In 1991, I sat down for a one on one interview with the legendary Tom Landry.
God, Family, Football. Those 3 words described the life of Tom Landry.
"If God is first in your life and your family is important to you and football is third then you will have what it takes to be successful,” he said 25 years ago.
And he was successful.
He coached the Cowboys for 29 seasons, took them to five Super Bowls and won two of them.
He had 20 consecutive winning seasons -- but football was not what he said defined him.
"For me, it would be terrible if football was the most important thing in my life,” Landry said. “Then I would believe my life would not have much value at all."
He was a devout Christian who believed God had a hand in his life.
"I became a Christian in 1959, the year before I took over the Dallas Cowboys,” he said. “It really kind of changed my perspective."
In 1960, he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. His first season, they didn't win any games. And the next few seasons were not much better. Despite that, Tom Landry was given a 10-year extension in 1964.
"So I had an 11-year contract and I thought the Lord's way of saying, ‘Hey I want you in coaching,’” Landry said.
But then he led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl wins. And through it all, Tom Landry, win or lose, always kept his composure.
"People look at me on the sideline and think I am stoic but I am under control,” he said of his in-game approach. “I know what is happening, and, even if I lose a game, the world is not going to come down."
Tom Landry was fired on Feb. 26, 1989 -- when Jerry Jones bought the team.
That set off a firestorm among fans, some of whom to this day haven't forgiven Jones for it.
But Coach Landry said it was time.
"Most people thought I was as angry as they were, but for me personally it was something I was planning to do anyway to move out of football,” Landry said.
He watched Jimmy Johnson take over the team and lead the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1992 and 1993.
Landry said the key to that team's success was the Herschel Walker trade, which gave the Cowboys a bunch of first, second and third-round picks. One of the picks was used to get NFL rushing record holder Emmitt Smith, and another was used to get Hall of Fame hopeful Darren Woodson.
"From that standpoint, they had a little luck and they had a lot of skill and I was glad to see it happen,” Landry said.
Coach Landry eased into retirement and focused the last years of his life on serving others. He went to prisons trying to bring people to God.
Coach Landry's Legacy was more than just football. It was a lesson in how to live a humble life in the midst of success.
