Tom Landry (1924-2000)
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Tom Landry
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(Allsport)
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Dallas Cowboys 1960-89
Texas
Coached Dallas for franchise’s first 29 years … 29-year tenure with one team tied NFL record ... Career record: 270-178-6 ... 270 wins third most ever … Had 20 consecutive winning seasons … Appeared in five Super Bowls and two NFL championship games … Won Super Bowls VI and XII … Played in 13 NFC/NFL championship games in 18-year span … Appeared in playoffs every year from 1965-83, except 1974 … Noted for impassive, sideline demeanor … Was always in control … Master innovator … Among his contributions to the game: the 4-3 defense, which has been one of the two standard defenses for five decades, “The Flex” defense, which is a more refined version of the 4-3 … Revived the ‘shot gun’ formation in ‘75, after it had failed in the early ‘60s; Landry’s version still used three decades later … Situation substitutions on defense, especially in passing situations … Multiple formation offense … Camouflaged backfield movement by having offensive lineman standing straight up before hitting three-point stance … Hall of Fame Dallas players: Tony Dorsett, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Roger Staubach, Randy White … Former assistants who coached Super Bowl teams: Raymond Berry (New England, 1985); Mike Ditka (1985, Chicago); Dan Reeves (Denver, 1986-87, ’89; Atlanta 1998) … Defensive back, punter with Yankees (AAFC), Giants (NFL), 1949-1955 ... All Pro safety, 1955 … Defensive coordinator, Giants in late-50s … Born September 11, 1924, in Mission, Texas … Died Feb. 12, 2000 in Dallas of Leukemia.
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