|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
'A great leader' Landry recalled by friends, foes as calm, classy coach
Posted: Sunday February 13, 2000 01:13 AM
DALLAS (AP) -- From his first NFL boss to the guy who fired him, Tom Landry was remembered Saturday for his stoic demeanor as a coach and for his superb character as a person. "His strength, faith and humility are responsible for so much of what the Dallas Cowboys are all about," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who fired Landry in February 1989 after 29 seasons. "He courageously displayed those characteristics throughout his lifetime -- in victory, defeat, prosperity and illness." Landry died Saturday evening following a nine-month battle with a form of leukemia. He was 75. "He didn't get excited," said former Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll, who beat Landry in two Super Bowls. "He always had everything under control. He was very analytical, a guy who was a great technician, and his teams reflected that." New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, whose family ran the team when Landry broke into the NFL, said the former coach's smooth exterior concealed a burning desire to win. "Even though he held his emotions in check, I know how intensely competitive he was," Mara said. "Even when they were calling him the cardboard man for his demeanor on the sidelines, I knew how intensely competitive he was and how badly he wanted to win." Calvin Hill was a first-round pick by Landry in 1969. He remained with the Cowboys through 1974 and returned to the organization in recent years as director of player programs. "It's a sad day for anybody who's been associated with the Cowboys," Hill said at the NBA All-Star game in Oakland, Calif. "I think everybody takes refuge in the fact that Tom was prepared for this to happen. Coach Landry was at peace -- and spiritually, he was prepared to go to another place. But it's still hard to believe because he was always so vital." Lee Roy Jordan, a star linebacker for the Cowboys from 1973-76, had the privilege of playing for Landry in the pros and for Paul 'Bear' Bryant in college at Alabama. He said they were both excellent planners who left little to chance. "Coach Landry was so stable, so consistent," Jordan said. "He never got excited. He never got down. He didn't show great emotions when things were going right and he didn't show great dejection when things were going wrong. I think that made him a great leader." Dan Reeves played for Landry, then was an assistant coach in Dallas before becoming a Super Bowl coach in Denver and Atlanta. Reeves said he's tried patterning himself after Landry on and off the field. "He was someone who had tremendous knowledge of the NFL, but he was also a man of such integrity," Reeves said. "He had a strong Christian faith that was unusual at that time. And he didn't just talk it. He walked it, too." Landry was active in many Christian causes throughout his life. "He was associated with me in many of my crusades," said the Rev. Billy Graham. "He often went weeks ahead of us to address the leaders in each city and urged them to put their trust in God and support our ministry when we arrived."
| ||||||||||||||||||||
