Troy Aikman Says He’d Consider Role With the Cowboys

Troy Aikman says he realizes that his broadcasting career “could very well be taken away from me,” and he’d consider a role with the Cowboys if owner Jerry Jones were interested in that.

Aikman’s comments to Mike Fisher of Cowboys Roundtable came after recent reports by Front Office Sports that there is tension between Aikman and his Monday Night Football broadcasting partner, Joe Buck, and that Aikman has no formal and ongoing agreement to serve as a consultant with the Dolphins.

Speculation about Aikman’s future has been rampant since FOS reported that he and Buck had an argument before a recent Rams-Bills game.

Jones said Wednesday at the conclusion of the NFL owners meeting in New York, in response to a question by FOS, that he’s following Aikman’s situation with ESPN and that Aikman would be capable of serving in a front office role for an NFL franchise if he so desires.

“This week he said some really kind things, which meant a lot to me, quite honestly,” Aikman told Fisher. “So, yeah, I would welcome any conversation with Jerry. And quite honestly I don’t know if there would be or if there ever would be an opportunity. But if Jerry came to me and felt that, in his heart, I could lend some services that would help make them better, I would. I’d have a hard time not taking a good look at that.”

Aikman served as a consultant to the Dolphins last offseason, but his formal consulting agreement with Miami was limited to the team’s general manager and head coach searches, FOS reported.

Jones said Wednesday that he pays “a lot of attention” to Aikman, adding: “And he’s very capable of doing any one of a number of things, certainly anything to do with football. I don’t know of any area, short of getting back out on the field … that Troy Aikman wouldn’t be qualified and competent to go into.”

Aikman, 59, is a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who played for Jones and the Cowboys for 12 seasons, leading them to three Super Bowl titles. He has been critical at times in recent years of Jones’s ownership approach with the Cowboys.

Fisher asked Aikman whether he would be willing to go to lunch with Jones.

“I absolutely would,” Aikman said. “I would have lunch, breakfast, or dinner with Jerry any time he wants it. And it wouldn’t necessarily have to be because it’s a job interview. Just because, you know, we go back a long way. … When I came in, I was 22 years old. I was his very first draft pick. There’s a lot within that relationship, both from the beginning when he began as the owner, when I began my NFL career as a quarterback for 12 years of my life playing for him.

“And then even in the years that have followed, you know, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through the highest of highs. We’ve been through some pretty tough moments as well. Our relationship is complicated. I think he would agree with that. But it is one that’s built, I believe, on respect.”

Aikman’s contract with ESPN expires after the network’s Super Bowl broadcast.

Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s EVP and chief media officer, said Wednesday in New York that the league had “no concern” about Aikman’s issues with Buck and ESPN.

“And now as I’m into my last year at ESPN, I’m realizing that this is something that could very well be taken away from me,” Aikman told Fisher. “And so for the first time, I’m realizing how much I really do—I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve always known that. But until you risk having something taken away from you, I think sometimes you tend to maybe take things for granted.

“And so for the first time probably in my career, I’m realizing, you know, this is a great profession. It’s been a great ride for me. And I hope that it’s not over. Time will tell. But, yeah, so we’ll see. I’m excited about what the rest of this year holds. And I’m excited to finally get back into the booth for a Super Bowl. … And now it will have been eight years since we last called a Super Bowl.”