Troy Aikman an NFL GM? Why ex-Cowboys QB thinks that time ‘has passed’

Troy Aikman, NFL front office member, may still be in the future of the Hall of Fame quarterback, but according to the former Dallas Cowboys great, the opportunity to hold the title of general manager may have passed him by.

During an appearance with the “Norm and D Invasion” on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 AM The Ticket [KTCK-AM], while saying goodbye to the retiring Norm Hitzges, Aikman was asked about his own post-media career.

“I probably give it more thought than I should,” Aikman said Monday morning. “I always have been [mindful] of our time being limited. … So, I posed the question to myself a lot that, you know, if you’ve got ‘X’ number of years left, what exactly do you want to do with that time?

“And I go a step further — does that include broadcasting, does that include living in Texas? … But yet, I am still broadcasting and I’m still living in Dallas, and I very much love the state of Texas and I love living in Dallas, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll do it. I’ve got a pretty good idea. And not to suggest that that I’m retiring anytime in the near future, but I’ve got an idea as to when I believe that I’ll retire.”

Aikman and longtime broadcast partner Joe Buck made the transition from Fox to ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth last season.

Aikman had been with Fox since 2001, but even as his broadcast career progressed, thoughts of him transitioning into an NFL front office or even becoming a general manager lingered. He once called it a potential “frontier” he could traverse after he stopped calling games.

“There’s still a part of me, I think, that down the road — the talk has always come up about whether or not I want to be a general manager. And I think that has passed. But there may come a time that I’d be interested in just helping out with a club, with an organization, and not necessarily in an official capacity. I think that would be enjoyable. …

“I feel like I’ve given back a lot to the community, but I feel like I can give back to our youth and maybe help out in some way. And when I say youth, that may very well entail professional athletes, as well. By that time, they’ll be considerably younger than I am. So I’ll be calling them youngsters then, as well.”

Now at 56 years old, Aikman will for now continue to enjoy his offseason, spending time with his family and promoting his beer until the NFL season kicks off in the fall.

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