Dallas Cowboys · Franchise era 4 of 6
The Triplets dynasty: the Dallas Cowboys story
Franchise era
1989—1999
The Triplets dynasty
Dallas Cowboys
The story in one sentence
Jimmy Johnson converted the Herschel Walker trade into a deep young roster, and Dallas won three Super Bowls in four seasons.
A bold rebuild produces three championships
Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the romo years.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 1989
What came before
Dallas reached three straight NFC title games before an aging roster declined and new ownership ended Landry's 29-year tenure.
October 12, 1989
The Herschel Walker trade that built a dynasty
The Vikings believed one star could complete a contender. Jimmy Johnson viewed Walker as the fastest route to rebuilding the NFL's worst team.
01Dynasty seedOctober 12, 1989MIN⇄DALThe Herschel Walker tradeMinnesota acquired Herschel Walker for an unprecedented mix of players, a first-rounder and conditional draft capital. Dallas deliberately converted the conditions into picks.14 assets · 3 outcomes＋
The original receipt
Minnesota Vikings received
- • Herschel Walker
- • 1990 third · No. 54
- • 1990 fifth · No. 116
- • 1990 tenth · No. 249
- • 1991 third · No. 68
Dallas Cowboys received
- • Jesse Solomon
- • David Howard
- • Issiac Holt
- • Darrin Nelson
- • Alex Stewart
- • Minnesota's 1992 first
- • Conditional conversion: 1990 and 1991 firsts
- • Conditional conversion: 1990, 1991 and 1992 seconds
- • Conditional conversion: 1992 third
The resulting draft tree helped Dallas add Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson—the spine of a three-title dynasty.
Open full trade tree →1993-01-31
Super Bowl: Buffalo Bills vs Dallas Cowboys
1994-01-30
Super Bowl: Buffalo Bills vs Dallas Cowboys
1996-01-28
Super Bowl: Dallas Cowboys vs Pittsburgh Steelers
After 1999
What came next
Romo developed into a prolific quarterback and gave Dallas repeated division titles, though a sequence of narrow playoff losses shaped the era's reputation.
The core