Landry Has Hand in Today’s Game : Two Former Cowboy Assistants Are Super Bowl Rivals

Raymond Berry looked puzzled one day in 1968 at the Dallas Cowboys’ training camp, and Coach Tom Landry asked him what was wrong.

“I think the field is too narrow,” said Berry, an assistant coach, who was showing the receivers how to run sideline routes.

Though the Cowboys had practiced six summers on the California Lutheran College field at Thousand Oaks, they brought out the tape measure at Berry’s behest. Sure enough, the field was several feet short of being 53 yards wide.

“That,” Landry said, “is the kind of cool perfectionist you have in Ray Berry. He’s so dedicated and pays attention to detail. It makes him what he is.”

Mike Ditka was the Cowboys’ special teams coach on Thanksgiving Day 1979, when Dallas had too many men on the field during a Houston Oiler punt. The Oilers got the ball again and scored the game-winning touchdown.

After spiking his clipboard, which splintered into several pieces, Ditka refused all interviews and roared off in his sports car.

“That was always the biggest drawback to Mike,” Landry said. “He had such a bad temper he was always out of control. I couldn’t recommend him as a head coach until he matured.”

In 1982, Landry gave the late George Halas the green light to hire his Cowboy assistant of nine years.

Landry’s boys, fiery Ditka and icy Berry, will match strategy today in the Super Bowl as the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots make their first appearance in the big game.

Landry has picked Ditka’s Bears to win, but wouldn’t be surprised if Berry’s Patriots find a way to do it.

Berry, Landry said, has always surprised the experts.

“Remember, Raymond perfected such great moves against the man-for-man defense as a player with the Baltimore Colts that he helped start the demise of single coverage,” Landry said. “A lot of teams started going to zone defenses against him.”

Landry said the Patriots are reflecting Berry’s confident attitude.

“Raymond is very low key and has the ability to give players’ confidence,” he said. “You notice he never gets upset during a game.

“He has the players believing in themselves. They’ve always had the talent. They will be very well-prepared against the Bears.”

While with the Cowboys, Ditka progressed to the point where he became one of Landry’s most valuable assistants.

“Mike always had a lot of enthusiasm and kept the players fired up all the time,” Landry said. “He believed greatly in the toughness of a player to get the job done. He didn’t worry too much about finessing anybody.”