Tom Landry has done something in his life that no other NFL Head Coach has done, he was able to survive a crash in a B-17 Bomber. Landry was attending the University of Texas in Austin when he joined the Army's Air Force, and started flying missions in the B-17 Flying Fortress Heavy Bomber. Landry himself was a part of 30 bombing missions. He was a great aviator, but his heart lied in football. Landry is one of the most inspirational coaches ever. His amazing defensive mind led him not just to coach a defense, but to create new defensive schemes to combat the opposition. As a player for the University of Texas he played in and won in 2 New Years Day bowl games. Tom Landry was instrumental in sculpting the game into the one we are able to enjoy today. Without him, who knows what we would see. He is one of the most important figures in football history.

Tom Landry started his football career as a New York Yankee. No, that is not a typo. Prior to 1949 the New York Yankees were a football organization playing in the All American Football Conference. Before the 1949 season the New York football Yankees league the AAFC merged with the NFL and Landry was shipped across town to the New York Giants. Landry was a solid defensive back for the Giants. Landry was voted as an All-Pro DB in 1954. During his last two years as a professional athlete, Landry was a player/ assistant coach. This is where he realized he could be a very good coach; from this point on he would be Tom Landry the coach, not the player.

Tom Landry started his coaching career with the New York Giants. If there was one team in history with an amazing coaching staff it was this one. Landry was the defensive coordinator; the offensive coordinator was one of the best motivators in history. The offensive coordinator was none other than the legendary Vince Lombardi. Although Lombardi is known for being one of the greatest coaches of all time, Landry got the better of the two on this team. The Giants were an amazing defensive team and led the league in defense for the next three years. The Giants is where he coached until 1960.

You may be thinking to yourself that I don't remember Landry for coaching the Giants, but for coaching the Cowboys. In 1960 Landry was slated to be the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. His first season was horrible! The Cowboys finished 0-11-1, and for the next four years they didn't win more than 5 games each season. For the great defensive

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about NFL coach profiles: Tom Landry?
We want to hear your view. Write now!