NFL franchise story

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas moved from winless expansion team to America's Team, then from Landry's sustained excellence to the Triplets' three championships and a modern era of regular-season success without the same January finish.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Dallas Cowboys.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Dallas Cowboys official NFL team page ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1960—1965

Don Meredith

Bob Lilly

Don Perkins

Landry installs the flex defense

The expansion Cowboys

Dallas began without a win but patiently built around Landry's systems and Lilly's dominance until the roster was ready to contend.

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Chapter 01

1960—1965

Franchise era

1966—1979

Roger Staubach

Bob Lilly

Randy White

Staubach and the Doomsday Defense

America's Team

The Cowboys posted twenty consecutive winning seasons, reached five Super Bowls in the decade and won two behind Landry's preparation and Staubach's late-game poise.

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Chapter 02

1966—1979

Franchise era

1980—1988

Danny White

Tony Dorsett

Ed Jones

Repeated near misses precede a historic teardown

The final Landry teams

Dallas reached three straight NFC title games before an aging roster declined and new ownership ended Landry's 29-year tenure.

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Chapter 03

1980—1988

Franchise era

1989—1999

Troy Aikman

Emmitt Smith

Michael Irvin

A bold rebuild produces three championships

The Triplets dynasty

Jimmy Johnson converted the Herschel Walker trade into a deep young roster, and Dallas won three Super Bowls in four seasons.

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Chapter 04

1989—1999

Franchise era

2000—2015

Tony Romo

Jason Witten

DeMarcus Ware

Undrafted improvisation restores contention

The Romo years

Romo developed into a prolific quarterback and gave Dallas repeated division titles, though a sequence of narrow playoff losses shaped the era's reputation.

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Chapter 05

2000—2015

Franchise era

2016—present

Dak Prescott

Ezekiel Elliott

Micah Parsons

Regular-season excellence meets January frustration

Dak, Zeke and the modern contenders

Prescott's immediate rise and Parsons's defensive impact kept Dallas among the league's most talented teams without a return to the conference championship game.

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Chapter 06

2016—present

Present day

The essential watchlist