Pro Football Hall of Famer and Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin recently joined Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] to talk all things football. Here are some highlights, edited for clarity:
Do you think Jerry Jones is or previously was furious enough about the 49ers loss to make a change from head coach Mike McCarthy?
Michael Irvin: “There’s no doubt in my mind, with all the things that — and it’s not just him being furious with Mike McCarthy and the disappointing end to the season, it’s also what he should be doing. His job is to evaluate and see if there’s any way we can get better. So, that’s why I said and I’ve been saying on the air... No! Unless I’m sure I can bring in something better — a Sean Payton or Bill Belichick or Kyle Shanahan or Mike Tomlin. But, we get emotional. We get emotional and we want someone out. We’re not thinking about the other side of it. Who are we bringing in? ...”
For the 49ers game, would you put more blame on the coaches or players?
Irvin: “Dude. Emmitt [Smith] and I stood in that tunnel before every game. We looked at each other. We called ourselves ‘double trouble.’ By land or by air. And we said before we hit the field, if we don’t show up, we got no shot. Period. That’s the whole reason we did that. Because we knew if we didn’t show up, we got no shot. [Against the 49ers, the Cowboys’] stars didn’t show up. We had no shot. Wherever you’ve got disorder, you’ve got disfunction. We can’t have our stars putting up role-player numbers like 31 yards rushing, or one catch for 21 yards, or a 69 passer rating. ... Trying to make our role players stars and our stars role players, that’s a disorder and the team dysfunction’d. ...”
Is the scheming becoming too complex? Are the coaches making the game more difficult?
Irvin: “That’s the NFL now, guys. I’ve been talking about that for a while now. And that’s why when you start wanting to rate guys, and we do it on numbers... it’s system beating system now, not man beating man. That’s why you’re going to get these so-called boy geniuses trying to figure out a way to beat a system: So you can get lesser players and come back and beat better players, because I’m trying to beat a system. The days of man beating man, we’ll never have them again. And sometimes, it takes away from when it’s time to get down and dirty and gritty. You know what I mean? ... We now expect coaches to come in and design a way to make a man get open instead of expecting a man to use his talents and get open.”
What did you think of that final play?
Irvin: “I have no problem with what was called, it’s just the execution of what was called. I totally understand wanting a play from the 30 that’s much better than a Hail Mary or two. But, you also have to calculate in the risk of trying to get there. And that’s the issue. That’s what’s confusing people. You’re right, it’s a better option. But, what will it cost you? It cost us the game.”
Are the penalties on the coaches or players? How did Jimmy Johnson coach penalties away?
Irvin: “... With fear! That’s what he did! With fear! You got enough of ‘em? Your butt is gone! That’s what you do! That’s all you can do! Fear is what has to drive it. I know it’s harder now with contracts, but most of the guys who earn that kind of money aren’t the kind of guys you have to worry about making blatant mistakes. Sometimes it’s guys that don’t earn that kind of money. So, the fear factor must be implemented. We’ve got to be scared. You don’t see Belichick’s guys making those kinds of penalties because his players know he ain’t with that. He’s either going to get you out of here; Jimmy would get you out of Dallas, and go so far as to try and make sure he affected where you were going. ...”
— You can listen to the full interview here.
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