If These Walls Could Talk: Dallas Cowboys: Stories from the Dallas Cowboys Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box

For Olivia, my superstar, my angel, and my world

Contents

Foreword by Darren Woodson

1. Dying Dynasty

2. Quarterback Heart-aik

3. Tuna for Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

4. Woody, Witten, & Ware

5. Romo-meNtum

6. This Means War (Room)

7. Longshots

8. When Life Gets in the Way

9. Can’t We All Get Along?

10. Oddballs & Odd Stories

11. Oh, That Was the Game…

Acknowledgments

Sources

Foreword by Darren Woodson

On April 26, 1992, I figured my life was about to change. My dreams of making it to the NFL were about to happen. It was the day of the NFL draft, the biggest moment of my life. At the house we had the draft on, but I didn’t watch it. I couldn’t watch. Instead, I went out for a round of golf…and I didn’t play golf.

Living out in Arizona, I had never gone golfing, but that’s how much I wanted to get my mind off the draft. There was so much buildup and speculation that I just couldn’t take it. I heard I’d be selected anywhere from the second round to the third or fourth. 

At this point I just wanted the process to be over. I was on the golf course when somehow my mom got me on the phone and congratulated me. Then my best friend, Floyd, called and said, You just got drafted by the team you hate. 

I was so excited. All my dreams had finally come true. I was just happy to be in the NFL. But he was right—I hated the Cowboys growing up. I was a Steelers fan. Living in Arizona back then, we didn’t have a team, so I rooted for anyone Dallas was playing. And it wasn’t just dislike; it was hatred. I hated Drew Pearson and Roger Staubach. That’s how intense it was. My heroes were Mean Joe Greene, Lynn Swann, and Rocky Bleier. Those were my guys. 

But when I was drafted by the Cowboys, everything changed. When I got to Dallas and saw Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones, reality just hit me: I am going to be a Dallas Cowboy! That’s all I kept saying to myself. 

And I actually knew a little bit about the Cowboys. Everyone talked about Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin, but the guy I was excited about meeting was Ken Norton Jr. For some reason I just loved the way he played. Every time I caught a Cowboys game the year before, he was the guy I liked. He was just tough and nasty. He played the game the way I wanted to play—physical from start to finish.

But from that moment on, I was hooked. A team I grew up hating was now my team and my life. And I couldn’t have been happier. 

When I got there in 1992, we were ready to turn that corner. There’s no way I could’ve gone anywhere better, especially after we won two championships in my first two years and then a third Super Bowl ring in my fourth year. I had four seasons in the league and three rings. A part of me thought I might get seven or eight before it was all said and done. But man, I never dreamed I wouldn’t even come close to a fourth one. 

In my next eight years, we never made it to the NFC Championship Game. We went through four more head coaches, and to this day, I’m the only Cowboys player to have played for five different head coaches. I still don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

The longevity is nice, even though I still wish I would’ve played longer. One of my biggest regrets is not having more time with Bill Parcells. He came in 2003, which turned out to be my last season, but I learned more from him in a few months than I had in about five or six years. 

If I had played more with him, I guarantee I would have been a hundred times the player I was and I still think my career turned out pretty well. I never considered myself a cocky person and still don’t, but I was always confident. 

When I think about all of the players I played with, all of the players that came after me, and even all of the players that were before me, I still don’t think there has been a more versatile player to ever suit up for the Cowboys than me. You could argue Deion Sanders, who played offense and defense and returned punts. He was an amazing talent. 

But I remember one of his first games back in 1995, against the Giants, and he’s got big Rodney Hampton in the open field. Deion is wrestling with him and trying to bring him down. And I’m over at my safety spot and I’m flying to the ball. Surely Deion is going to get him down, but he hasn’t yet. I’m going full speed and when I get there I’m right behind Deion and just smash him in the back, right into Hampton, and we all three go down hard. Deion, with that high-pitched voice, looks up at me and yells, Woody, are you crazy? What’s wrong with you? 

