WI: Tom Landry Never Coached The Cowboys?

Gent was a basketball player at Michigan State. Gil Brandt was likely the only GM who would have drafted him. The Cowboys loved to draft 'sleepers'.

Yeah, Schramm probably still gets the GM job, and hires Brandt. He probably also runs the team the same with or without Landry. So, North Dallas Forty is still possible.
 
Yeah, Schramm probably still gets the GM job, and hires Brandt. He probably also runs the team the same with or without Landry. So, North Dallas Forty is still possible.
This is why I said the Cowboys were only somewhat less successful, especially if they hire Allie Sherman as their coach. Taking the Giants to three straight NFL championships was a serious accomplishment, even if he lost all three. It’s not like Landry did any better against the Lombardi Packers.
 
Also, man, Allie Sherman had style.
010715-600-allie-sherman.jpg
 
Yeah, Schramm probably still gets the GM job, and hires Brandt. He probably also runs the team the same with or without Landry. So, North Dallas Forty is still possible.
Maybe, but a big part of the book is Gent's, or his character's hatred of his coach's holier-than-thou hypocrisy.

I do like the idea of a North Dallas Forty-like book set on the Oakland Raiders of the same time period, with Al Davis first as commissioner, then owner, snaking control from his other partners, and generally being the paranoid genius he was.
 
Maybe, but a big part of the book is Gent's, or his character's hatred of his coach's holier-than-thou hypocrisy.

I do like the idea of a North Dallas Forty-like book set on the Oakland Raiders of the same time period, with Al Davis first as commissioner, then owner, snaking control from his other partners, and generally being the paranoid genius he was.


One thing about Davis- who I should say I
absolutely despise- was his toleration of
player behavior that on other NFL teams
- including, but not limited to, Dallas-
would have earned said player a quick dis-
charge. If Gent had been on Al's team &
using, er controlled substances Davis
would have shrugged it off. All he would
care about was whether Gent could catch the
football.
 
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One thing about Davis- who I should say I
absolutely despise- was his toleration of
player behavior that on other NFL teams
- including, but not limited to, Dallas-
would have earned said player a quick dis-
charge. If Gent had been on Al's team &
using, er controlled substances Davis
would have shrugged it off. All he would
care about was if Gent could catch the
football.
Absolutely. That's why the Raiders were the NFL's last stop. The Raiders would take other teams' problems, but if Oakland cut you, you weren't getting picked up anywhere.

And like Al Davis or not, at one time he was the meanest, sharpest knife fighter in the NFL
 
Absolutely. That's why the Raiders were the NFL's last stop. The Raiders would take other teams' problems, but if Oakland cut you, you weren't getting picked up anywhere.

And like Al Davis or not, at one time he was the meanest, sharpest knife fighter in the NFL

All too true(you know he liked to give people
the impression he was associated with the
Mafia?)
 
It's very good.

But also, if you can find it, catch the movie
version of NORTH DALLAS FORTY. It stars
Nick Nolte(with Mac Davis surprisingly eff-
ective as Nolte's QB buddy)& though it makes a few changes from the book, its
still well worth seeing.
 
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So the Cowboys and Vikings are both weaker than OTL, and the Giants aren't going to be good enough to quite compensate. With butterflies flapping their wings... keep an eye on the Rams. They were a very good team in the 70s OTL, one that couldn't get over the hump. Weakening the NFC's powerhouses will likely net them some more appearances, and maybe a win somewhere.

Often overlooked in the mid-1960s are the Jack Concannon-led Eagles. Without Dallas in the way, they might well have won the eastern division title in 1966.
 
Often overlooked in the mid-1960s are the Jack Concannon-led Eagles. Without Dallas in the way, they might well have won the eastern division title in 1966.

I think Norman Snead was the QB with those
Eagles' teams(in 1966 IOTL they went 9-5,
just one & a half games behind 1st-place Dallas). Concannon I'm pretty sure was just
a backup.
 
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I think Norman Snead was the QB with those
Eagles' teams(in 1966 IOTL they went 9-5,
just one & a half games behind 1st-place Dallas). Concannon I'm pretty sure was just
a backup.
You're right: I just remember Concannon from a couple of games against the Colts (I'm from Baltimore originally) and the fact that he was traded to the Bears for Mike Ditka. That, and that Snead was nothing special as a QB (want a point of departure? The Eagles never make the Jurgensen-for-Snead trade with the Redskins).
 
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