bowl XXVII rout of my Buffalo Bills. He helped turn the secondary into a team strength.

Not Charles Haley…it was Thomas Everett that pushed the Cowboys over the top back in the early 1990s.

In the 2nd quarter when Buffalo was threatening to take the lead, Dallas had a goal line stand where Buffalo went for it on 4th down from the 1. Who intercepted the ball in the end zone to totally deflate the Bills? Thomas Everett. After halftime down 28-10 and fired up to get back into the game in the 3rd quarter, who read a short route and jumped it returning an interception to Buffalo’s 10 to end the competitive phase of the game? That same Thomas Everett!

They were 3-1 against top 10 passing offenses and rose from 17th in total defense to 1st. Their pass defense rose from 23rd to 5th in their ’92 Super Bowl winning season. Yet he made his only Pro Bowl in 1993 and made a huge play intercepting Steve Young in the 2nd quarter of the NFC Championship setting up the TD to go up 14-0 in a raucous Texas Stadium. Two years with the Cowboys and 2 Super Bowl titles before finishing his career in Tampa. So Everett did help shape NFL history with pivotal plays for The Team of the Decade in championship play. Still sleep on Everett? Watch this

Which brings us to ’87 5th round selection Hardy Nickerson… now where the underpaying Steelers for the 2nd straight year lost a defensive stalwart that wanted out. It was ’93 and free agency had come and where Pittsburgh brass didn’t value Nickerson, former Bengal Head Coach Sam Wyche who had faced him twice a year did signing him to play in Tampa. Yes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had just had their NFL record 10th straight season with double digit losses. Nickerson had played well like Everett and didn’t get the recognition nationally his counterparts Lloyd and Woodson had… so what did he do in Tampa?

Well… Nickerson became the centerpiece of Defensive Coordinator Floyd Peters’ 4-3 at Middle Linebacker and a terror was set loose. He became a sideline-to-sideline tracker and hit everything in sight. In ’93 he led the NFL in tackles with a leauge record 214 while making his 1st Pro Bowl and voted 1st team All Pro. It was only the 4th time a Tampa Bay defender was voted to the Pro Bowl in Hawai’i and the 2nd All Pro selection since the team’s inception in 1976.

His play was so dominant he broke the team season tackle record in a week 13 win over Chicago. There were still 3 games to go in 1993! So his 1st season ended with 214 tackles, recorded a sack, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had an interception.

Or think of it like this… he recorded 96 more tackles than his Hall of Fame teammate Derrick Brooks (118) recorded in ’02 when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Chew on that for a second…

The Chancellor believes this spring boarded Nickerson into what was a Pro Football Hall of Fame career and shared this in a past article Nickerson for Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Nickerson went on to 4 All Pro selections and 5 Pro Bowls in 7 years and once finishing in the Top 10 in Defensive Player of The Year voting. His 4th and final All Pro & Pro Bowl selection came in ’99 when he led the NFL’s 3rd ranked defense to the NFC Championship Game. They were shutting down The Greatest Show on Turf beating them on the road 6-5 (really?) until 4:44 to go when Kurt Warner threw the winning touchdown. This was one of the greatest teams in history & Nickerson’s crew alomst kept them from Super Bowl XXXIV. In that game he had 6 tackles defensed a pass and had a timely interception.

With Kevin Greene after the Induction ceremony.

Why the center of the NFL’s Defensive Universe? The Steelers frugal ways are what kept us from seeing possibly the NFL’s best array of talent on one defense. Keep in mind by 1993 they became Blitzburgh when they signed free agent and Taylor Blitz Pro Football Hall of Fame article alumnus Kevin Greene to the fold. Greene led the NFL in sacks with 14 and went on to be the NFL’s All Time sack leader for a LB with 160. He made the Pro Bowl in 2 of his 3 years in The Blast Furnace and made 1 of his 3 career All Pros there.

Then again the Steelers went cheap and let Greene go to start a younger OLB in Jason Gildon. A damn good player but not the leader that Kevin was coming off that edge across from Lloyd.

For those of you keeping score at home –

Without adding 5 time Pro Bowl/4 time All Pro Strong Safety Carnell Lake & 3-time Pro Bowl and 2 time ILB Levon Kirkland these riches read off like a Madden All Star lineup that doesn’t appear real.

