A Legendary Career Comes to a Close
Tom Landry casually tossed books, photos and various knick-knacks into a cardboard box as he prepared to walk out of his office at Valley Ranch for the last time.
I was bearing witness to a significant moment. One of the legendary figures in sports history answered every question posed to him before shaking my hand and asking me to close the door on my way out. I couldn’t help but think what the Cowboys coach, who rarely shared his emotions publicly, truly felt about leaving what he clearly considered his calling.
I’m about to find out.
No, I’m not comparing my departure from The Dallas Morning News to Landry’s exit from the Cowboys. The reverberations don’t compare. Neither do the circumstances. Landry was told to leave.
Cowboys
This is my choice.
Still, this is a difficult column to write. Not because I’m conflicted about stepping away from the day-to-day grind and the personal sacrifices it requires. I’m not.
The thing is, it’s never been about me. It’s been about telling the stories of others, good and bad, that readers crave and loyal fans sometimes hate for you to write or talk about on radio and TV. It’s about chronicling history, projecting the future and providing an unvarnished assessment of the decisions a franchise makes in the present.
It’s about capturing the moment.
A Career Spanning Five Decades
There are too many moments over a career that spans five decades of coverage of the Cowboys, Mavericks, NFL, NBA and college sports for me to recount here. Not enough space. But that’s a cop-out, so here we go.
Quick aside: To all of you who trusted me enough to share information about sensitive issues and provide me — and more importantly, your fans — context to your club’s thinking on the more problematic and controversial decisions, don’t worry. I won’t mention you here.
Danny White. Troy Aikman. Tony Romo. Dak Prescott. Every quarterback I’ve covered for the Cowboys has been fair and forthcoming. Roger Staubach has been so gracious in our conversations.
Thank you, along with Darren Woodson, Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Charlie Waters, Bob Lilly, Nate Newton and so many others.
Former Dallas Cowboys players Cliff Harris and Drew Pearson speak as David Moore, The Dallas Morning News Cowboys beat writer, listens, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at Harris’ house in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
The same goes for the Mavericks, from Derek Harper, Ro Blackman and Mark Aguirre to Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, just to name a few.
Coaches? From Dick Motta, who affectionately (I think) flipped me off at midcourt on his return to Dallas, to Jason Garrett, who discussed Meet the Press and Inside the Actors Studio in chats to Mike McCarthy, who loved Ted Lasso and immediately reached out upon learning I was stepping down, I’m touched.
Owners? I loved the back and forth. Whether it was standing in the parking lot at his truck when his assistant walked out to have him sign a check for $10.5 million — “I don’t care if you see how much it’s for as long as you don’t know who it’s to,” Don Carter said — to a testy, one-hour text exchange with Mark Cuban at 2:30 in the morning regarding my deficiencies as a reporter to an owner who uncharacteristically stared at me for at least 25 seconds before walking away without saying a word after I wrote a story he didn’t like, I get it.
And a little more on Jerry Jones. Fans often come up and ask what he’s like. Before I can say a word, they proceed to tell me what they don’t like about Jones and list everything that infuriates them.
I listen. I understand.
My response: If you had a chance to spend 10 minutes alone with him, you wouldn’t change your opinion on how he runs the franchise. But you would definitely come away saying, “I kinda like the guy.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson listen as Dallas Morning News reporter David Moore asks a question during a press conference before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. Jones told reporters that Johnson will be the organization’s next inductee into the Ring of Honor.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Looking Back on a Legendary Career
I have covered a couple of Super Bowl titles for the Cowboys and the lone Mavericks championship. But my last, day-to-day coverage
