Tony Romo spoke with Babe Laufenberg on Sunday evening. He discussed a multitude of items including T.O. and Jessica Simpson. The meat of the interview though, focused on leadership. Romo is now getting grilled for a few of his answers.
Romo said:
"You wanna know why Michael Jordan was a great leader? He won six NBA championships. Then, all of a sudden, when he gets in people's faces, he's a great leader...A great leader is someone who wins, and you figure out how to win. Some people, it's getting in people's faces. Some people, it's being positive. Other people, it's walking the line and doing it the right way."People want Romo to be fiery. They want to see him yelling at his teammates on the sideline. Fans want him to grab T.O. by the facemask when he runs the wrong route. In other words, they want him to be the stereotypical, Brian Dawkins I’m-all-up-in-your-grill type of leader.
Would I like to see Romo become that fiery on-field general? Sure. Unfortuantely, that's just not how the world works. People lead in different ways and there are many ways for one to achieve successful leadership.
Many people seem to think that a fiery-player = good-leader.
Let me ask you this: would you rather have Jake Delhomme as your quarterback?
If you want fiery, he is your man. Delhomme is known for his on-field tantrums, his willingness to call guys out in the middle of the game and for wearing his heart on his sleeve. He must be what a team needs if they want to win big games.
How did that work out during the playoffs this year? Let's see - he was really fiery, but more in the sense of going-down-in-flames. He threw five interceptions in Carolina's first playoff game this year, resulting in a 33-13 loss. Was he not "fiery" enough? Did he not hold others accountable? Or did he simply play poorly?
Was Romo a poor leader when he led the team to a 13-3 record in 2007?
Was he a poor leader when played through an injured back to beat the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in December of this year?
Was Romo not "fiery" enough to motivate the Cowboys' defense as they allowed Baltimore to rush for 180+ yards within the last five minutes of the Ravens' game?
Leadership comes from on-the-field results. It doesn't come from a guy getting in someone's face after a dropped pass. It doesn't come from throwing your helmet when you walk to the sideline.
It comes from winning, plain and simple. Romo has not won in the playoffs, and hence, is not considered a good leader. He has been labeled as a guy that "can't win the big game."
Do you know who else supposedly "could not win the big game?” Steve Young, Roger Staubach, John Elway and Peyton Manning. They were all considered good players that couldn't win the games that counted most - until they did. Suddenly, they transformed into some of the game’s greatest leaders.
Romo will be considered a leader when, and only when, he wins in the playoffs. He will suddenly go from a good quarterback to a great leader. When Romo says that leadership "comes from winning," he is absolutely right. In 2009, if Romo becomes a boisterous player seen yelling at guys on the sideline…but the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs, no one will then consider Tony a great leader.
You don't hear about Jake Delhomme's leadership abilities when he is throwing 5 interceptions in a playoff game, you hear about it when the Panthers win. You didn't hear about Peyton Manning's fiery leadership abilities when he was losing his first three playoff games - you heard about his propensity to lose his composure while cracking under pressure. Zach Thomas was a great leader in Miami – when they were good. In Dallas, when the team missed the playoffs, suddenly Thomas’ leadership qualities were a no-show. Did he forget how to lead?
Even as recently as last year, Eli Manning was thought to be incapable to leading a team. In midseason, most New York media questioned why the Giants drafted Eli over Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers. Inexplicably, the Giants won the Super Bowl and Eli was then considered a great leader. So what did he do? He must have yelled at his offensive linemen while on the sideline, right? Surely he grabbed Plaxico by the facemask and laid down the law.
Nope: his persona remained the same. His "dumb-face" and droop-shoulders still made consistent appearances throughout the playoffs. What did he change? His on-field performance. He made smart decisions. He didn't turn the ball over. He won.
When Romo and the Cowboys win in the playoffs, there will be no more talk of Romo's inability to lead. His "impartial" attitude will transition to "cool under pressure." His on-field presence will transform from a guy that “doesn’t care” to a quarterback who simply "leads by example.”
Even Al “a few fries short of a happy meal” Davis knows how Romo can become a good leader:
“Just win, baby!”
