The ‘final nail’ that ‘severed’ Troy Aikman’s relationship with Cowboys coach Barry Switzer

Troy Aikman can pinpoint the exact moment his already-strained relationship with Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer passed the point of no return during their second campaign together in 1995.

When reflecting on his rocky rapport with Switzer in the newly released Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” which examined the Cowboys’ rise and their controversies in the 1990s, the Hall of Fame quarterback recalled a meeting with Switzer following a Week 14 loss to Washington, when Aikman allegedly chewed out wide receiver Kevin Williams over dropped passes, culminating in an accusation from Jimmy Johnson’s successor that put the “final nail” in their relationship.

“He said, ‘There are some players that are saying that you only yell at Black players,’ is what he … is what he said… and I said, ‘That’s bulls–t. If a player’s not doing what he’s supposed to do, I didn’t give two s–ts as to what color he was.’ I mean, I was upset,” Aikman said in episode six of the series, which dropped Tuesday on the streaming platform.

Switzer, who replaced Johnson as coach of the Cowboys in a league-wide shocker a season prior, said he was “really bothered” by what Aikman allegedly relayed to Williams, who is Black.

“I said, ‘You know, what was said really bothered me, and I think you really need to apologize. I think it’s important that you do that,'” Switzer said.

Aikman, long frustrated with Switzer’s relaxed coaching style, remarked that the Switzer he knew at Oklahoma — where he played from 1984-85 before transferring to UCLA — was not the same man who arrived in Dallas in 1994.