Woodson, Greene, Everett, Nickerson & Lloyd combined for 27 Pro Bowls, 17 All Pro Selections & 7 Top Ten votes for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in various seasons, 2 NFL sack champion totals and 2 enshrined in Canton. Yet the Steelers went cheap and robbed football fans of what would have been one of history’s finest defenses. These players matured into menaces and spread to every corner of the NFL as trained assassins. They were supposed to be the successor to Philadelphia’s Gang Green Defense and would have ruled the 1990s just as the 70’s Steelers dominated their era.

If we add Lake & Kirkland back in these defenders had 24 conference championship appearances 8 Super Bowl appearances winning 3 rings. Anchored by the 1987 Steeler draft class… just think about it:

Greene led the ’96 Panthers to the NFC Championship in their 2nd year leading the league in sacks again.
Nickerson was the 1st piece and building block for what would become Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl defense.
Everett was a defensive leader on The Team of The Decade winning 2 Super Bowls in Dallas.
Woodson’s HOF career saw him switch to Free Safety and play on The Chancellor’s 2nd best defense in NFL history. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens

TJ coming off in Kevin’s spot.

So Steeler fans hold your breath with the Steelers playing around with TJ Watt’s contract. They’ve been known to let Hall of Fame level talent go. Do you realize none of these great players finished their careers in Pittsburgh?? Uh oh TJ… and they traded hard hitting FS Minkah Fitzpatrick last week. Sigh… and now Steeler fans are losing it since he was a no-show at minicamp. Stay tuned!

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Caught up to Lloyd in Canton.

Write & nominate Hardy Nickerson /Greg Lloyd / Carnell Lake
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Hall of Fame Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton,
OH 44708

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Dedicated to the memories of Bill Nunn, Chuck Noll, Sam Wyche, Kevin Greene, & Floyd Peters

We have an update on TJ Watt on the 17th of August, a week after this article, he was signed to an extension. About time!

He is a PFHoFer, don’t play around with his contract. A dangerous game.

Mike Holmgren Belongs In The Pro Football Hall of Fame

June 17, 2025 by The Chancellor of Football

There are several acccomplishments which set a coach apart where they reach the status as a coaching great. Of course winning a Super Bowl is the ultimate prize however when we look at the legacy of their coahing tree, PFHoF players the coach produces, and the ability to turn around a franchise. Mike Holmgren has soared every hurdle and has turned around 2 franchises.

Do you realize when Sterling Sharpe gives his speech this August, he’ll be the 6th player enshrined in Canton that played for Holmgren? That is 1 fewer than Tom Landry who coached Dallas 29 seasons and 2 less than Don Shula who coached for 33. Mike Holmgren was head coach in Green Bay & Seattle for just 17 seasons. The late Reggie White, Brett Favre, LeRoy Butler, T Walter Jones, & G Steve Hutchinson are the others with bronze busts.

Try this on… The Mike Holmgren coaching tree with branches Andy Reid, Jon Gruden, Steve Mariucci, Jim Mora Jr, & Tom Coughlin have gone on to take their teams to 22 conference championship games! This includes 6 Super Bowl Championships (XXXVII, XLII, XLVI. LIV, LVII, & LVIII) in 9 appearances. In contrast when you compare this to Hall of Fame Coach Bill Walsh, you have to include Holmgren’s 4 conference championship appearances just to make it to 13. You know the reverence Coach Walsh is kept here at Taylor Blitz but that is an astounding measure.

No other coach has had 3 staff members move on to become Super Bowl winning head coaches. Bill Walsh & Bill Parcells each had 2 but that is it. Not Jimmy Johnson, not Chuck Noll, not Bill Belichick, not George Seifert, not even Tom Landry. Keep in mind 5 of these coaches are already enshrined in Canton with Belichick eligible in 3 years.

He was also able to win in different fashions. He developed a young Brett Favre and won with his passing prowess featuring Hall of Fame receiver Sterling Sharpe. Sharpe set back to back NFL records for receptions in a season (1992 -108rec/1993 -112 rec) while Favre went on to be NFL MVP 3 straight years 1995-1997. He set NFC record with TD passes with 38 in ’95 & 39 in ’96. They were a pass first West Coast offense that leaned on the run to close out games.

Then in Seattle he leans on a bellcow running back Sean Alexander who wins the 2005 NFL MVP rushing for 1,880 yards with 28 rushing TDs. They made it to Super Bowl XL where several questionable calls kept Holmgren from becoming the 1st coach to win Super Bowls with 2 different franchises. He was “this” close…

2005 NFC Championship Trophy

Of course his most notable stop was resurrecting a Green Bay franchise that had been flat on its back since the Lombardi era in the 1960s. No coach could sustain excellence in what had become a desolate place where other coaches would use the threat of “sending” players off to Green Bay as a banishment. There is an NFL Films clip of the late John McKay saying this on the Buccaneer sideline. This was a team that had been 0-26!