I told him right then, Listen, if I have to run my ass across this field because you’re not making the tackle, I’m going to hit you, him, and anyone else I have to—to make the play. 

That’s just the way I played the game. I wanted to be all over the field and for the most part I was. I played safety, moved down to linebacker sometimes, and could play the nickel corner. In today’s game, you see teams paying a lot of money for a nickel cornerback, but I played the slot my whole career. And I played all of the special teams, too. 

One of the things I’m most proud of is knowing I played for a dynasty team and never really came off the field. I’m hoping one day to see my name up in the Ring of Honor, but that’s out of my control. All I could control was what I did on the field, and hopefully my play spoke for itself. I certainly have no regrets. How could I? I got to line up and play for America’s Team for 12 years. 

I remember Nick Eatman when he was just a young kid out of college back in Wichita Falls. He’s now covered this team for 15 years and will reveal some of the greatest untold stories over the last two decades. This book, If These Walls Could Talk, isn’t about the history of the Cowboys. It’s not about the Tom Landry era and really doesn’t focus a lot on our championship runs of the 1990s. But Jerry Jones is the best owner in the NFL because he’s managed to keep this the most popular franchise in the world even without another Super Bowl since 1995. 

The stories in this book will focus on a team climbing to get back to those glory days. I was once a big part of that climb, a journey the Cowboys are still on today. 

And as I’ve transitioned my career from player to ESPN analyst, I’ve grown to appreciate the Cowboys’ brand even more. Even without the recent success on the field, there is no team more relevant than the Cowboys. In our production meetings at ESPN, we’re always trying to talk about the Cowboys or Tony Romo because we know that’s what sells. 

The Cowboys have always been America’s Team and always will be.

—Darren Woodson

1. Dying Dynasty 

The first time I met Emmitt Smith was during his rookie season in 1990. I was just 14 years old and the Cowboys held an open practice at Texas Stadium, trying to make it a fan-friendly event that could hopefully boost ticket sales. Remember, the team was fresh off a 1–15 season, so they were pulling out all the stops.

I got him to sign a picture that I had ripped out of a Sports Illustrated. He didn’t have a football card yet, and that’s all I had. He said, What’s this? poking fun at my piece of memorabilia. But Emmitt had yet to play a single snap for the Cowboys. Of course, how could I have ever known then that I would have a front-row seat for his last few years with the team?

So during my teens, I loved watching Emmitt play. He was the guy the Cowboys just couldn’t win without, which was evident in the 1993 season when they lost the first two games when he sat out with a contract dispute but returned to win NFL MVP honors and lead the league in rushing.

Needless to say, I knew Emmitt the player and I more than liked the guy. Emmitt the person was a little different, at least when I got there in 1999. Success for the team was fading, and his play was deteriorating, though he was still producing at a relatively high level.

And after Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were gone, Emmitt was really the only star left, something he made clear a few years after he left the team, saying he felt like a diamond surrounded by trash in his final seasons with the club. His premise was correct. The word choice was poor.

In 2000 I remember walking into the team hotel in New York before a Giants game, and Emmitt motioned me to come over by him. He then asked for my bag.

You want my bag?

Yeah, let me have your bag real quick.

I handed over a less-than-impressive blue Nike gym bag, and Emmitt grabbed it with one hand and had his own personal luggage in the other. He then walked right through a massive group of fans who were in a frenzy trying to collect his autograph. Emmitt just smiled and kept going. Of course, he couldn’t sign because…well…his hands were full.

Emmitt had passed the gathering and was approaching the elevators when he looked back, dropped my bag to the ground, and let out a thunderous laugh. I think he’d done that move before, but it didn’t seem to get old. When I told that story to people who knew him better, the usual response was something like, That’s Emmitt.

But I’ve also seen other sides of him. In 1999 the Cowboys lost to a miserable Saints team in a Christmas Eve game that seemingly knocked them out of the playoffs. The Cowboys managed to sneak in anyway, but during the return flight from New Orleans, it appeared their postseason chances were over.

