LeBaron did his first CBS game as an analyst in 1966, a year after longtime backup quarterback John Roach, who played half of one season with the Cowboys, made his TV debut in 1965.Ī partial list of former Dallas Cowboys players and coaches who have worked as play by play announcers, game analysts or studio analysts on NFL network telecasts. And if you're thinking it was Eddie LeBaron, the diminutive veteran who joined the team in the 1960 expansion draft, it wasn't. Meredith, however, wasn't the first former Cowboys quarterback to do television work on a national or regional NFL telecast. The foundation of the Cowboys' TV tradition, of course, is Don Meredith from the original cast of ABC's "Monday Night Football." "That production - and this is just one viewer's opinion - is a little bit of a circus atmosphere that doesn't allow him to be appreciated in the way that he could be."
"If he were in position to where you could listen just to his analysis, it would be very good," he said. They both understand television."Īs for Witten, Sham believes he's doing a good job under difficult circumstances. "And when Bill Parcells speaks, he's worth listening to. He is intelligent and thoughtful," Sham said. Brian Baldinger puts a lot into it."Īmong studio analysts, Sham said he has enjoyed the work of Darren Woodson and Bill Parcells along with former assistant coach Dave Wannstedt. "Daryl Johnston was very good from the beginning, and Romo has been, too. He caught a lot of people by surprise," Sham said. "Aikman comes immediately to mind because he has been very good from the beginning. He doesn't coach them, but he gets doors opened and points them to the right people."Īs a play-by-play man, Sham understandably devotes most of his attention to game analysts rather than studio analysts in describing the former Cowboys players whose work he most admires. Dalrymple, he said, "is important in opening doors for them. Sham also does not discount the influence of Rich Dalrymple, the Cowboys' longtime media relations director.
But it prepares people who are qualified to speak with the national media to do so, and to do so in a spotlight that other franchises have not offered on a consistent basis." "It's not like they set up a broadcasting academy. "The team had success going back to the 1970s, and they were interesting even in the years in which they were terrible," Sham said. Sham said the Cowboys' recent run of notable players-turned-broadcasters is a combination of the team's high profile and the presence of personable players who have been able to capitalize on opportunities in the TV industry. I mean Brad Sham, the longtime Cowboys radio play-by-play announcer and former talk show host during my formative years of listening to sports talk radio on KRLD's "Sports Central Dallas" (which used Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" as its opening theme, but I digress). With Witten coming to town alongside Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland for Monday's game, I thought it a worthy topic to bat around with someone who knows what he's talking about.Īnd, by that, of course I don't mean Bill Lamza. It is, however, interesting to note the degree to which former Cowboys players over the years, particularly in the last decade or so, have receive an outsized percentage of top assignments, the most notable being Troy Aikman on Fox, Tony Romo on CBS and, beginning this year, recently retired tight end Jason Witten on ESPN.
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