Aikman questions the substance of "culture" claims after another Cowboys' playoff miss. What truly defines success in Dallas?
FRISCO - I have for years ridiculed the idea of a football team having some sort of definable “culture,’’ the centerpiece of my thinking being that we really don’t know what “culture’’ even is - and we certainly don’t celebrate it - until a team wins lots and lots of games.
And maybe even a Super Bowl or two.
Now along comes a most respected voice in this area to confirm what I already know:
I’m right.
“I think Brian Schottenheimer is a good coach,’’ the iconic Dallas Cowboys QB and Hall of Famer recently said. “As far as changing the culture, I don’t know that that happened. I don’t know that it didn’t happen. …’’
Famously, Schottenheimer’s first address to the public upon taking this job a year ago was all about building “the greatest culture in professional sports.”
As I sat there in the atrium at The Star listening, I was struck by the fact that the statement was as admirable as it was absurd.
And one more thing: How the hell do we - or he - even know what a “great culture’’ is? Is it about how many guys are in the weight room together? Is it about study habits or being nice to their parents or showing up early and staying late?
I’ve been covering the NFL for 40 years and I’ve been covering the Cowboys for 36 years. And I haven’t the slightest idea how to measure “culture’’ except to say one thing now, with the 2025 season and its Super Bowl behind us:
The Seattle Seahawks must have the NFL’s best “culture.’’ Right?
“If you don’t make the playoffs, it wasn’t a very good year,” Aikman said, reflecting on Dallas’ 7-9-1 record under rookie coach Schottenheimer. “Whether your culture is good or not good. Whatever happened, it wasn’t enough.”
Is there a specific reason for “The 30-Year Drought’’ in Dallas?
“Who knows? It seems every year, there’s a different storyline as to why or how this team is going to be playing in the Super Bowl,” said Aikman, a leader of the Cowboys teams that won a trio of titles in the 1990s.
“I just want to see it. We’ve been talking about it for a long, long time. What’s going to happen, what’s not going to happen. How this year is going to be different?’’
I have strongly suggested that in Dallas, "The Culture is The Owner,'' that Jerry Jones - and not any coach or player - sets the tone.
(Fish Quote: “Sometimes Jerry’s Cowboys seem like a marketing company that plays football on the side.’’)
But even if that's viewed as a "marketing-over-football'' negative (and it is), Jones brings plenty of positives to the table as well. In the end, the coaching staff, scouting department and locker room are charged with the responsibility of working around ownership obstacles while benefiting from ownership strengths.
Aikman’s support of Schottenheimer is surely encouraging to Cowboys Nation.
But his take on “culture’’? “How do you know,’’ he said, “if you’re not in the building?”
That might be discouraging to some. But not to me. Because I’m here to testify that even if you’re “in the building,’’ you don’t really know.
Until you win a Super Bowl.