For a franchise defined by dynasties, the current Dallas Cowboys’ turmoil has legends speaking out, but none more forcefully than Michael Irvin, who is drawing a hard line between past glory and present failure. As things stand, with a record of 6-7-1, they only have a 1% chance of making the playoffs.

This sense of failure seems to be shared by the players as well. Veteran defender DeMarcus Lawrence, who left the Cowboys earlier this year to join the Seattle Seahawks on a $42 million deal, had admitted he left because he didn’t believe he could win a Super Bowl there.

“Dallas is my home. I made my home there; my family lives there. I’m forever going to be [in Dallas],” Lawrence said about his old stomping grounds. “But I know for sure I’m not going to win a Super Bowl there.”

This statement even got him into a social media feud with Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.

“This what rejection and envy look like! This some clown s—,” he wrote on X,

 Lawrence responded by writing, “Calling me a clown won’t change the fact that I told the truth. Maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left.” 

Legendary Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, who won three Super Bowls with the team, also didn’t hold back during a recent interview on the Dan Patrick Show. When asked what grade he would give the current team, he was blunt.

“There is no grade to give outside of a failure grade,” Irvin responded. “I don’t want to hear how many records you broke this year, I don’t want to hear what you did in statistics. I want to hear wins and losses, and are you in the playoffs with a chance to win a ring—and they are not. That’s a failing grade,” he said.

Even then, Irvin had sided with Parsons, believing that the Cowboys would make it into the playoffs in the 2025 season. If the team fails to reach the postseason in 2025, it will mark their second consecutive season missing out, following the 2024 season.

The Cowboys have already been struggling to record a Super Bowl win for three decades now, and Dak Prescott has been there to witness it all for the last 10 seasons. This frustration with the current team’s inability to win is precisely why Irvin remains fiercely loyal to the leaders of the Cowboys’ last dynasty, particularly his quarterback, Troy Aikman.

Michael Irvin chooses Troy Aikman over anyone else

Irvin, the legendary Cowboys wide receiver, recently made it very clear where he stands on the “Greatest of All Time” quarterback debate. During a podcast, Irvin was asked if he would take modern superstars like Patrick Mahomes or even Tom Brady over his former teammate, Troy Aikman. His answer was a resounding no.

“I won’t take Patrick Mahomes over Troy Aikman. I won’t take nobody over Troy Aikman, including mom, dad, sister, brother, niece, nephew, and my family. Tom Brady? No, nobody,” he said.

To Irvin, Aikman was the ultimate leader and the savior the Cowboys needed when they selected him as the first overall pick in 1989.

While Aikman is now remembered as a winner, his career actually began with a struggle. He lost his first 11 games as a starting quarterback and didn’t see a victory until his second season. However, once the Cowboys surrounded him with elite talent like Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and a dominant offensive line, Aikman began to shine. 

Irvin further added, “Troy is the best timing-throwing quarterback in the history of this game. When Norv Turner got here and said, you get that third step and let that ball go. Hit that fifth step and let that ball go. It became perfect, and it was unstoppable. I will take no one at the quarterback position over Troy Aikman, not even Jesus himself.”

Aikman’s career is defined by his incredible success during the 1990s. He won 90 games in that decade, which was a record at the time, and led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships. He was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII and earned six Pro Bowl selections. 

Beyond the rings, he was a statistical powerhouse for the franchise, racking up over 32,942 passing yards and 165 touchdowns. One of his most famous performances came in 1999 when he led a massive fourth-quarter comeback against the Redskins, winning the game with a score of 41-35 in overtime with a 76-yard touchdown pass.