News update: How Troy Aikman’s vacation plans were wrecked by the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff exit, which surprised him

Three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Troy Aikman was celebrating Dallas’ designation as the best city for sports business on Tuesday at the George Bush Library, and he wasn’t blind to the irony of the conversation or the occasion

Aikman talked extensively about how North Texas has hosted Final Fours, Super Bowls, and the future World Cup with great success

Even while Aikman praised Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for his vision in constructing AT&T Stadium in Arlington, he also acknowledged that “everything Jerry talked about and what an asset that stadium would be, really has come to fruition”. Everything has paid off, and we’re excited for the next Super Bowl, preferably with the Cowboys playing.

At that moment, Aikman realized he had prepared himself for the inevitable shift to talking about the Cowboys’ postseason season-ending loss to the Green Bay Packers and the 29-year span since the team’s last Super Bowl victory (which came in 1995).

Aikman claimed that, like everyone else, he was taken aback by the Cowboys’ humiliating home loss to the Packers in AT&T Stadium to cap off a 12-5 campaign. Aikman’s season as a football analyst concluded last weekend, and he had intended to attend this weekend’s NFC title game in San Francisco to watch the Cowboys take on the 49ers. However, that was prior to the Cowboys’ defeat at the hands of the seventh-seeded Packers during the wild-card round. After defeating the Packers, the 49ers will now play the Detroit Lions to earn a trip to the Super Bowl. “Yes, I’m shocked,” Aikman replied. “I was intending to attend the championship game because I truly thought Dallas would participate and assumed it would be in San Francisco. didn’t reserve a holiday following my season. Hence, I had a great time with this team all season long. They struck me as having a lot of talent. I do not mean to be critical; it’s just the same old scenario.

“When people ask me about the Cowboys and their struggles, I just tell them that they have had some very amazing regular seasons but, for whatever reason, they haven’t played their best football during the crucial games. That is what needs to be done. And that’s the secret to making it to the Super Bowl and winning in the postseason. I’m not sure what the solution to that is, then.

After winning three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s under Aikman’s leadership, the Cowboys have only won five playoff games. And in the eight seasons since quarterback Dak Prescott took the helm, they are 2-5 in the playoffs, with two one-and-done trips to AT&T Stadium as the higher seed in the previous three years. While acknowledging the legitimate worries about Prescott and the Cowboys due to their lack of postseason success, Aikman yet stands by Prescott. With a league-high 36 touchdowns in 2023, Prescott had an MVP-caliber season. However, he had one of his worst games against the Packers, which included two interceptions in the first half as the Cowboys went down 27-0. It’s true that we all draw from our past experiences, and negative events can be particularly difficult to get behind, according to Aikman. And I believe Dak faces that challenge. What occurs during the current regular season isn’t as much of a question for him and the squad. What matters is how they will perform and how he will perform when the postseason arrives. When that’s how things operate, it makes for an exhausting year.

But my faith in Dak endures. Critiques are always there until you take action. Aikman stated he is not shocked that Jones stuck with head coach Mike McCarthy despite considering a coaching switch following the humiliating defeat. But if McCarthy and the Cowboys lose, Aikman stated there would be no second chances the following season. His contract is coming to an end, and he won’t be getting an extension before the 2024 campaign.

“They had an excellent year. They had an excellent year, according to Aikman. They set themselves up to be the No. 2 seed by the manner they were playing at the end of the season. If you make a change, you’re essentially doing so for the same reason you did when you brought Mike in a few years ago—that is, you’re bringing in someone you think would help you succeed.You don’t find out the answer until you return to January once more. Simply said, it appears most sensible for those guys to return without signing a new deal. Consequently, there is undoubtedly some urgency on their end as well.