CNN –
Pro Football Hall of Famer Gil Brandt, widely considered the architect who helped make the Dallas Cowboys one of the most successful and popular sports franchises of all time, died Thursday, according to the Cowboys. Brandt was 91.
“Gil was instrumental in the early success of the Dallas Cowboys and continued to serve as a great ambassador for the organization for decades,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
After an NFL executive career spanning six decades – 29 years with the Cowboys – Brandt was inducted into the Hall in 2019.
As the Cowboys’ vice president of player personnel, Brandt was praised for his keen ability to identify player talent – he selected nine Cowboys players who, like Brandt, were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His first draft selection in 1960 was standout defensive tackle Bob Lilly. His last major draft impact came in 1989, when the Cowboys selected a quarterback named Troy Aikman, according to the Hall of Fame.
In 1964, Brandt seemed to see the future when he selected a U.S. Naval Academy student in the 10th round of that year’s draft. Although Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy in college, he was required to complete his four years of service before joining the team in 1969.
“Staubach came to us as a 27-year-old rookie,” Brandt told NFL.com in 2016. “Even while he was in the military, he wrote to me asking for soccer balls for practice – once, he asked me to send more after the shipment we were sending was blown up by a mortar shell.”
The patience of Brandt and the Cowboys in Staubach paid off. The two-time Super Bowl champion had an 85-29 record as a starter and was inducted into the Hall in 1985.
With Brandt behind the scenes, Dallas appeared in five championship games and won Super Bowls VI and XII. The team dominated between 1966 and 1985, posting 20 straight season wins and earning the nickname “America’s Team.”
According to the Hall of Fame, Brandt is considered “the first person to use computers for scouting and talent evaluation and the first person to use psychological testing to assess the mental state of prospective players under pressure.”
Successful evaluations of this type were copied and developed into what is now known as the NFL Scouting Combine. Brandt is also credited with helping turn the annual player draft into a three-day, made-for-television event.
“His innovative approach to scouting and player evaluation has helped the organization find players overlooked by others. The result was that we discovered future Cowboys from smaller colleges or even college basketball or track teams,” said Jim Porter, president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“He is credited with pioneering the use of computers in the front offices of professional football teams, but the real computer was the one in his own head, where he stored an incredible amount of information that he was happy to share with anyone who liked the game .” like he did.”
After his long stint with the Cowboys, Brandt used his expertise as an analyst for NFL.com and on national radio shows, according to the Hall of Famer.
Jones culminated his commitment to Brandt by saying, “There are very few people who have been able to make as big a generational impact as he has.” Gil has been as committed to the growth of this league and this one as anyone Sports, and we are all grateful and better for it.”