They won with flair, grace, and a unique quality of brain-trust that constructed teams with stamina and staying power. The names of Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were exalted to legendary status along the path to earning a record five Super Bowl championships. Read about Quincy Carter’s final stand with the Dallas Cowboys in Chapter 11 of Decade of Futility.įor four decades, the Dallas Cowboys were synonymous with winning and were the gold standard for how to operate a football franchise. Henson because of his newness and he didn’t seem to be able to sort things out, and Quincy because of, you know … “ “”There were a couple of guys there that I knew I was going to have trouble counting on. I don’t know all the problems or the demons exactly, but that’s what eventually took him down……. It’s too much on them once the bar gets up a little bit. There he is, he got his team in the playoffs, he’s the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, he’s playing good, he’s improving, he can get out of trouble, he’s pretty smart, he can make almost every throw - and it’s just, some people just can’t fight the pressure to succeed. “I became pretty close with Quincy personally, and this kid had a lot of good qualities,” Parcells said during the week of his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. But seven months later, Carter was released.Īlmost nine years to the day that he released Carter, Parcells finally gave his personal insight on Carter’s undoing. With Bill Parcells (left) in his ear much of the time, Quincy Carter enjoyed a season of revival in 2003, leading the Cowboys to the playoffs. Even when he did have a solid support system around him. ![]() I always thought Carter, athletically speaking, was good enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, but something inside of him simply held him back. ![]() Though, I didn’t believe that it was for the reasons that many would like to believe. Needless to say, he didn’t take advantage. After being left for dead by previous offensive coordinators Jack Reilly and Bruce Coslet, Carter was given a second chance with Parcells and quarterbacks coach Sean Payton. (To bring the NFLPA’s case into the book would, I thought, be an unwarranted distraction.)Įven during a career-best playoff campaign in 2003 there was always this air of gun-shyness about Carter, some imperceptible force that prompted him to retreat back into his shell at the imminent moment of progression. In writing Decade of Futility I chose to stay clear of this lawsuit primarily because of its inherent controversy, but also because I thought the Cowboys actually had a good argument when they claimed that they waived Carter due to under-par performance. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) filed a grievance on behalf of Carter stating that he was unjustly released. Was it because he had failed a drug test? Was it because the Cowboys learned of an alleged addiction to marijuana? Or was it simply because the Cowboys were finally fed up with his inconsistent play? The reason for his release has been debated ever since. After leading Dallas to a 10-6 record, and a playoff berth, in 2003, Carter was abruptly released during the early stages of training camp the following August. Where much of the gray is concerning Carter happens to be within the time-frame that Bill Parcells was in Dallas. To me, Carter seemed to be a player with a certain potential that was impossible to realize simply because the coaching staff and management weren’t willing to be patient with him during his first two seasons. Unlike many of the hecklers and critics who have voiced their opinion over the past decade, I never thought of Quincy Carter as a draft-day failure, or even a quarterbacking bum. ![]() And in those areas where a silent gray cloud thickly hovered, I at least had a hunch of what the truth was. In many areas concerning Carter’s up and down tenure as Dallas Cowboys quarterback, the truth was plain to see. Out of the many personalities within the pages of Decade of Futility, none were given a more thoughtful portrayal than Quincy Carter. Commercial reproduction, distribution or transmission of any part or parts of this website or any information contained therein by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of the Club is not permitted.Though owning a 7-4 record against NFC East opponents, Quincy Carter was ultimately a quarterback who couldn’t handle the spotlight in Dallas, said Bill Parcells. This website is the only official website of the New England Patriots and is © Copyright New England Patriots (the "Club").
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