Troy Aikman: Cowboys Lack Franchise Philosophy

14 years after retiring, Aikman is still the last Dallas QB to make it past the divisional round of the playoffs

It’s not an idea that’s never been explored before, but Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman believes the Dallas Cowboys are suffering from a lack of identity, a lack of a solid philosophy that informs the entire organization. This problem is abundantly clear, Aikman believes, when you hold the Cowboys up against the model of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

“I think with winning organizations there are processes that are in place and there is a way to do things, a philosophy, a belief that you have and everything is built around that,” Aikman said, per the Dallas Morning News. “If you take Seattle for instance, if you say ‘hey, what is their philosophy,’ you kind of know what that is. They’re going to play great defense, they’re going to run the football and they draft players who fit the mold of what they’re looking for.

“I don’t know that the Cowboys… The Cowboys tend to change their beliefs each year on what it is they need or what they’re about.  I find that to be somewhat unusual for a club that has been owned by the same owner for however long it’s been.”

The Cowboys have come a win away from the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, but they’ve never made it. The last time they did that was in 2009, when Wade Phillips was the head coach and Jason Garrett was just the offensive coordinator.

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