(1924-09-11)September 11, 1924 Mission, Texas, U.S.
Died:
February 12, 2000(2000-02-12) (aged 75) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:
195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:
Mission
College:
Texas (1946–1948)
NFL draft:
1947 / Round: 20 / Pick: 184
Career history
As a player:
New York Yankees (1949)
New York Giants (1950–1955)
As a coach:
New York Giants (1954–1959) Defensive coordinator
Dallas Cowboys (1960–1988) Head coach
Career highlights and awards
As a player
First-team All-Pro (1954)
Pro Bowl (1954)
2× NFL punting yards leader (1952, 1955)
AAFC punting yards leader (1949)
Second-team All-SWC (1947)
As a head coach
2× Super Bowl champion (VI, XII)
NFL Coach of the Year (1966)
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1966, 1975)
SN NFL Coach of the Year (1966)
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
As an assistant coach
NFL champion (1956)
Career AAFC/NFL statistics
Punts:
389
Punting yards:
15,900
Punting average:
40.9
Longest punt:
69
Interceptions:
32
Interception yards:
404
Fumble recoveries:
10
Defensive touchdowns:
5
Head coaching record
Regular season:
250–162–6 (.605)
Postseason:
20–16 (.556)
Career:
270–178–6 (.601)
Military career
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
U.S. Army Air Corps
Years of service
1942–1945
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Unit
Eighth Air Force 493d Bombardment Group 860th Bombardment Squadron
Battles/wars
World War II
Air War Over Europe
Player stats at PFR
Coaching stats at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time,[1] he was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. During his coaching career, he created many new formations and methods, such as the now default 4–3 defense that is used by a majority of teams in the NFL, and the "flex defense" system made famous by the "Doomsday Defense" squads he built during his tenure with the Cowboys. His 29 consecutive years from 1960 to 1988 as the coach of one team is an NFL record,[A] along with his 20 consecutive winning seasons, which is considered to be his most impressive professional accomplishment.
In addition to his record 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, Landry won two Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl VI and XII,[2] five NFC titles, and 13 divisional titles. He compiled a 270–178–6 record, the fourth-most wins all-time for an NFL coach, and his 20 career playoff victories are the third-most of any coach in NFL history. Landry was also named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975.
From 1966 to 1982, a span of 17 years, Dallas played in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games. Furthermore, the Cowboys appeared in 10 NFC Championship games in the 13-year span from 1970 to 1982. Leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in four years between 1975 and 1978, and five in nine years between 1970 and 1978, along with being on television more than any other NFL team, resulted in the Cowboys receiving the label of "America's Team", a title Landry did not appreciate because he felt it would bring on extra motivation from the rest of the league to compete with the Cowboys. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as a head coach.
^"Bill Belichick vs Tom Landry: Sideline Comparison". NFL.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
^Barron, By David (January 31, 2017). "Super coaches: Title winners Landry, Johnson, Kubiak share Texas ties". Houston Chronicle.
Cite error: There are <ref group=upper-alpha> tags or {{efn-ua}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=upper-alpha}} template or {{notelist-ua}} template (see the help page).
volunteer fireman) and Ruth (Coffman) Landry, Tom was the second of four children (Robert, Tom, Ruthie, and Jack). Landry's father had suffered from rheumatism...
Hank and Peggy's only child, Bobby Hill (Pamela Adlon), is a student at TomLandry Middle School. His characteristic lack of athleticism and interests in...
as head of player personnel, and New York Giants defensive coordinator TomLandry as head coach, thus forming a triumvirate that would lead the Cowboys'...
purchased the Dallas Cowboys for $140 million, swiftly replacing coach TomLandry with Jimmy Johnson. Under Jones, the team achieved success, winning Super...
for a semester because she stole drugs from a street gang. She attended TomLandry Middle School in the meantime. She seduced Bobby and tricked him into...
with the team: TomLandry in Super Bowl VI and XII, Jimmy Johnson in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII, and Barry Switzer in Super Bowl XXX. Landry is the team's...
I-30 has interchanges with I-35W, I-35E, and I-45. I-30 is known as the TomLandry Freeway between I-35W and I-35E, within the core of the Dallas–Fort Worth...
coach TomLandry. It is awarded by Dallas-Fort Worth CBS affiliate KTVT in conjunction with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Footnotes "The Landry Award"...
quarterbacks competing for the starting position. Dallas Cowboys head coach TomLandry alternated Roger Staubach and Craig Morton on each play, sending in the...
coach Jim Lee Howell's staff had Vince Lombardi coaching the offense and TomLandry coaching the defense. From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL...
begin a coaching career with 17 and has never had a losing season. Only TomLandry (21) and Bill Belichick (19) have had longer such streaks at any point...
and pitted two future Hall of Fame head coaches against each other, TomLandry for the Cowboys and Vince Lombardi for the Packers. The two head coaches...
franchise quarterback in Cowboys history. Under the mentorship of head coach TomLandry, Meredith led the Cowboys to three-straight postseason appearances from...
linebackers, including Randy Gradishar (3 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries) and Tom Jackson (4 interceptions, 93 return yards, 1 touchdown). Defensive End Lyle...
1980 to 1982. White was also among the last Cowboys quarterbacks in the TomLandry era, alongside 1988 starter Steve Pelluer. White primarily played the...
with the defensive coordinator, former All-Pro cornerback turned coach TomLandry, turned the squad into a championship team, defeating the Chicago Bears...
to be named the Cowboys wide receiver assistant coach under head coach TomLandry. At the time, his 427 receptions were the most by a tight end in NFL history...
Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024. "TomLandry". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 6...
against the Chicago Bears during the seventh week of that season, coach TomLandry alternated Staubach and Morton on each play, sending in the quarterbacks...
manager Tex Schramm, player personnel director Gil Brandt, and head coach TomLandry. Schramm predicted that Irvin would accelerate the Cowboys' "return to...
TomLandry wore the hat while he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. It would later become his trademark image. A cenotaph dedicated to Landry with...
the "TomLandry Super Bowl Highway" in commemoration of Super Bowl XLV. The former Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike is normally known as the "TomLandry Highway"...
loss to the New Orleans Saints at Tulane Stadium. But after head coach TomLandry settled on Staubach, the Cowboys won their last seven regular season games...
regular season record of 167–102–2. He is among the only five head coaches (TomLandry, Chuck Noll, Andy Reid, and Bill Belichick) to lead one franchise to eight...
Governali (1947–1948) Charlie Conerly (1948–1961) Travis Tidwell (1950–1951) TomLandry (1952) Arnold Galiffa (1953) Bob Clatterbuck (1954) Don Heinrich (1955–1959)...
player personnel director, and New York Giants defensive coordinator TomLandry as head coach. The Cowboys began play in 1960, and played their home games...
Global Information
United States
U.S. Army Air Corps
Second Lieutenant