Troy Aikman has repeatedly downplayed any tension with the Dallas Cowboys. After all, it is the only team he ever played for in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls with them. However, he is now part of the Miami Dolphins’ front office, a connection that seems odd for a franchise icon of another. Darren Woodson believes something deeper is at play.

“There may be some ill will between both parties,” Darren Woodson said on Star Time, when asked about how Aikman is with the Dolphins and not the Cowboys. “I’m not sure what that ill will is, I know that they haven’t communicated properly over the last 20-something years. Jerry and Troy. I think there has there’s got to be some humility.

“Troy has been covering much like Tom Brady has in the last couple of years. He’s got insight on every team. On every team he’s covering game in, game out. … as former players, even the organization, they know he has this inside knowledge. So why haven’t they tapped into it? I have no idea. But I thought it’s been a huge miss for the Cowboys organization. Because that resource has been around for 20 something years and they haven’t tapped into it.”

Troy Aikman spent the 90s turning the Cowboys into a dynasty, quarterbacking three Super Bowl wins in XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX. And since he hung up his cleats, he built a solid career as a broadcaster; he got to analyze heaps of players, coaches, and so many others from the comm box. He’s been doing this for 25 years now.

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Aikman has been vocal about being a part of an NFL team’s front office. However, he was never very hopeful about ending up in the Cowboys’ front office from the get go.

“I didn’t expect that type of opportunity with the Cowboys,” Aikman told The Dallas Morning News. “So I’m not surprised it hasn’t come.

“I have a 12-year history with the organization. And then it’s right in my backyard; obviously, that would have been ideal.”

That gap ended up working out for someone else. The Miami Dolphins scooped him up for a front office role instead, and Aikman explained why he said yes.

“The reason I agreed to the Dolphins job was that I’ve been asked a lot over the years if I had any interest in being a general manager, and I always thought that’s what I would do when I retired, quite honestly,” Aikman said on Dallas Dialogue with Dale. “I thought I’d get involved in a front office. Then things didn’t happen for various reasons, but this provided me an opportunity to get involved.”

According to The Athletic, the Dolphins were interested in outside voices with a nuanced understanding of the league for the role. Aikman later told DLLS Sports that the franchise was “wise in understanding my relationships around the league and knowing that I have information that they don’t have.”

Aikman’s role with the Dolphins isn’t clear cut, and he doesn’t get to factor into the big decisions. But he is very much a part; his first task was to help the team find their new general manager, Jon-Eric Sullivan.

Ahead of the draft, Miami declared that the former Cowboys quarterback would not be part of the draft day decisions. However, Sullivan acknowledged Aikman’s help behind the scenes.

“I can’t say enough good things about Troy and Dan [Marino],” he said, via the Miami Herald. “Troy has been a wonderful sounding board from afar. Troy will be part of equation going forward; what that looks like, we’ll see.”