Irvin saw this after he lost his first game in the league with the Cowboys and couldn’t believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember that first game, we lost that game. I was literally crying, because I wasn\u2019t losing much and I couldn\u2019t take it,” Irvin said. “And I got guys, I\u2019ll never forget it, telling me, \u2018Come on, rook. This ain\u2019t what we do in the NFL. We\u2019re just gonna pick that check up on Tuesday.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt crushed me. I\u2019d been working my a** off to get here to play with these dudes, and I got dudes saying this to me,” Irvin added.<\/p>\n
With a mindset like that, it’s clear the Cowboys had some players who were just going through the motions, which is certainly not going to help a team turn things around.<\/p>\n
With a desire to change the culture in the locker room, Irvin said he “was a snitch” in Year 2 and called players out for the aforementioned mentality.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Jimmy Johnson came in (the next year)\u2026 and I was a snitch. I told everybody that touched me, your a** got to go, because we\u2019re not going to get there with that thought,” Irvin said.<\/p>\n
The culture change Cowboys needed![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01kzh3x3g8sg2k6w7vwr.jpg\" "\\"Former")
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Former Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson and Emmitt Smith. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Based on Irvin’s story, the Cowboys desperately needed a culture change. It just seemed like losing didn’t matter anymore for a team that had posted two losing seasons in a row before Irvin got there, and three losing seasons in a row after he arrived.<\/p>\n
However, things shifted drastically upon Jimmy Johnson’s arrival<\/a> in 1989. Dallas showed improvement in a 7-9 season in Johnson’s first year and he was voted as the Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n From there, the Cowboys were off and running en route to winning seasons and postseason appearances in the next eight of nine campaigns, and they of course won three Super Bowls in that span, also.<\/p>\n Even with all of that success, Irvin has said he still has regrets about not winning more rings<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I knew about was winning championships,” he said to Cormier. “I won three Super Bowls, and crying I’m about I should have won five. I live in hell thinking about I should have won two more.\u201d<\/p>\n Irvin’s recount of the early days in Dallas just go to show that he did more than just put up great numbers for the Cowboys. He was also instrumental in turning around the culture in Dallas.<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for more free coverage from\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on SI<\/a>\u00a0\u2014<\/p>\n
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