Yet with the plane in the air headed back to Dallas, Emmitt went to the front and personally shook hands with every single person on the flight, wishing them a Merry Christmas. Even with people he didn’t know, such as sponsors and guests or even new faces in the media he didn’t recognize, Smith still shook all of their hands and genuinely wished them well.

And I’ll never forget one day in 2002. It was a Thursday because Emmitt never talked on Thursdays in the locker room. If you approached him on a Thursday, he’d laugh at you for not knowing the rules. But on this day, the mood at Valley Ranch was somber. The team’s director of TV, John Chang, one of the more likeable individuals in the organization, had suffered a brain aneurism and was in critical condition. He eventually passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage later that day, but as of Thursday mid-morning, everyone was praying for the best.

My job was to try to get quotes from some of the veteran players who knew John, so I could write a remembrance article. In 2002, it was such a young team that Emmitt was really the only guy, other than Darren Woodson, that I could talk to.

Knowing the day of the week, I cautiously approached Emmitt, who was sitting at his locker. Before I could say anything, he stood up and asked, You need me to talk about John, don’t you?

Yeah, I’m sorry, Emmitt, but I do.

Definitely, I’ll talk about John Chang all day.

And he went over to another area of the locker room and shared stories and memories about John, whose talented vision carried the Cowboys’ in-house TV department to new heights.

His ability to know his role and have the presence of mind to interview about a staff member was also a case of That’s Emmitt.

 —Nick Eatman

Deion Mans Up

In the 1990s no team had swagger like the Dallas Cowboys. They were bold, brash, flamboyant, loud, and talented.

And then they signed Deion Sanders.

Deion joined the Cowboys in 1995 after agreeing to a seven-year, $35 million contract that was completely unheard of at the time for a cornerback. And that’s part of the deal—he wasn’t just a cornerback in Jerry Jones’ mind, as the owner envisioned him playing offense as well, something Sanders did during his time with the Atlanta Falcons.

When Deion came to the Cowboys, he fit right in on Sundays as he expected to. Prime Time had style, flash, and a confidence that was unmatched. But what Deion wasn’t expecting was the level of intensity in the Cowboys’ workouts, which was always triggered by the one-on-one drills. When the receivers took on the cornerbacks, it was the highlight of practice.

Sometimes coaches from other positions would conveniently take breaks, so they could catch a glimpse of the action. And it made sense to watch because they were certainly going to hear the players chirping about it all day and probably all week.

Deion signed two games into the 1995 season, but an ankle injury he sustained playing baseball prevented him from taking the field for six weeks. Once ready, Deion immediately jumped into the starting lineup during his first practice at Valley Ranch, which meant he took the first rep on the right side of the field. Five other players, a mix of cornerbacks and safeties, joined him, including Pro Bowler Darren Woodson. On the left side, there were a handful of other defensive backs. The drill consists of one-on-one matchups to the right, then to the left and so forth.

On the very first play, Deion got right up on Michael Irvin, one of the few receivers in the league who had enjoyed moderate success against him. Irvin ran 10 yards downfield and then made a hard cut to the outside where he hauled in a perfectly thrown pass from Troy Aikman. The two hooked up on that play for more than 10 years, and when run and thrown properly, they couldn’t be stopped.

Deion certainly didn’t stop it on this play, and Irvin proceeded to woof, slamming the ball down with a spike and then giving his trademark first-down sign. The receivers were going crazy, yelling and screaming that their boy, The Playmaker, had just worked over the guy who was supposed to be the savior on defense. Deion was hot, Woodson recalled. He walked over to the side, and when the next corner came up—I think it was Alundis Brice—he told him to get off the field. Deion came over and said, ‘All of ya’ll should go on the other side if you want any reps. I’m taking every one of these fucking reps.’ And that’s exactly what he did.

