Tom landry biography summary worksheet answers

Tom Landry served as a bomber pilot in the U. He was known for wearing a fedora on the sidelines, making it his signature look. Relevant Links 1. Previous Post Tom Kristensen. Landry's status as icon and legend never changed, but the NFL did and in , after three consecutive losing seasons, he was unceremoniously fired by Dallas' new owner, Jerry Jones.

Although most onlookers felt it was the wrong choice at the time, Landry never expressed public bitterness. In , he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside five of his former players. In retirement, Landry remained active in business with his son and various Christian organizations. He indulged his love of flying and became a successful motivational speaker.

His death from Leukemia at the age of 75 was marked by many tributes and the unveiling of a statue of his likeness, fedora and all, in Texas Stadium. The great stone face flinched and the flinty blue eyes went glassy when Tom Landry heard the verdict: He had been summarily removed as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, after 29 years. There was no appeal, no recourse, no room for negotiation.

Landry, 64, gazed in shock at the two men who had brought him the terrible news. He said in disbelief, "You've taken my team away from me. Thus it was that America's Team came up with a new owner only its third in 29 years , a new coach only its second , a new high in the gross price paid for a U. Tom Landry's influence on the game and the city of Dallas is difficult to measure.

His coaching statistics are surpassed by few and his loyalty to one team is a NFL record. As years go by, the memory of his iconic figure pacing the sidelines may fade but his influence on the game will remain. Many of Landry's former assistants have gone on to successful coaching careers of their own, including Mike Ditka and Dan Reeves, and it is in their teaching that Landry's influence will ultimately be measured.

Tom landry biography summary worksheet answers

New York Times. Sporting News. Tom Landry Dallas News. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Karpinski, Aric " Landry, Tom. Karpinski, Aric "Landry, Tom. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.

Legendary football coach Tom Landry was the founding coach of the Dallas Cowboys who brought the team from a winless first season into a dominating force in the National Football League NFL. Over 29 seasons, Landry guided the Cowboys to 20 consecutive winning seasons, 19 NFL playoff appearances, 13 division titles, five Super Bowl appearances, and two Super Bowl victories.

His overall record was Landry also helped restore the image of Dallas, dubbed the City of Hate after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy , into a city known for its winning all-American football team. The coach's strong work ethic and Christian belief fueled the success of his team and earned the Cowboys the nickname "America's Team.

Yet the coach is equally well known for his style. Standing on the sidelines with folded arms and a stoic expression, Landry wore his signature fedora hat, sports coat, and tie to games. A bronze statue, unveiled in October , captured this pose and is displayed outside the Dallas Cowboy's home stadium in Texas. Landry remains a national icon of control and loyalty.

He was the son of Ron Landry, who worked as an auto mechanic, served as the town's fire chief, and supervised Sunday school at First Methodist Church in Mission, Texas. He also excelled on the football field, playing all-regional fullback on a team that outscored its opponents during his senior year. In Landry was discharged as a first lieutenant and enrolled in the University of Texas, where he resumed playing fullback and some quarterback and defensive back for the Longhorns football team.

During his junior year he made the all-Southwestern Conference second team, and in his senior year, he served as co-captain. In , Landry graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of Texas and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston. After the season, the team merged with the New York Giants, where he continued to play cornerback for the next six seasons, making the All-Pro defensive team in When Jim Lee Howell became head coach of the Giants, Landry became a player-coach under him for the season.

He left the field permanently as a player in when he took a position as the team's defensive coordinator. From to , he worked as assistant coach alongside offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi , who later rose to fame as coach the Green Bay Packers. During his time with the Giants, Landry developed his famous defense that became the NFL standard, later evolving that into the Flex.

Although Landry always insisted he had no interest in coaching after his playing career was over, his knowledge of the game and innovative ideas would keep him at the helm for years to come. The head coach of the Giants, Jim Lee Howell, called Landry "the greatest football coach in the game today. It was an offer from the expansion Dallas football franchise, awarded in , that convinced Landry to continue his coaching career.

A native Texan, who ran an insurance business in Dallas during the off-season, Landry accepted the offer to become the team's first head coach. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in as a head coach. Landry attended the University of Texas at Austin as an industrial engineering major. Landry had given thought to enrolling at Mississippi State University , where his friend John Tripson was an All-American, but did not want to be far away from his friends and family in Texas.

The main driving force in keeping him from enrolling at Mississippi State University was the notion that it would be too long a travel for his parents to see him play college football. Landry was inspired to join the armed forces by his brother Robert Landry, who had enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Several weeks passed before the Army was able to officially declare Robert Landry dead.

