Troy Aikman and Barry Switzer beefed from college to the NFL, with help from Skip Bayless

- Troy Aikman and Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl together. They did it with enough drama to fill a book. Which is exactly what Skip Bayless did. (3 seconds of intense music) Aikman was an incredible athlete in high school and he knew it. He had the opportunity to become a professional in football or baseball. When they wanted to draft him, he told the Mets that he would need a $200,000 signing bonus, and when they refused, he headed to

college

to throw away the pigskin. Aikman went to Oklahoma in 1984. An opportunity that arose in his first meeting with Barry Switzer. - I offered him a scholarship the first time I saw Troy Aikman, I even went up to him and said: I want you to start thinking about playing for the Sooners, you would be a great player for the University of Oklahoma.

The first time I saw him throw a soccer ball. -He was six foot four and had a cannon for an arm, which, considering how much Switzer liked to run the ball, made for a somewhat surprising pairing. Switzer had been coaching the Sooners since 1967. He became famous as their offensive coordinator with his Wishbone offense. Thanks to this, Oklahoma was pretty good. They averaged over 472 rushing yards per game in 1971. And in 1973 he was named head coach. He left Wishbone in the early 1980s to take advantage of the skills of running back Marcus Dupree. But when Aikman walked on campus, they were back in an offense that would use the QB's legs more than his arm.

Entering 1985, Oklahoma was ranked No. 1 with national title hopes. But in their fourth game of the season, Miami came to town led by Jimmy Johnson and Michael Irvin. In the second quarter, Aikman took this sack from Jerome Brown and suffered a broken fibula. As he wasted time, freshman Jamelle Holieway stepped in. Oklahoma went out and beat Penn State for the National Championship. The third from Switzerland. Watching this success from the sideline, Aikman knew he needed to get out of Norman. He wasn't entirely satisfied with the way he was being used. Having arrived in Oklahoma thinking that Switzer would really use him as an arm.

But before the Miami game, Aikman was only throwing the ball 13 times per game. He met with his coach, who called a few schools, and Aikman headed to UCLA. That move allowed Aikman to play to his potential and in 1999 he was selected first overall in the NFL draft. Him starting his journey in Dallas. A few months later, Switzer also changed scenery. He resigned from Oklahoma when the Sooners were placed on probation for a long list of NCAA violations, including the arrest of their quarterback for selling cocaine to an FBI agent. Aikman's professional career got off to a rocky start in Dallas.

His new head coach, Jimmy Johnson, did not fully believe in his abilities. And he even brought in his quarterback from Miami to compete with the former No. 1 draft pick. They managed to find their way after a couple of Super Bowl wins, but then a separate issue led to this: We have mutually decided that I would no longer be the head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys. - Unfortunately, Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones never really talk about what happened. They like to keep all their feelings to themselves. So, we were left talking about Jimmy's replacement. Jerry Jones believed that any coach could lead this team to another Super Bowl.

In his opinion, Jimmy didn't do anything special. It was the players he had personally chosen who won. So, with his players in mind, he flipped through the Rolodex and found his man. - We have work to do and we will do it, honey! (laughs) - Jerry hired the guy Aikman had already run away from once. From the beginning the quarterback was no longer calm. While he backed the coach, Aikman also told the media that "I'll be here seven more years. I don't know if Switzer will be here that long." Switzer, on the other hand, wasn't too worried about how he and Troy would get along. - We won't let it transfer. (laughs) -Jerry made sure of that when he paid him 50 million, so... -They both wanted success and, as Troy said, there was only one thing that mattered to keep things afloat.

That had been the case under Jimmy Johnson, who had set a standard that Switzer now needed to match. Aikman said that with Jimmy winning was a way of life. When Jimmy said we needed an extra practice or a harder practice, we knew he was right. We earned respect for his vision of what would make us better. This is something Barry has to achieve. Easier said than done. Even before he had coached a game, there were questions about Switzer's leadership. - What a lot of players are saying and what a lot of coaches are saying is that the assistant coaches are having trouble

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ing the coaches and the players want you to step up and stop it! - I don't think you know what you're talking about!

