CNN
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Pro Football Hall of Famer Gil Brandt, widely recognized as the architect who helped build the Dallas Cowboys into one of the most successful and popular sports franchises of all time, died Thursday, according to the Cowboys. Brandt is 91 years old.
“Gil was at the core of the early success of the Dallas Cowboys and continued to serve as a great ambassador for the organization for decades beyond that,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
After a six-decade NFL executive career — 29 years with the Cowboys — Brandt was inducted into the Hall in 2019.
As vice president of player personnel for the Cowboys, Brandt was praised for his ability to spot player talent – drafting nine Cowboys players who, like Brandt, are Pro Football Hall of Famers. Famers.
His first pick in the 1960 draft was stellar defensive tackle Bob Lilly. His last marquee draft influence came in 1989 when the Cowboys selected a quarterback named Troy Aikman, according to the Hall of Fame.
In 1964, Brandt appeared to see the future when he selected a kid from the US Naval Academy in the 10th round of that year’s draft. Although a Heisman Trophy winner in college, Roger Staubach had to complete his four years of service before joining the team in 1969.
“Staubach came to us as a 27-year-old rookie,” Brandt told NFL.com in 2016. “Even while he was in the service, he wrote to me, asking to practice footballs — one time, he asked me to send more after the shipment we sent was broken by a mortar shell.”
The patience of Brandt and the Staubach Cowboys paid off. The two-time Super Bowl champion was 85-29 as a starter and was inducted into the Hall in 1985.
With Brandt behind the scenes, Dallas appeared in five championship games, winning Super Bowls VI and XII. The team dominated between 1966-1985, producing 20 consecutive winning seasons while adopting the nickname “America’s Team.”
According to the Hall of Fame, Brandt is recognized as “the first person to incorporate computers for scouting and talent evaluation and the first individual to use psychological tests to evaluate the mental makeup of prospective players under pressure.”
These types of successful evaluations were copied and grown into what is now called the NFL Scouting Combine. Brandt is also credited with helping turn the annual player draft into a three-day, made-for-TV event.
“His innovative approach to scouting and player evaluation has helped the organization find players that others have overlooked. The result is the discovery of future Cowboys from small colleges, or whether on college basketball or track teams,” said Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter.
“He is credited with advancing the use of computers in the front office of pro football teams, but the real computer is the one in his own head, where he stores an incredible amount of information that he wants share with anyone who appreciates the game. as he did.”
After his long tenure with the Cowboys, Brandt used his skills as an analyst for NFL.com and on national radio broadcasts, according to the Hall of Fame.
Jones concluded his dedication to Brandt by saying, “There are few people who have made the kind of generational impact that he has. Gil is as dedicated to growing this league and sport as anyone, and we are all grateful and better for it.