Rebuilding Done, Cowboys, Johnson Turn to Winning : Raiders: In less than four seasons, Dallas has put Landry in its past and a Super Bowl in its future.

They were Dallas’ team. They were America’s team.

But, most of all, they were Tom Landry’s team.

And when the only coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, today’s Raider opponent at the Coliseum, was shockingly cut loose by new owner Jerry Jones in 1989 after three decades, two Super Bowl titles and a prosperous period of playoff appearances, Dallas fans reacted with anger and gloom.

Landry was an institution. Jones couldn’t have been any less popular in Dallas had he torn down Southfork to build a high-rise.

Many predicted things would never be the same for the Cowboys.

And, for a while, they were right.

Dallas was 1-15 in its first season under new Coach Jimmy Johnson, which certainly didn’t quiet the uproar over the sacking of Landry.

People seemed to forget that the Cowboys were 3-13 in Landry’s last season. They overlooked that it was a team in desperate need of rebuilding. The old regime left the uniforms, but not much to put in them.

The Cowboys used former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman and receiver Michael Irvin as the cornerstones of a rebuilding project. Irvin was the team’s top draft choice in 1988, Aikman in ’89.

Then came running back Emmitt Smith in 1990 and defensive lineman Russell Maryland in ’91.

This year, Dallas strengthened itself defensively with two trades, getting pass rusher Charles Haley from the San Francisco 49ers and safety Thomas Everett from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The new arrivals have made their presence felt.

Dallas went from 1-15 to 7-9 and was 11-5 last season. Last year’s record landed the Cowboys back in the playoffs for the first since since 1985. They got as far as the second round, then were eliminated by the Detroit Lions.

And last week, Dallas beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-10, moving into sole possession of first place in the NFC East with a 5-1 record.

It was the first time the Cowboys had been there since 1985, when Landry was stoically pacing the sidelines.

“Things have just really fallen in place for us,” Aikman said. “We got some good draft picks who have made an impact for our football team. It’s been fun, but I don’t know if, four years ago, anybody would have expected it to turn around this soon.”

The expectations for this season got a huge boost in Dallas’ season opener. Playing at home against the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins, the Cowboys won, 23-10.

And suddenly, those two magic words, unspeakable only four years ago, were being uttered again with conviction: Super Bowl .

Even Johnson joined the chorus, saying after last week’s game, “I think we have a Super Bowl team.”

But earlier this week, he sounded more like a typical coach, fearful of overconfidence.

“I think our players understood we are still a long ways away because of the youth on our team,” Johnson said. “I’ve pretty well preached to everybody that, with this many young players and this much inexperience, they’re not going to be as consistent as what I like. . . . But we’re getting better.”

Offensively, the Cowboys are led by Smith, the NFC’s leading rusher with 581 yards and six touchdowns.

The passing game has not been quite so satisfactory. Aikman has completed 61.6% of his passes for 1,338 yards and eight touchdowns. But he has thrown nine interceptions.

Irvin has caught 33 passes, four for touchdowns. He leads the league with 674 yards receiving and leads the NFC with a 20.4-yard average per catch.

Dallas figures to need all the offense it can muster today when it faces the Raiders before a crowd expected to be about 85,000.

That’s because the Raiders have rebounded from an 0-4 start with a three-game winning streak, spearheaded by a defense that has again begun to identify with that pirate in their logo.

Plagued by breakdowns, hampered by an inability to turn the ball over and embarrassed at times by being overpowered, the Raider defense has regained its ferocity, its effectiveness and, thus, its confidence.

The team has not given up a touchdown in 10 quarters.

The defensive resurgence began with a 13-10 victory over the New York Giants. It blossomed with a 20-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills, who began that game leading the NFL in total offense.

And it was sustained last week with a 19-0 blanking of the inept, injury-riddled Seattle Seahawks.

Now come Smith, Aikman and Irvin.

They’re not the Cowboys of old. But, for the first time in a long time, nobody in Dallas is complaining.

Raider Notes

The Raiders put starting tackle Steve Wright (torn calf muscle) on the injured reserve list and signed offensive lineman Rich Stephens, a member of the team’s developmental squad.