Maybe that was his way of knocking off the rust, considering he had played baseball all summer and this was his first practice. Or maybe that’s just how bad he wanted to prove the first ball to Irvin was a fluke.

The arrogance to send the rest of the defensive backs to the other side of the drill wasn’t too surprising. That was Deion’s reputation long before he came to the Cowboys. But what transpired over the next 12 snaps was nothing short of incredible.

Deion did take every rep on the right side. And he didn’t give up another ball. Not a slant, not a deep ball, not another out route, even when Irvin tested him again. Deion stayed on the field and covered every fresh receiver that rotated in. And he mixed up his coverages, playing off at times, pressing the receiver on others. He had the receivers and quarterbacks out of rhythm.

Toward the end of the drill, when the receivers were getting frustrated, they started running deep every time. I think he had three or four 9-routes in a row, and Deion ran with his guy every time, Woodson said. "It was unbelievable. In all my years of playing and watching guys do things in practice, that’s the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.

Not only did Woodson enjoy the show but the break, too. He didn’t go to the other side to get reps, and when defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer came over to see what was happening, Woodson told him what Deion had said. Zimmer then started yelling at some of the younger cornerbacks to get in there, but deep down he was pretty impressed and excited about his newest cornerback.

Everybody knew Deion could play. But they all quickly found out how hard he competed as well.

Muzzling Haley

When it comes to pranks, playful harassment or any other joke, there aren’t many players off-limits for razzing.

Troy Aikman was usually the exception. He was the quarterback, the franchise, and the team’s stoic leader, which typically gave him a pass from the locker-room high jinks.

However, Charles Haley was the exception to just about every rule. His loud mouth, wild personality, and just-don’t-give-a-shit mentality had no filter. At times, knowing his teammates didn’t mess with Aikman, Haley would purposely try to antagonize the quarterback. Charles never thought he was getting his respect, equipment manager Mike McCord said. He used to mess with Troy all the time. Charles thought he was the Golden Boy and didn’t care. He’d mess with Nate [Newton], Michael [Irvin], Deion, and Emmitt [Smith], but he really liked to mess with Troy.

One day, Haley was in one of his typically playful moods, and his love for wagering on full display. It didn’t matter the circumstance. Haley would often try to put money on it and make it a bet. From one side of the locker room to the other, which is about 15–20 yards, Haley spots Aikman getting dressed after a workout. Like always, Aikman stuck to himself, especially when the locker room antics were getting rather boisterous like they were on this day. But, Haley made sure Aikman was involved this time. Hey, Troy. Hey, I’ll give you $500 cash right now if you can throw this football in between these trash cans, Haley challenged. The ball can’t hit them either.

Aikman laughed it off and continued to get dressed, but Haley kept pressing. He had five $100 bills and was ready to give them up if Aikman could fire a ball across the locker room into this tight spot. Haley pushed and pushed, and Aikman finally just acknowledged the challenge by looking up to see that Haley had maneuvered a pair of trash cans so close together that one football couldn’t even be placed sideways between two without touching one of them. And Haley wanted Aikman, who was known for his pinpoint accuracy, to fire this ball across the room and not hit them? Ball, Aikman demanded with force, which riled up the onlookers, including Haley, who was trying to figure out a fair number of throws to give the quarterback to try this feat.

How many throws you need to get it through there? Haley asked.

Aikman never said a word. The only sound made was the hum- ming of the hardest, fastest, tightest spiral he had ever thrown. The ball zipped straight through the two trash cans, smacking one of the lockers behind them.

The room went nuts. Here was their quarterback, their leader, the guy that takes them into battle, and he had just rifled a football across their locker room into a space that seemed impossible. Most of the players couldn’t have delivered a handoff into a space that small, much less a 20-yard pass.

Not only that, Aikman did something that seemed even more impossible. For a brief moment, he actually made Haley speechless, probably a more impressive feat than the pass itself.

He Punts, Too?