And neither are they, Dale Hansen! There is no problem here on this Dallas Cowboys staff. - The Cowboys finished 12 and four in each of Barry Switzer's first two seasons. So, good job, Barry! But in December 1995 it began to become clearer that those victories came despite some slow-cooked meat. Reports emerged that the couple had some philosophical differences. Aikman still seemed to be upset about Johnson's departure and wanted to make sure the team didn't get too comfortable. He also felt that no one else was doing the same. - Why don't we have a coach (bleep) to go there and do something about it?

Instead we want to go and pat everyone's butts and we haven't done any work (bleep) all night! The guy is out there (bleep) and no one is saying anything about it. We have a head coach who doesn't say anything about it. We have offensive coaches who won't do anything about it! - Troy, Troy. -He considered that Switzer was too lenient with the players. While Switzer saw Aikman as more than just a team leader. Former assistant coach John Blake, who had left Oklahoma at the time, had told Switzer that Aikman called one of his receivers a racial slur.

Blake warned that there is a belief in the locker room that Aikman gets angrier with his black teammates than with his white teammates. During a regular-season team meeting, Switzer brought up this incident. That upset Aikman, who responded by telling Switzer that he was part of the problem. All of this became public during the lead-up to the Cowboy's Super Bowl appearance against the Steelers. The rest of the team had to shift their attention from the game to discussing the situation with the media. With everything out in the open, when Switzer was asked about his relationship with Aikman, he didn't sugarcoat it. - Am I happy with my relationship with Aikman?

Like I told you before, I don't know if Chuck Noll had a great relationship with Terry Bradshaw or not, it wasn't important that they won four Super Bowls, right? That is the conclusion. Am I going to drink RC Colas and go on a double date with him? We're not going to do those things. It's not part of the game. It's not important. - Dallas would win the Super Bowl. The couple even shared a handshake on the bench. But even though Aikman said they would be fine as long as they got this win, he magnified the feud.

Things became even more public thanks to a mutual enemy. Do people still say 'frenemy'? - I don't know Will, can you read the script? - Well. Enter Skip Bayless. He had been researching his next book about the Dallas Cowboys. He interviewed both the player and the coach and, as they gave their answers, he wanted to make sure the other had a chance to respond. Getting more and more juicy comments in the process. This snowballed until Aikman contacted Switzer to talk in mid-March 1996. It is said to be the first time they spoke off the field in four months, since the meeting where Barry called Troy.

Aikman, through his interviews with Bayless, learned that someone in Switzer's camp had encouraged the writer to investigate Aikman's sexuality. A topic that is often talked about in the Dallas media. They were basically flabbergasted that a man who is the quarterback of the Cowboys and seen by many as "handsome" wasn't married. Bayless' source was using Aikman's sexuality to try to damage the QB's macho image in the hopes that it would benefit Switzer when Aikman inevitably turned to Jerry Jones to give the Cowboy owner a "him or me" ultimatum. Switzer was convinced Aikman and his media friends were trying to fire him and bring in Norv Turner.

It is not an unreasonable thought. Considering Aikman was quoted as saying, "I don't give Barry any credit for our wins, nor do I blame him for any of our losses. I'm really not sure what he does as a head coach." Switzer, who inherited a great team, had really just tried not to ruin it. Unfortunately, the leader of that team could not do more than coexist with him. A couple of months after his talk, Switzer apologized for how he handled the incident caused by John Blake before the Super Bowl. Aikman said he wasn't thinking about the past.

They both moved on to season 97, where they finished 10th and 6th and Aikman got his last playoff win. A six-and-ten campaign followed, Switzer's first losing season as head coach. He would retire shortly after. As soon as the Cowboys hired Chan Gailey as Switzer's replacement, Aikman let everyone know how excited he was about his new coach. As for Switzer, it was clear he still had mixed feelings about his former quarterback. He admitted that he liked him, but he thought that Troy had demons that made him do things the way he does. Once Switzer retired, Aikman didn't say much about the dispute and even acknowledged the former coach in his Hall of Fame induction speech.

Just without much shine. Aikman did not deny that Switzer was a good coach. But unlike the rest of the Cowboys, he knew what Switzer used to be. -The Barry Switzer I played for in Oklahoma was not the Barry Switzer I played for with the Dallas Cowboys. - Barry had lost his intensity. Which is what Aikman felt the Cowboys needed at the time to avoid complacency. While they showed that they didn't have to get along to win, it probably would have been easier if they had tried. Or at least it would have delayed Skip Bayless from becoming a household name.