There are 35 quarterbacks enshrined in Canton. None of them are named Tony Romo.
Romo retired after the 2017 season and became eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
There have been two classes inducted since then. Romo hasn’t even made it as a semi-finalist in his first two years.
Jerry Jones stated Romo should be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Yeah, I had to pause writing this to let the laughing fit pass too.
Cowboys Twitter, or should we call them the Blue Star Twitteratti (?), has recently tried to revive the case for Romo being inducted.
Usually I’d let it pass without comment. But we’re still a few weeks from camp opening, not much is going on in free agency, so why not.
The main piece of evidence provided is that Romo’s career quarterback ranking is 97.1, slightly better than Peyton Manning’s 96.5.
This, they say, is why Romo is as deserving of induction as Manning. What they don’t include is that this is the only stat Romo is better than Manning in.
That, and the little matter of how many rings Manning wears on his fingers. He has two. Last I checked, Romo has none.
Romo Was a Great Quarterback
Don’t get me wrong. I loved the guy. I thought he was the Chosen One that would bring balance to the Cowboys Nation’s Force.
He was Cowboys Moses, leading us out of the Sinai and into the Promised Land of Super Bowl milk and honey.
He was Cowboys Jesus, and he was going to…
Okay, I got a little carried away there. Romo looked to be the quarterback we’d waited for to be the worthy successor to Troy Aikman.
His regular season numbers were fantastic. In 127 career starts he went 78-49 with 34,183 passing yards.
Despite being a gunslinger ala Brett Favre, Romo had 248 touchdowns against 117 interceptions. He added 620 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
His highlight reel of comeback wins and amazing plays is extensive. Of the 44 Cowboys that started at least one game at quarterback for Dallas, Romo is in the top six.
His career numbers certainly compare to and, in some cases, surpasses many of the quarterbacks in the Hall. As far as the regular season is concerned.
The Anchor Around Romo’s Neck
But, like it or not, quarterbacks are ultimately judged by their postseason success. It is there where Romo’s Hall of Fame bid goes to die.
Of those 35 quarterbacks mentioned above, 26 of them have at least one Super Bowl, NFL or AFL Championship victory on their resumes.
Four of them — Y.A. Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly – have won conference championship games or at least started a Super Bowl or NFL Championship game.
Three of them played back in the 1920s-1940s, and have no championships to their name. But they played both ways and have been enshrined for more than their quarterback play.
Which leaves two players. Dan Fouts made it to back-to-back AFC Conference title games and threw for 43,000 yards.
Like Romo, Warren Moon never played in an NFL Conference Championship game. But he won five CFL titles and threw for a combined 70,000 yards. Double Romo’s totals.
In short, if I may paraphrase Tolkien, as far as Romo’s passage to the Hall is concerned: The way is shut. None without playoff success may enter. The way is shut.
For you non-Tolkien folk: Tony Romo has no place in the Hall of Fame. Trust me, it pains me to type those words.
If any Cowboys’ quarterback deserves to go in, its Don Meredith. Dandy Don took a beating his first few years in Dallas.
But he finished 47-32-4 as a starter in Dallas with over 17,000 yards. In a time when the passing game was not the main focus, that’s a respectable number.
More importantly, Meredith got the Cowboys to two NFL Championship games. And it took Lombardi’s invincible (see what I did there) Packers to deny him a title.
Is The Ring Of Honor Possible?
Meredith at least sits on the Ring of Honor. But should Romo join him there?
Given Jerry Jones is a Romo fanboi, don’t be surprised to see it happen. And don’t be surprised to see Romo go up before Jimmy Johnson.
But should Romo go up before two other Cowboys’ quarterbacks with slightly better resumes? Craig Morton was 32-14-1 as a starter with over 10,000 yards passing.
Morton won an NFC Championship game and started a Super Bowl. Yet his name is not on the Ring.
Danny White was 62-30 as starter over eight years at the position after Staubach retired. He went 10-8 in the playoffs and lost three straight NFC Championship games.
But at least he got the team past the divisional round and has a ring as a punter and backup quarterback from 1978.
Romo went 2-4 in the playoffs and never won a divisional round game. Does he really deserve the Ring before Morton and White?
He’ll probably get it, but I’d probably say no to the Ring too.
Which Track Is Dak On?
Which brings us to Dak Prescott. Like Romo he has an impressive regular season resume.
In seven seasons he is 61-36 as a starter with just under 25,000 yards passing. His 166 touchdowns against just 66 interceptions is noteworthy.
But, like Romo, his 2-4 postseason record, with no divisional round wins, has him as chained up as Jacob Marley’s ghost. Unlike Romo, though, he still has a chance to do something about it.
Continued postseason failure and Prescott will join Romo, Meredith, White and Morton in the “almost, but not quite, good enough” club.
But getting to the NFC Conference game? Or the Super Bowl? Or even winning the Super Bowl?
Then, and only then, will the doors to Canton – closed firmly shut for Romo — swing wide open for Prescott.