The Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the early 1990s was arguably the greatest in the history of the NFL. Those Cowboys were the first team in NFL history to win three championships in four years, and were it not for one very controversial decision, may have won all four. That decision, as you all know, was Jerry Jones’ ill-fated coaching swap of Jimmy Johnson for Barry Switzer. The Cowboys have had six coaches since firing Johnson, with none besides Bill Parcells being held in any sort of high regard in NFL circles. Alas, the coaching carousel in Dallas moves as quickly as a jet with as much consistency as … well … the Jets.
But what if Jones stayed with Johnson? How far would the Cowboys dynasty have extended?
The perhaps unsatisfying answer is not particularly far. Without the Dallas opening, Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer is still lured to the NFL, but by the Washington Redskins, who are looking to make a splash after the failure of Joe Gibbs’ in-house replacement Richie Petitbon. Dallas offensive coordinator Norv Turner, originally considered a favorite for the Washington job, is forced to stick around in Dallas for another year along with Johnson.
The Johnson-Turner duo thrives once again, and after a 14–2 regular season the Cowboys waltz through the NFC playoffs and reach the Super Bowl against San Diego. The Chargers keep it close for much of the first half, but the Cowboys pull away in the second half to win 31–14. After three consecutive championships and with a still-strained relationship with Jones, Johnson vows to never again coach in the NFL and returns to the University of Miami to continue where he left off. Sensing the growing sentiment that he is one of the NFL’s hottest coaching candidates, Jones promotes Turner to head coach and gives him the most lucrative deal in NFL history.
The Turner hire proves to be a disaster, as the Cowboys fall all the way to 9–7 and cede the No. 1 seed and NFC East crown and to division rival Philadelphia. The Eagles, led by Ray Rhodes, storm through the conference and make it all the way to Super Bowl XXX. The Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–17 to give Philadelphia their first Super Bowl title, but more importantly, with Randall Cunningham representing the NFC and Kordell Stewart looming as Pittsburgh’s secret weapon, the NFL rides the wave and a new age of running quarterbacks begins.
Stewart and Cunningham are both given hefty new contracts by their teams with the expectation that they will start for them for years to come, Jim Harbaugh is traded to Washington to try to right Switzer’s sinking ship and shaky prospect Tony Banks skyrockets up draft boards and is taken No. 26 by the Ravens. Three picks later, the Steelers gladly scoop University of Miami linebacker Ray Lewis. As Rod Woodson signed as a free agent in San Francisco, Lewis becomes the first Steelers rookie to ever be named a team captain.
Speaking of the University of Miami, the Dolphins try desperately to lure Johnson, still coaching the Hurricanes, back to the NFL. Even after an impassioned plea by Dan Marino, Johnson decides to stay in college, saying he “has nothing left to prove in the NFL.” Marino is so disheartened that he considers an early retirement, but is eventually talked out of it by new head coach Mike Ditka, who is convinced to come out of retirement in ‘96 for a chance to coach a star quarterback for the first time.
Old school meets new school in the AFC championship game between Miami and Pittsburgh, but when push comes to shove it’s Miami’s revamped defense under Ditka that leads the Dolphins to the Super Bowl. There, it’s aging legend Marino against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. The heavily favored Packers take an early lead, but Marino simply won’t be denied. In one of the most iconic plays in NFL history, he dives across the 20-yard line for a first down while being hit on both ends by Packers defenders in a play later dubbed “the helicopter dive.” The Dolphins win in the closing minutes, giving Marino his first ring and Ditka evidence that he can win without Buddy Ryan.
Marino sticks around for a few more years while Stewart and the Steelers become the AFC’s perennial powerhouse. Turner is fired by the Cowboys after a few more disappointing seasons and is replaced by Switzer, who was also fired after his Washington tenure ended in a similarly humiliating 2–14 season. Dallas is terrible in Switzer’s first season, but thanks to rookie quarterback Donovan McNabb, the Cowboys seem to be back on the right track headed into the new millennium. Johnson receives several more NFL overtures over the years, but stays with the Hurricanes through their 2002 National Championship before retiring for a career in broadcasting.
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