RIP Gil Brandt

[Neutral Corner]

 

[UPChip]

The real architect of the Cowboys dynasty died in 2012.

Mike Lynn, Vikings’ General Manager, Dies at 76 (Published 2012)

 

[dixiehack]

I’m sure Dwayne Haskins’ family will hop right on it to send over a flower arrangement.

 

[Liut]

As a kid, was fascinated Dallas found guys at small colleges like Jethro Pugh (Elizabeth City State) and Cliff Harris (Ouachita Baptist) or Cornell Green who didn't even play college football, but basketball.
Later enjoyed his broadcast analyst work.
RIP

 

[ChrisLong]

I covered UCLA in the Cotton Bowl vs. Arkansas at the end of the 1988 season. It was dubbed the "Troy Aikman Bowl" because it was all about him with the Cowboys having the first pick in the upcoming draft. Bruins dominated. They could have played for a week and the Razorbacks wouldn't have scored. With 5 minutes left, the writers, as usual, went down to the sideline. I was down there and found myself standing next to Brandt. Another writer was also there and asked Brandt, "Well, whatta ya think about Aikman?" Brandt smiled and nodded, and said, "I've seen all I need to see." The Cowboys took him No. 1.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Drafting Aikman was Brandt's last act with the Cowboys as Jerry Jones fired him days after the draft and installed himself as GM.

 

[jr/shotglass]

For what it was worth, there was an extended period where he was the best on Earth at what he did.

 

[da man]

As a kid, was fascinated Dallas found guys at small colleges like Jethro Pugh (Elizabeth City State) and Cliff Harris (Ouachita Baptist) or Cornell Green who didn't even play college football, but basketball.
Later enjoyed his broadcast analyst work.
RIP

Rayfield Wright and Bob Hayes were classic Gil Brandt stories.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Rayfield Wright and Bob Hayes were classic Gil Brandt stories.

What Brandt did was organize the scouting data. Before Brandt teams had scouts who went out and looked at players and then reports. Different scouts had different criteria so it was difficult to determine if a tackle at Oregon was a better prospect than a linebacker from Alabama.

The Cowboys also worked really hard at scouting and went to a lot of schools. Brandt had his scouts fill out punch cards grading each player, speed, character, etc. and generate a score. Then the Cowboys would put the punch cards through the computer and generate scores. Guys like Bob Hayes and Rayfield Wright were the biggest, fastest players and were productive small college players so they would receive high scores. The Cowboys would look at their printout and see a guy who was obviously physically gifted like Rayfield Wright and draft him.

 

[maumann]

Brandt was the Branch Rickey of football, figuring out ways to innovate the game. Bob Hayes was one great example.

Hayes was so busy running track during his time in college that he rarely got in games at Florida A&M, which was easily the best college team in the state before integration. Hayes was a backup halfback in high school on a 12-0 team that won the state's colored school title.

So Brandt's decision to draft him was mainly based on the thinking that the Cowboys couldn't teach speed but they thought they could teach Hayes how to run routes. It was quite a gamble but one that paid immediate dividends because nobody could keep up with him in man-to-man coverage those first two seasons. No matter how far off the line of scrimmage the corners played, Hayes left them in the dust.

 

[da man]

Brandt was the Branch Rickey of football, figuring out ways to innovate the game. Bob Hayes was one great example.

Hayes was so busy running track during his time in college that he rarely got in games at Florida A&M, which was easily the best college team in the state before integration. Hayes was a backup halfback in high school on a 12-0 team that won the state's colored school title.

So Brandt's decision to draft him was mainly based on the thinking that the Cowboys couldn't teach speed but they thought they could teach Hayes how to run routes. It was quite a gamble but one that paid immediate dividends because nobody could keep up with him in man-to-man coverage those first two seasons. No matter how far off the line of scrimmage the corners played, Hayes left them in the dust.

I mean, he WAS the World’s Fastest Human.