I was just thinking about how wonderful it would have been to have all of these all time great Dallas Cowboys on 1 team. I doubt any other franchise has had as much talent the Dallas Cowboys have had in the NFL. I predict this team would win 4 consecutive Super Bowls if it could ever have been assembled. I have also included my Dream Team coaching staff.
Head Coach :

Tom Landry
Landry amassed the 3rd most victories of all time. His total stats are 270 wins 178 losses and 6 ties, he also took the Cowboys to 5 Super Bowls winning 2. Landry coached the Cowboys to 20 consecutive winning seasons a feat that will most likely never be repeated (1966-1985). He was a presence on the sidelines and earned immediate respect from players all around the country. He was hard on his players and he would never have taken shit from a player like Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco. He created the flex Defense, had parts in developing the "Hail mary" pass the shotgun and many other aspects that are used by every team in the league.
Jimmy Johnson won 2 back to back Super Bowls while coaching the Cowboys for only 5 seasons. If Jimmy and Jerry Jones could have got along better, the Cowboys might have won an unprecedented 3 consecutive Super Bowls and possibly even more. He was a great motivator and judge of talent. He was known to give preferential treatment to his star players though.
Stautner was Defensive coordinator from 1973- to 1988. He coached players such as Randy White and Ed " Too Tall" Jones.
Norv Turner was the architect of the simple but well executed system that Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith et all relished. It was the perfect system for an ultimate offense. It was simplistic and rather vanilla at times, but Turner knew when and which plays to call during his tenure.
Special Teams -

Joe Avezzano (standing next to fan fave Bill Bates)
Joe Avezzano created a intense desire for players to want to be on special teams. Bill Bates was one of the best special teams players ever and threw his body around the field recklessly. He was the embodiment of what special teams is all about. Avezzano's special teams units were always rate among the top teams in the NFL.
I limited myself to only the current allowable 53 players in today's game plus the 5 practice squad players. The number in parentheses (1) indicates who is #1 on depth chart. This was a hard choice since I only can remember watching my first Dallas Cowboys football game when I was 5 years old, so I am not too familiar with some of the players who played for the Cowboys in the early years. I created my Dream Team from a pool of mostly modern era players and some who I have read about or seen highlights of on NFL Films. I also describe each player with at least 1 adjective or adverb to define what their most tangible aspects were since we all know their all great.
Quarter Backs (1) Roger Staubach (2) Troy Aikman (3) Don Meredith
Staubach- resilient; Aikman - accuracy; Meredith- style/flair
Running Backs (1) Tony Dorsett (2) Emmitt Smith (3) Herschel Walker
Dorsett- speed; Smith- heart; Walker- power
Fullbacks (1) Daryl Johnston (2) Robert Newhouse
Johnston- roughneck; Newhouse- bowling ball
Wide Receivers (1) Michael Irvin (2) Drew Pearson (3) Bullet Bob Hayes (4) Tony Hill (5) Terrell Owens
A group of 5 receivers that any defense would shit themselves if they would ever have to line up against.
Irvin- passion; Pearson- clutch; Hayes-pure speed; Hill- hands; T.O- limelight
Tight Ends : (1) Jason Witten (2) Jay Novacek (3) Billy Joe Dupree
Witten- best of his era; Novacek- deceptively fast
Tackles (1) Rayfield Wright (2) Pat Donovan (3) Erik Williams
Wright - dominant; Donovan -consistent; Williams- mauler
Guards (1) Larry Allen (2) Blaine Nye (3) Nate Newton
Allen- incredible strength; Nye- solid; Newton- hillarious
Centers (1) Mark Stepnoski (2) John Fitzgerald (3) Andre Gurode
Stepnoski- smart; Fitzgerald- solid; Gurode- roader
Defensive Ends (1) Charles Haley (2) Harvey Martin (3) Ed Jones (4) Tony Tolbert
Haley- relentless; Martin- punisher;Jones-intimidating; Tolbert -solid
Defensive tackles (1) Bob Lily (2) Randy White (3) Jay Ratliff (4) Leon Lett
Lily- dominant; White- manster/versatile; Ratliff powerful; Lett- man-child
Outside Linebackers (1) DeMarcus Ware (2) Ken Norton Jr (3) Eugene Lockhart (4) Thomas Henderson
Ware- unblockable; Norton- fighter; Lockhart-hitting machine; Henderson- crazy
Inside Linebackers (1) Lee Roy Jordan (2) Chuck Howley (3) Jack Del Rio (4) D.D. Lewis
Jordan- leader; Howley- quick; Del Rio- blue collar; Lewis - stingy
Cornerbacks (1) Mel Renfro (2) Deion Sanders (3) Everson Walls (4) Kevin Smith (5) Terrence Newman
All are best described as "shut down" corners
Safeties (1) Cliff Harris (2) Darren Woodson (3) Charlie Waters (4) Roy Williams
Harris- smart; Woodson- non stop; Waters- fluid; Williams -big hitter
Kicker- Rafael Septien
Punter Mike Saxon
Special Teams Ace- Bill Bates
Practice Squad : QB Danny White; RB Marion Barber; WR Alvin Harper; OL Leonard Davis; LB Dexter Coakley
Greg Ellis No Longer A Dallas Cowboy
So long Greg Ellis. The Dallas Cowboys announced they released DE/OLB Greg Ellis. Both parties wished each other well and good luck in the future. I hope Ellis truly feels blessed to have played for the Cowboys. I honestly say he was a top 10 Defensive end for about his first 6-7 years in the league. His play began to deteriorate the past few years. The switch to outside linebacker probably extended his career. Recently there has been rumor the New England Patriots are interested in signing him to bolster their weak and aging pass rush.
Posted by mparagas on June 02, 2009 at 06:18 PM in Cowboys, Commentary | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)