Brandt Latest to Be Fired in Purge of Cowboys

Scout Gil Brandt of the Dallas Cowboys, the last member of the original group that built the Cowboys from scratch, was dismissed by new owner Jerry Jones on Tuesday.

“(Jones) told me finances was the reason, that he’s losing $29,000 a day,” Brandt said. “He’ll probably fire four or five scouts, including Bob Griffin.

“I told him I know I did as good a job as possible. I feel good about the 29 years I had with the Cowboys. But it’s a bad way for it to end. He didn’t even shake my hand.”

Brandt was a photographer who dabbled in evaluating professional football talent when he was hired by Tex Schramm, the club president, as the Cowboys’ chief talent scout.

Brandt’s brainstorms included drafting track and basketball stars and using computers in scouting.

Schramm, Brandt, owner Clint Murchison, and Coach Tom Landry built the team starting in 1960. Murchison died several years ago after selling the team to Bum Bright.

Jones, who bought the team from Bright on Feb. 25 for $140 million, fired Landry, and Schramm resigned to become president of the International Football League.

“I just felt like the way we wanted to go in the scouting department was without Gil,” Jones said. “This could look pretty calculated and insensitive, but I just felt the changes needed to be made. This wasn’t done as a fleeting thought.”