appearances, and consider the Giants began playing football in the 1920s. The Cowboys also hold the record for most consecutive postseason appearances (9), are tied for the second most (8) as well, and have played in the most postseason games (58).
Not bad for 51 years old.
But there is a generation of players out there who know little to nothing about that. Consider this: Cowboys 20-year-old first-round draft choice Tyron Smith turned six on Dec. 12, 1996. Since, the Cowboys have won only two playoff games, beating Minnesota on Dec. 28 of that year and then beating Philadelphia on Jan. 9, 2010. Why, sixth-round pick Dwayne Harris was just eight when the Cowboys beat Minnesota in '96.
Of the guys the Cowboys had rights to at the end of the 2009 season, when they finally won their first playoff game since that 1996 campaign, 18 of those guys hadn't even become a teenager yet when they had last won a playoff game.
So Garrett's idea of sprucing up the hallways and walls is both instructional and inspirational. Who knows where you might gain an edge, but in a league where the margin between winning and losing is so slim, can't hurt.
You know this offseason Garrett spent three days visiting with Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, the legendary basketball coach allowing the Cowboys first-year head coach unadulterated access to him, his team and his program. Garrett could talk for an hour on his impressions of the Duke basketball program and how much he learned from Krzyzewski, and he nearly did that day we taped his appearance on The Blitz.
Colleges are big on their history, no matter the sport. And while you might say such displays of past accomplishments are for recruiting purposes, and they are, still those walks down memory lane are mighty impressive nonetheless if you ever get a chance to pass through these athletic departments, as we have the past two years for the Pro Day workouts at Oklahoma and Texas.
So why not in the NFL, too? And really, prior to this offseason, only the front entrance at The Ranch somewhat captured the franchise's history, and the players rarely see that.
"It was an amazing weekend - an amazing weekend," Garrett said of his time at Duke, the hookup coming thanks to Calvin Hill, whose son Grant played for Krzyzewski. "When I first went there I saw how organized everything was, how seamless everything was in its execution, and I kind of sat back in my chair and said, That's why he's been so successful the last 31 years - look at this practice, look at this meeting, look how this stuff goes."
Garrett would eventually leave us with this last impression: "Inspirational is the word I left with. He just inspired me in so many different ways to become a much better coach in every aspect of it."
Maybe even when it comes to interior decorating.