Troy Aikman had to be perfect. That was his goal every practice, every game, and every season. With every pass that rolled out of his right hand, Aikman strived for perfection and demanded the same from his teammates, his coaches, and anyone else that was around him.

So when things weren’t going perfect, innocent bystanders sometimes felt the wrath of 8-Ball, the nickname given to Aikman, the last player to wear No. 8 for the Cowboys.

One day during a practice in the early 1990s, the Cowboys were on the field during a heavy downpour. The team had yet to build its indoor facility, which actually collapsed during a practice in 2009, and chose not to travel to a local high school that had an indoor field.

At that time, the equipment staff also had only two people helping during practice: Mike McCord and longtime manager Buck Buchanan, whose son, Bucky, eventually replaced him and is still one of the team’s two full-time assistants. There weren’t a host of interns like today to shag balls and dry them off.

Aikman, who like most quarterbacks had trouble throwing a wet football, wasn’t having much luck on this day. Usually tight spirals were slipping out of his hand on every throw, wobbling through the air like a kickoff.

In one particular drill, McCord played the role of the center, kneeling down in front of Aikman and either simulating a snap into his hands or giving him a shotgun pitch. In fielding the balls back from the receivers, McCord was also doing his best to towel them off before giving them to Aikman.

Still the weather was winning the drill. It was raining hard enough that the coaches considered stopping practice and waiting for the storm to pass.

Aikman didn’t say anything, but his frustration was starting to show. He cursed after each fluttering pass, and his disgust was becoming more and more physical. Troy was one of those guys who had really big hands, but he squeezed the ball so tight, McCord said. That’s why he always struggled at first in the Super Bowls because he was throwing brand new footballs. On this day the ball was soaking wet, and he’s squeezing it so hard. It’s just not going the way he wants it to.

Finally, Aikman had seen enough. After about the sixth straight pass that he failed to grip properly, the quarterback completely snapped. Hey, McCord, can you just fucking give me one dry football?

With that, Aikman took the ball and punted it about 40 yards to the other field. And that was Troy, McCord said. He didn’t usually call you out, but if he was having a bad day, he was going to take it out on someone.

Fashionably Late

When it came to practice, no one pushed himself harder or performed better than Michael Irvin. He was always on time and never really displayed the overzealous showmanship that made him one of the NFL’s most flamboyant players.

When it came to the team charter, though, that was a different story.

Irvin, of course, sported some of the loudest, most colorful suits of any player on the team, but a more pressing question than what Irvin would wear on each charter flight was when the wide receiver might get there.

Earlier in his career during the 1992 season, Irvin was left behind. His former college coach, Jimmy Johnson, ordered the team to leave without its star receiver, who said he simply overslept. The Cowboys went to Detroit, and Irvin had to catch his own flight. He was also punished by being benched for the team’s first possession of the game.

Irvin never missed another flight, but he certainly could’ve.

As he got older, he realized more and more that he had enough skins on the wall, so a few extra minutes here and there would be tolerated. In fact it was often celebrated as someone regularly profited from his delay. He was late every single time, equipment manager Mike McCord said. It wasn’t a matter of if he’d be late, but how late. We knew it every week. That’s just the way Michael was.

McCord was one of the football staff members who made a game of Irvin’s tardiness. Sometimes as many as 10 guys in the back few rows would place their bets on the exact time Irvin would arrive. Usually they were $1 bets for fun, but sometimes the pot was $5 each.

If the plane was scheduled to leave at 1 pm, around 12:45 is when the bets would start coming in. Of course, Irvin wasn’t there yet.

I’ll take 12:58.

I’ve got 1:02.

Hmm, how about 12:54? A bold prediction of Irvin actually being rather early would receive some oohs and ahhs.

Nah, let’s go 1:07, which would be late enough to get the head coach, whether it was Johnson, Barry Switzer, or Chan Gailey, to at least consider the possibility of leaving without him.

Every week Irvin would make it a show. And more often than not,