The Dallas Cowboys’ dynasty under Jimmy Johnson with Troy Aikman at quarterback didn’t materialize overnight. The foundation was built through a few difficult, underwhelming seasons that tested both the head coach and his young signal-caller. But those struggles created urgency. And that urgency pushed Johnson to reevaluate his staff. One pivotal move followed: hiring Norv Turner as offensive coordinator, a decision that ultimately helped shape Aikman’s Hall of Fame trajectory.

“I’ve said it many times, my career would not have been the same had Norv Turner not have come in, and Norv was the fourth choice for offensive coordinator,” Aikman said. “There were three guys ahead of him that Jimmy (Johnson) wanted to hire and for various reasons was unable to get that done, and then we landed with Norv, and he ends up doing what he did, and then we go to three straight playoffs, and we went to two Super Bowls in three years.”

Johnson exploring multiple candidates at that time was understandable. He arrived in Dallas as a defensive-minded head coach, and the offense lagged badly in his first two seasons under coordinator David Shula. Shula brought eight years of NFL experience coaching receivers and quarterbacks, but results never followed.

From 1989 to 1990, Dallas won just eight of 32 games and ranked 27th and 28th offensively in a 28-team league. Aikman’s early numbers reflected the dysfunction. In 1989, he threw for 1,749 yards and nine touchdowns while the team went 0-11 in his starts. In 1990, he improved to 2,579 yards and 11 touchdowns, but the Cowboys still finished 7-8.

By 1991, the pressure to fix the offense was unavoidable. Beat writers were tracking Johnson daily, waiting to see who would get the job. And after three failed attempts to land other candidates, Johnson turned to Turner, then a receivers coach with the Rams. However, it wasn’t a blind hire.

As a player, Turner’s background included high school success that landed him at Oregon, where he overlapped with future Hall of Famer and the San Diego Chargers’ quarterback Dan Fouts. Before finalizing the decision, Johnson called Fouts.

“I told Jimmy that he was getting a good man, a guy without an ego,” Fouts said about Jimmy hiring Turner. Johnson listened and then asked Fouts to call Troy Aikman. “I told Troy that Norv would be the perfect man for the job.”

That endorsement proved accurate. Under Turner, the Cowboys jumped from bottom-tier production to records of 11-5, 13-3, and 12-4, with offensive rankings of ninth, fourth, and fourth. The surge coincided with back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

In the process, Turner didn’t just elevate Aikman. In fact, he helped structure an offense that maximized Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith as well. Smith captured three consecutive rushing titles, Irvin produced two of the best receiving seasons in franchise history, and Aikman became the highest-rated playoff quarterback in league history.

In Turner’s first three seasons as coordinator, Aikman threw for 2,754, 3,445, and 3,100 yards, respectively, and earned Super Bowl XXVII MVP honors. So while Turner may have been Johnson’s fourth choice, he ended up being the right one. And in the bigger picture, that decision helped cement Aikman’s path to Canton.

Fast forward to now, and following his Hall of Fame career with the Cowboys, Aikman has smoothly transitioned into a broadcasting career. And while he has already wrapped up his 2025 season with ESPN, the forthcoming season will carry extra weight for the Cowboys legend.

Troy Aikman will return to the Super Bowl next year

Super Bowl Sundays are hardly unfamiliar territory for Troy Aikman. He won three as the Cowboys’ quarterback, then went on to call twice that number as a FOX analyst. But since joining ESPN in 2022, he hasn’t been in the booth for the league’s biggest game. That’s set to change in 2027, with ESPN preparing to host the Super Bowl for the first time in network history.

According to reports, ESPN will air its inaugural Super Bowl broadcast during what executives are internally calling the “Year of the Super Bowl.” The championship game concluding the 2026 season is scheduled for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in California, marking a significant milestone for the network, which launched in 1979.

ESPN will serve as the primary broadcast home, with a simulcast on ABC, which last carried the Super Bowl during Super Bowl XL in 2006. Front and center will be Aikman alongside longtime partner Joe Buck, with Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge reporting from the sidelines. The familiar voices are returning to the sport’s biggest stage, just under a different banner.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for all of us. So many of us didn’t think we’d ever have the opportunity to work on an ESPN Super Bowl,” Andy Tennant, vice president of Super Bowl production, told FOS. “It’s been amazing feeling the creative energy and enthusiasm in conference rooms and hallways. From Bristol to Burbank, it’s been infectious.”

After calling six Super Bowls together at FOX, the longest-tenured television duo in NFL broadcasting will reunite for the big game once again, this time ending a wait of more than half a decade under a new network umbrella.