Troy Aikman certainly wants the Dallas Cowboys to win another Super Bowl. But for now, he remains the last quarterback to lead Dallas to a championship. More than three decades have passed, and the Cowboys haven’t reached the NFC Championship Game, let alone made a Super Bowl appearance.
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During one of his recent appearances on the Dallas Dialogue with Dale podcast, Aikman addressed his former team’s championship drought. In Aikman’s view, despite the Cowboys’ success during the regular season, responsibility for their playoff failures starts at the top of the organization.
“I think that teams and organizations, whether it’s sports, business, I think it all does start at the top, good or bad,” Aikman said more than a week ago. “I think it starts at the top. I don’t think Jerry would shy away from that. I think Jerry would certainly take responsibility. He’ll take accountability if and when they win, and I think then you have to take responsibility when it hasn’t worked out. And it hasn’t worked out.”
That, however, didn’t sit well with Rob Parker. While it’s true that Dallas has failed to find success in the postseason, Parker believes that it’s not entirely Jerry Jones’ fault. Recently, Parker came in Jones’ support, while pointing out the team’s success in the past.
“This is Troy Aikman, and now he was wondering why Jerry never asked him to get involved with the Cowboys because this is a lazy take,” said Parker on The Odd Couple podcast. “Troy Aikman, I get it; Jerry Jones should have turned over his football program to football people a long time ago. I’m with you. But to just say that it’s all Jerry Jones’ fault doesn’t make sense.
“…They draft well. They get good players. As a GM and football players, they’ve been pretty good. And Troy Aikman, if it’s all about Jerry Jones and how lousy he is, how in the world can you help me, Troy Aikman, or are you too busy counting money? Can you help me?”
In the 30 years since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl, the team has qualified for the playoffs 13 times and won only five postseason games. Parker, however, doesn’t think it’s Jerry Jones’ fault alone.
According to him, Dallas has had players and coaches who could win games for the team. He used the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons as an example under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys won 12 games each season, while winning the NFC East twice in those three years.
During that stretch, the Cowboys’ defense ranked 7th in 2021 and 5th in the 2022 and 2023 seasons under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. At the same time, the then-offensive coordinator Kellen Moore led Dallas to a No. 1 offense in 2021 and No. 4 in 2022 before Brian Schottenheimer took over during the 2023 season. Schottenheimer, meanwhile, led Dallas to No. 1 offense once again in 2023.
Across those three years, quarterback Dak Prescott posted 4,000-plus-yard seasons twice while leading the Cowboys to three consecutive playoff appearances. So, it’s safe to say that Dallas had both the coaching and the talent to win games.
“It ain’t like they don’t have players to win games,” added Parker. “They have won games. Have they failed in the postseason? Absolutely. Maybe they haven’t had the right coach. Maybe I don’t give you that. But to just sit there and basically think that it’s all Jerry Jones- how do you win 12 games and put together that kind of talent and win the NFC East division a few times? They’ve had double-digit wins in five of their last nine seasons.”
While the Cowboys’ regular season success is evident in the past few seasons, it’s worth noting that the team has struggled to go deep into the postseason. Even in the three seasons that Parker talked about, the Cowboys lost twice in the Wild Card round, while losing in the Divisional Round during the 2022 season.
As for the last couple of seasons, the Cowboys have failed to even make the postseason. Last season, the offense performed well, but a struggling defense ultimately derailed their campaign. This offseason, Jerry Jones has addressed the team’s defensive needs. Whether those moves will pay off and help the Cowboys finally end their championship drought, however, remains to be seen.