FRISCO, Texas â This truly has been a week or so of colliding coincidentals for me, one after another after another. Let's explain.
A week or so ago, for some head-scratching reason, the attorney general of Florida sent a letter to the NFL, threatening to put the league "on notice" for instituting the Rooney Rule, you know, requiring teams to interview at least two minority candidates for positions of authority, like head coach, coordinators, general managers, personnel directors and so forth. This AG, maybe trying to make a name for himself, complains these discriminatory practices are against Florida law. Not making this up.
Occurred to me at the time, time to call John Wooten, the original chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, formed to promote inclusive hiring practices in the NFL. In other words, to give Black and other minority coaches an opportunity to at least get their foot in the door of hiring practices through interviews, not at all mandating such hires. Just visibility. Cuz you never know when a mostly unknown assistant like Mike Tomlin shows up.
I figured this Florida nonsense must have dug under John's thick skin. Like deep.
Hopefully you guys remember John, and for those maybe too young to know but needing to Google, John spent the far-majority of his 89 years on this earth in the NFL in some form or fashion, starting in 1959 when one of the first two Black scholarship athletes at the University of Colorado became a fifth-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns, and that meant back in those days of 12 teams this offensive guard was the 53rd pick in the NFL Draft.
That means during the Browns heydays of the '60s, if you have seen or look up video or pictures of Hall of Famer Jim Brown running the ball back then, chances are John's No. 60 was in that picture or video, too, clearing the path for the NFL's one-time career leading rusher. John spent nine seasons with the Browns, earning two Pro Bowl honors, one First-Team All-Pro designation and a member of the Browns 1964 NFL Championship team
After retiring following the 1968 season, John went on to become a player agent until 1975 when Cowboys president Tex Schramm, probably tired of dealing with him, hired John as a team scout. From there John moved up into the Cowboys player personnel department where he remained through the 1991 season. That is when had the privilege of meeting the man we called simply "Woots," having done so as a close friend for like the last Fortysomething years.
Know this, too, about John, who also moved on into player personnel positions with Philadelphia and Baltimore, it was John's draft prep reconnaissance in 1990 helping the Cowboys to pull off the first-round trade up with Pittsburgh from 21 to 17 so they could grab this running back named Emmitt Smith.
So now, coincidently thanks to this Florida ideocracy, John was on my to-do list to call. Somehow, right before Memorial Day here comes the next coincidence: Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw beats me to the punch, writing a May 24th column on John's career and now stumping to have Cowboys five-time Pro Bowl defensive back Cornell Green selected to the Cowboys hallowed Ring of Honor.
Dang it, OK "Woots," no more procrastinating. Time to call. And I'll be, about 9 p.m. Memorial Day night, while watching NBĂ and NHL playoff games, coincidently my phone lights up: "John Wooten." No way.
And for like the next 90 minutes â phone calls with Wooten are never shorter than 30 minutes â and we talked. Talked this Florida incident. Talked Cornell Green, asking me to bring to light how this one time All-America basketball player from Utah State, having never played a down of college football, was signed by Gil Brandt as an undrafted free agent, the Cowboys taking a low-level chance on a great athlete also drafted into the NBA by the then Chicago Zephyrs learning to play football.
Learn he did, and during his 13-year career with the Cowboys (1962-74) Green became a five-time Pro Bowler as a corner then safety, three-time first team All-Pro (once a second-teamer), NFL All-Rookie team selection and named to the Cowboys 25th Anniversary Team in 1985.
Oh, and don't forget Green played in two NFL Championship games with the Cowboys (1966-67), also played in two Super Bowls, winning one, and after the 1964 season never experienced a losing season before retiring in 1975. Green ranks sixth in Cowboys career interceptions (34). He also holds the franchise record with 10 blocked kicks, eight of those field goals, and to this day is the franchise leader in interception return yards with 211.
And on top of all that, Cornell began serving as a Cowboys scout in 1970 while still playing, then another five seasons after he retired, building quite a legacy with the Cowboys over those 18 seasons.
Not a bad resume and why Wooten is taking it upon himself to promote Green to become the next Ring of Honor member, at least the next one from back in the Cowboys days of infancy, recalling how much trouble the Browns offense had dealing with that Cowboys raw corner turned safety. And for the final coincidence of coincidences, the Cowboys held an alumni reunion Friday, sending out invitations to former players with at least five years of service with the team.
And of the 33 responses, right around 30 players were present at The Star, and not just present, they were invited to attend meetings, watch the final Phase II practice of the offseason, have breakfast and lunch at the facility, collect some swag, mingle with players and coaches, but most of all reconnect with former teammates. All this for the second time during the two-year regime of head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who responded when asked last year about sponsoring such an offseason event with a "heck yea."
What an event, attracting three Pro Football Hall of Famers: Bob Lilly and two of members of the 88 Club, Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin. Some of the others on hand were should-be-Hall of Famer Darren Woodson, Billy Joe DuPree, Larry Cole, Daryl Johnston, Tyron Smith, Mark Stepnoski, Dan Bailey, Lin Elliott, Charlie Williams, Kenny Gant, Keith Davis, James Donaldson, former 1981 first round draft choice Howard Richards, Rocket Ismail and Timmy Newsome just to name a few.
Also, and this was touching, the wife of recently deceased John Fritzgerald, Suzanne, along with their sons and grandkids, were invited to attend the event, too, And as Drew said of the Cowboys organization, "Once you are family, you are always family."
Speaking of Drew, when asked what he remembers of Cornell Green, having played two seasons with Cornell, along practicing against him, Drew had this fond memory occurring during a training camp practice his 1973 rookie year.
"Cornell taught me how to run my routes," Drew said.
Said he was to run a down and out against Green. Pretty simple, he thought, just execute his steps, turn and catch the ball.
Ah, but there was the Pro Bowl defensive back Green, reaching out to knock down the ball. Told Drew, "I knew what route you were going to run when you lined up. Knew from your steps," all causing Drew to realize he isn't in college anymore and running routes in the NFL must be more precise.
And then there was Lilly, the Cowboys very first draft choice, that back in 1961, the 13th pick in the first round for the second year Cowboys, ready to turn 87 in July. Sure, he remembered Cornell, reminding me Cornell arrived one year after he did, and the two played together all of Green's 13 seasons, both retiring following the 1974 season, the only season the Cowboys failed to make the playoffs in their final nine seasons together with the Cowboys.
Lilly talked about Green being a "great athlete, had a great sense of humor," remembering how high Cornell could jump and that if he had great hands would have led the team in interceptions. And when asked if he thought Green was Ring of Honor worthy, Bob didn't hesitate.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Lilly said of the now 86-year-old Green, having recently moved from the Dallas area out to California following his wife's passing to live under the watchful eye of family. "He had a long career, a great career."
As for me, didn't intimately watch Cornell play with the Cowboys during his career. Oh, saw Cowboys games growing up, but didn't have other team consciousness during the '60s and early '70s. But after arriving in Dallas in 1984, can always remember asking the writers and broadcasters covering the Cowboys back then, some since their 1960 inception, and even asking some of those former players, who should be the next Ring of Honor inductee after a number of most obvious were inducted, you know like Lilly, Staubach, Howley, Jordan, Renfro, Perkins, Meredith and Wright, along with Tom Landry and Tex Schramm.
To a man, they would exclaim: "Oh, Cornell Green."
So, there you go "Woots," your man Cornell Green, top of mind.
And so maybe, just maybe this all wasn't just a bunch of coincidental happenings this Spring of 2026.
Nope, maybe it was just meant to be.
