The Dallas Cowboys parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday. Now that the Cowboys job is open, you have to wonder: How good is the job actually? Super Bowl champion Troy Aikman isn’t so sure it’s a coveted job right now.
Aikman, a Hall of Famer who won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys in 1992, 1993, and 1995, commented on the state of his former team. He joined ESPN ahead of the network’s coverage of Monday night’s Wild Card playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings.
Aikman and colleague Joe Buck talked about the Cowboys and McCarthy. The Hall of Famer gave an honest assessment about the Cowboys and the head coaching vacancy that exists now.
“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate. I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team and whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention,” he said on Monday Night Countdown via Pro Football Talk.
Aikman continued, saying what he felt the Cowboys needed. “But I think most football people that take over as a head coach want to do it on their terms, and that’s hard to do [in Dallas],” Aikman said. “You take a Dan Campbell for instance. Is Dan Campbell Dan Campbell if he’s with the Dallas Cowboys? It’s hard to imagine that he is. It’s hard to imagine that a lot of these coaches might me.”
Aikman closed by saying he loves his former team, but said he wouldn’t necessarily agree that the Dallas job is “coveted.”
The NFL world reacted to what Aikman had to say about the Cowboys.
“Ouch, Aikman is going to hurt Jerry’s feelings,” one fan said.
“Good. Someone with Dallas sway needs to tell Jerry the truth,” another fan commented.
“It was a coveted job 20 years ago,” one fan argued.
“It’s a thankless job,” another fan argued.
Considering the way the team’s run? Not a farfetched claim at all. It’s an honest one, and certainly might hurt worse coming from a Cowboy legend like Aikman. But the Cowboys haven’t made the NFC Championship Game since the 1995-96 season, have routinely flamed out in the playoffs, and have made multiple changes at head coach since their last title game appearance.