Landry's first experience as a bomber pilot was a tough one. A few minutes after takeoff, Landry noticed that the pilot seemed to be working furiously, causing him to realize that the plane's engine had died. Despite this experience, Landry was committed to flying. From November to April , he completed a combat tour of 26 [ 6 ] missions, his entire crew went on 29 missions and Landry did not go on 3 of them , he also survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel.

He returned to his studies at the University of Texas in the fall of He received his bachelor's degree from UT in In , he earned a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston. The New York Giants exercised their territorial rights and selected Landry in a dispersal draft. Under the guidance of Giants head coach Steve Owen , Landry got his first taste of coaching.

Instead of explaining the 6—1—4 defense to the players, Owen called Landry up to the front, and asked him to explain the defense to his teammates. Landry got up, and explained what the defense would do to counter the offense, and this became Landry's first coaching experience. The season would be a season to forget, with the lowest point coming in a 62—10 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.

This loss would ultimately cost Coach Owen his job, and would again have Landry pondering his future. He played through the season , and acted as a player-assistant coach the last two years, through , under the guidance of new Giants head coach Jim Lee Howell. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games, which he returned for yards and three touchdowns.

He also recovered 10 fumbles seven defensive , returning them for 67 yards and two touchdowns. For the football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants, opposite Vince Lombardi , who was the offensive coordinator. Landry stayed on as a full-time defensive coordinator after his retirement, and led one of the best defensive units in the league from to The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty on a team that they coached to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years.

In , he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys , a position he held for 29 seasons — The Cowboys started with difficulties, recording an 0—11—1 record during their first season, with five or fewer wins in each of their next four. Despite this early futility, in , Landry was given a year extension by owner Clint Murchison Jr. It would prove to be a wise move, as Landry's hard work and determination paid off, and the Cowboys improved to a 7—7 record in Dallas lost the game to Lombardi's Green Bay Packers , but this season was but a modest display of what lay ahead.

Landry developed the now-popular " 4—3 defense " while serving as Giants defensive coordinator. The innovation was the middle linebacker. Previously, a lineman was placed over the center. But Landry had this person stand up and move back two yards. The Giants' middle linebacker was the legendary Sam Huff. Landry built the 4—3 defense around me.

It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today. When he came to Dallas, Landry refined the 4—3 even further, specifically to counter Lombardi's "run to daylight" strategy. Lombardi's offense was built around sending the running back through any open space, rather than a specific assigned hole.

Landry reasoned that the best counter was a defense that blotted out the daylight. When Landry first implemented it in , fans were initially mystified when they saw the Cowboys defense not swarming to the ball. However, the skeptics were won over when ball carriers invariably ran right into the arms of one of Landry's defenders. Landry did not always search inside the traditional college football pipeline for talent.

Landry looked to the world of track and field for speedy skill-position players. For example, Bob Hayes , once considered the fastest man in the world, was drafted by and played wide receiver for the Cowboys under Landry. Landry produced a very large coaching tree. Landry coached the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl win , defeating the Miami Dolphins 24—3, holding the Dolphins to a single field goal.

The Cowboys lost the first battle with the Steelers , in a game that is heralded as a classic. The rematch would be just as good, with the Cowboys being a Jackie Smith catch away from tying the Steelers and keeping pace early in the third quarter; instead, Pittsburgh scored twice in succession and put the game away. During the s, the Cowboys won two division championships, made five playoff appearances, and reached the NFC Championship Game in three consecutive seasons — However, they failed to reach the Super Bowl during the decade.

The team's NFC Championship Game loss was Landry's final conference championship game appearance; the preceding week's win was his final playoff victory. In , Dallas businessman Bum Bright bought the team from Murchison. As the Cowboys suffered through progressively poorer seasons their record falling from 10—6 in to 7—9 in , 7—8 in , and 3—13 in , Bright became disenchanted with the team.

Landry's game strategies and single-mindedness during these seasons left him open to public criticism. Landry signed a three-year contract in the summer of However, general manager Tex Schramm brought in Paul Hackett as a new offensive coach in , and in , he hired offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck and special-teams coach Mike Solari.

Some [ who? Bright, who usually stayed behind the scenes, publicly criticized Landry after a home loss to the Atlanta Falcons in , saying that he was "horrified" at the play-calling and complaining, "It doesn't seem like we've got anybody in charge who knows what he's doing, other than Tex. Landry's Cowboys finished the season 3—13, the worst record in the league.

His record as head coach fell to ——6. It was the Cowboys' third consecutive losing season and the fourth time in five years that they had missed the playoffs. Nonetheless, Landry felt confident he could correct the mistakes he had been making in recent years.