The Cowboys have 21 members in their Ring of Honor, but Jerry Jones has elected not to add a name to the facade at AT&T Stadium since Darren Woodson in 2015. The former safety stands as the lone inductee over the past six years.
The team has several candidates to be next to enter the Ring of Honor, including Jones himself.
Jason Witten’s retirement this offseason allows for the possibility that the former tight end will go in with his best buddy, Tony Romo, who retired after the 2016 season. Jones also has talked openly about inducting DeMarcus Ware, though that now seems at least a bit awkward after Ware took a job as a pass-rush consultant for the Broncos.
Instead, Jimmy Johnson, Gil Brandt and Jay Novacek are under consideration for the next halftime Ring of Honor ceremony in Arlington, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Johnson and Brandt’s Hall of Fame candidacies would not be hurt by their addition to the team’s Ring of Honor. Brandt annually is a contributors’ candidate for the Hall, and Johnson has made the list of modern-era Hall finalists.
Jones’ sometimes icy relationship with Johnson has thawed to the point that the Cowboys owner has no problem acknowledging his former head coach’s contributions to the 1990s Cowboys.
Jones and Johnson, who parted ways in 1994 after back-to-back Super Bowl titles, both insisted during the 1992 team’s 25th reunion in 2017 that they have a good relationship. Johnson congratulated Jones on his Hall of Fame selection, and Jones credited Johnson for his part in the Cowboys’ dynasty.
Jones again praised Johnson at his Hall of Fame induction, where Johnson served as Jason Taylor’s presenter.
Novacek became a favorite target of Troy Aikman after signing as a Plan B free agent in 1990. In his six seasons with the Cowboys, Novacek caught 339 passes for 3,576 yards and 22 touchdowns.