Cowboys’ former quarterback Tony Romo’s NFL journey was far from easy. Despite having a solid season at Eastern Illinois and winning the Walter Payton Award, he went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft. Although the Broncos offered a reported $20,000 signing bonus as a rookie free agent, the Cowboys, with their $10,000 signing bonus, seemed like a perfect fit for him. And turns out that decision helped him later on when he got the starting QB job.

“After that game, I was so erratic, we lost. Parcells did this, he brought every coach in there, and they’re all sitting there, and they said, ‘I want everyone to vote who should be our starting quarterback,'” Tony Romo said on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take. “I don’t think people know this story. So let’s say there are 15 votes. And he goes, ‘If we’re doing this, we’re all in this together. We’re going to vote. Is it Bledsoe or is it Romo?’ That day, right there, I think Parcels knew what he wanted.

“But he wanted every coach to (say it)… He probably went around and asked each guy. He was like, ‘I’m not voting, you all are. Whatever ends up, we’ll do and we’ll do it together as a team.’ And the last guy was the guy I always practiced with. I think that Parcels knew how the vote was gonna work out. It ended up being me.”

At first, many people expected Drew Bledsoe to keep the starting quarterback job. But the final decision turned out to be surprising. Tony Romo explained that the coaches voted on who should be the starting quarterback. Before the final vote, the count was 7-7. The last person, whom Parcells apparently intentionally left to vote, was the assistant quarterbacks coach, who worked closely with Romo every day.

Romo said he spent extra hours with this coach after regular practice because he was determined to improve. Since the final vote came from the coach who had seen Romo’s hard work every day, Romo believed that the vote made the difference. And it was something Romo believed Parcells always wanted, even though he doesn’t have a factual proof for it.

Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells believed Romo had talent but did not want to rush him into playing. Instead, Romo spent his first few seasons learning from experienced quarterbacks like Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe. He worked hard in practice and impressed coaches while leading the scout team.

The biggest moment in Tony Romo’s career came during a Week 6 Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants in 2006. Drew Bledsoe started the game but struggled in the first half. He was sacked four times and threw an interception and no touchdowns. At halftime, head coach Bill Parcells decided to replace him with Romo.

Romo’s first NFL appearance did not go perfectly. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 227 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, and the Cowboys lost 36-22 to Eli Manning and Co. Even though the team lost, Romo showed enough potential to impress the coaching staff. His performance earned him the chance to become the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, and he made his first NFL start the following week against the Carolina Panthers for a 35-14 win.

And since then, he showed why Parcells chose him. Even though Tony Romo never won a Super Bowl, he played for the team for 13 seasons and threw for 34,183 passing yards, 248 touchdowns, and 117 interceptions. On top of that, Romo was also selected to the Pro Bowl four times, showing that he was considered one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks during his career. So, all in all he turned out to be Bill Parcells best decision.