In bringing the team to respectability from a competitive standpoint, his rise came at the advent of free agency at the beginning of the 1993 season. One of the principle arguments that persisted was ‘how could Green Bay attract black free agents?’ He was instrumental in landing the 1st prized free agent in Hall of Fame DE Reggie White. He actually pranked him by leaving a voicemail saying he “was Jesus and he should come to Green Bay.” He won over Reggie White when no pundit thought he had a snowballs chance to sign him.

That move attracted key black free agents TE Keith Jackson, WR Andre Rison, FS Eugene Robinson, DE Sean Jones who spearheaded Holmgren’s Super Bowl XXXI champion. Yes there were other great notable signings in WR Don Beebe, QB Jim McMahon, and FS Mike Prior but in ’92 while the players were suing for free agency Keith Jackson was the #1 free agent. Reggie White’s name was on the lawsuit and he was ’93s prize free agent every team was after. Holmgren charmed them both.

He needed them to get over the top after taking the Packers to 9-7, 9-7, 9-7 and 11-5 records 1992-1995. His 13-3 masterpiece returned the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay making Holmgren a legend:

His final two years in Green Bay, he was on the precipice of winning back to back Super Bowls when they charged into XXXII as a defending champion. Needless to say Holmgren’s team fell behind and he took the ball out of Dorsey Levens hands chronicled here

In 1998 the Packers entered the playoffs as a wildcard and lost in dramatic fashion to San Francisco 30-27 on a last second TD from Young to Owens. His final game as a Packer. I was disappointed he didnt win in XXXII and believe he would have been in Canton years ago had he gone back to back. Referee whistles and flags against his Seahawks in XL withstanding… however as The Chancellor of Football I wanted to offer this piece.

For his career he is tied with Don Shula & George Seifert as the only head coaches to produce 4 NFL MVPs with Brett Favre (1995,96,97) & Shawn Alexander in 2005. Considering 2 of the MVPs won under Seifert, Joe Montana ’89 & ’90, Holmgren was the Offensive Coordinator calling those plays. Winning Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. The latter a 55-10 blowout in one of the most artistic games ever called. Peyton Manning won his with 3 coaches & Aaron Rodgers won his with 2.

If you’re keeping score at home:

Tied for producing the most NFL MVPs in history with 4.
Coaching tree has produced 22 conference title appearances, 9 Super Bowl appearances winning 6.
4th in history producing PFHoF players with 6 & Shawn Alexander talk is heating up. Could tie Landry at 3.
Had a 161-111 record as a head coach winning 1 Super Bowl, appearing in 2 more.
Hired to be Packers HC after a 3 year run in SF as OC ’88, ’89, ’90 winning 2 Super Bowls and an NFC Championship Game.

This is the epitome of a Pro Football Hall of Fame coach! In multiple Super Bowls in multiple decades? He needs to be enshrined just as I said to him back in 2016 he would. Well…

Back in 2012 when he was enshrined in The Packers Hall of Fame I was upset Brett Favre wasn’t there as he was still at odds with the organization. By the midnight hour I wrote “The Chancellor’s Take: Green Bay Packers & Brett Favre’s Broken Relationship” pleading they get their act together as the time was coming to immortalize recently retired greats as Favre soon would be. Never once figuring I’d be able to witness history up close.

As fate would have it I attended the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony as a guest of Kevin Greene, for penning a similar article for him years before. The Favre & Greene contingents were right in front of the stage. When the ceremony ended I walked toward the stage to congratulate Kevin for an awesome speech and hug his wife Tara who sang the national anthem…and right next to me was this old football coach… Mike Holmgren congratulating Favre on his. It was a surreal moment flashing me back to the 2012 Packers HOF ceremony… We greeted and as we were exiting toward the shuttles I told him to get ready as he had to prepare his speech. Of course he thanked me and gave a wry smile “maybe someday”… was gracious and gregarious as we chatted that evening.

Yet here we are and somehow this man hasn’t been ensrined. If this isn’t a Pro Football Hall of Fame resume I don’t know what one is. its time for the writers to put Mike Holmgren in the hallowed halls of Canton. He had my vote years ago…