Aikman 1-on-1: Cowboys Icon On Becoming an NFL GM
DALLAS - Once upon a time, Troy Aikman thought he’d retire from the NFL playing field, do broadcasting “for a couple years” and then move into an NFL team’s front office.
“It amazes me that (in 2020) be going into my 20th year of broadcasting,” the NFL on FOX lead analyst tells me in an exclusive visit. “I just don’t know where the time has gone.”
It’s flown by rapidly enough for the Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Fame QB that the serious consideration of being an NFL general manager never quite arrived ... and now, he says, might be gone.
“Is a team willing to invest (time) and then have someone who is then 54 or 55 years old?” asks Aikman, 53. “That’s not the way the world works. They tend to want to go younger, and I understand that. So I think the opportunity has probably passed me by.”
One of “opportunities” that was never to be is with the Cowboys, and Aikman details why.
“I think its a long shot in Dallas,” he tells me via our visit on 105.3 The Fan. “I think its always been a long shot in Dallas for the simple reason that its always been a family affair. And with owner Jerry (Jones) having two sons (Stephen and Jerry Jr., along with daughter Charlotte), and Stephen working in the front office ever since the team was bought, that they’re not in need of that type of person.
“And I’ve always known that, that for me to have a role that would excite me and would be at a level that was significant enough, that that was never going to be likely in Dallas.”
Despite his wildly successful TV career, Aikman concedes he hasn’t completely let go of the GM dream.
“So now,” he says, “my oldest daughter is graduated (high school) and my youngest will graduate next year. So I’m in a position where I will have time on my hands. But ... I’m realistic, I always have been. I’m not naive enough to think I can just step in and take over a job like that with no background. But I’m a quick study and I could pick up on it pretty quick. And I know I what’s important to championship football.”
So, Troy, is that a “yes” to continuing interest? A “maybe”? A “no”?
“Although at some levels (the circumstances) might be disappointing,” Aikman says, “on the other hand, I’m probably ready to just do the things that I want to do - and that just doesn’t entail going and scouting players 365 days out of the year.”
