Remembering Deion Sanders’ Hall of Fame tribute to Cowboys’ Marylyn Love

On March 10, the Dallas Cowboys announced that longtime employee and executive assistant to GM Jerry Jones, Marylyn Love, had passed away. Love was a member of the Cowboys staff for over 40 years.

According to a 2015 profile on Love from the Dallas Morning News, Jones met her when she was working as a paralegal at a law firm in Oklahoma City in the 1980s. Before the owner bought the Cowboys, Jones noticed Love’s wit and smarts when she gave advice to bankers while he was still an oilman. He initially hired her to commute from OKC to his offices in Little Rock, Arkansas. After he bought the Cowboys in February of 1989, he asked Love to work with him at the organization.

Love was clearly adored by both staff members and players in the organization. She earned respect and built long-lasting relationships with several people in the franchise. So much so, that Cowboys legend Deion Sanders mentioned her in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech:

“Marylyn covering for Jerry was the greatest cover corner in the NFL,” Sanders said in his speech in Canton. Jones mentioned this in a statement he released after Love’s passing and responded to Sanders’ words with “no truer words could be spoken.” The owner’s entire statement about Love is in the tweet below.

Longtime executive assistant of Cowboys GM Jerry Jones, Marylyn Love, passed away. Her impact on the organization was clear given that Deion Sanders mentioned her in his Hall of Fame speech.

For a player like Sanders to mention this woman in his Hall of Fame speech is quite remarkable. In an already tumultuous week for Jones, he had this to say about the woman he called his best friend:

"“The entire Dallas Cowboys organization is devastated by the news of Marylyn’s passing. Marylyn has been by my side, she has been my rock, my voice, my calm in the storm for more than 40 years. Marylyn was not only my executive assistant, but she was my advisor, my confidant, my best friend, and a cherished member of our family.”"

Love’s legacy will live on in the organization. Her daughter, Laura Fryar, is currently head coach Mike McCarthy’s assistant. Fryar held this role for Jason Garrett, Wade Phillips, Bill Parcells, and Dave Campo as well. The Landry Hat writers are sending our condolences to the Cowboys organization and Love’s family.