Jimmy Johnson Becomes Latest Ex-Cowboy to Weigh In on Tony Romo

Written by theMBIIIeffect

Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson is one of few former Cowboys to give current quarterback Tony Romo a vote of confidence after Sunday Night’s 33-31 loss to the New York Giants.

Former Cowboy greats Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith have both publicly bashed the quarterback, questioning whether or not Romo has what it takes to break Dallas’ playoff drought.

But Johnson had a few words of encouragement for Romo.

“I watched the Giants game,” Jimmy said. “Like everyone else, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing there a couple of times with Tony.

“But if I were still coaching today, I’d want Tony Romo to be my quarterback. I know everybody is down on him right now, but I am 100 percent sure he can be a big winner in this league.

“Absolutely no doubt in my mind you can win what you want to win with Tony. He’d be my quarterback.”

Those words have to be like music for Romo’s ears, especially Johnson’s last line: “he’d be my quarterback.”

Johnson went on to say that he thinks that Romo has more talent than Giants quarterback Eli Manning, but recognized that Manning was the better quarterback Sunday night.

Here’s the interesting part though.

Johnson takes a little dig at Dallas’ coaching staff when he offers up a big game plan for Romo.

Johnson said if he were coaching Romo, he’d have a 1-2-3 plan.

(1) He is well-prepared. “From what I hear,” said Jimmy, “that’s not an issue. Tony will work.”

(2) Pull back the game plan against stronger opponents. Don’t put the game in Romo’s hands. “And I don’t mean he needs to be a bus driver. He doesn’t need to be Trent Dilfer,” added Johnson. (Actually, I thought he was talking bus driver.)

(3) The bigger the game, the simpler the game plan. “That’s not just about the quarterback, that’s overall,” said Jimmy. “People used to tell me, the bigger the game, the more wrinkles you add. No, the bigger the game, the simpler you get.

“The wrinkles are for the teams you know you can beat, so you can take a chance in those. The big games are about the team that makes he fewer mistakes. So keep it simple.”

It seems that Johnson is putting more blame on offensive coordinator Jason Garrett for the loss than he is Romo. His complex offense does cause tremendous matchup problems for opposing defenses, but at what cost?

I’m glad to hear someone beside owner/GM Jerry Jones and the coaching staff backing Romo. It seems like journalists are searching out former players and coaches this week.

I’m a little surprised they didn’t dig up late owner Tex Schramm to ask his opinion on Romo.