Dale Hansen’s big, booming voice was a Dallas fixture during the decades he was on WFAA-TV (Channel 8), a straight shooter who could snag the attention of even a bored teenager like me. That voice shows up in the splashy new docuseries, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, a ’90s nostalgia trip premiering Aug. 19 on Netflix. Its slick eight episodes rehash old beefs, drugs-and-sex scandals and epic games, like the mud-spattered dog fight of Dallas vs. San Francisco for the 1992 NFC championship.
The whole gang is here: Jones and family, plus Emmitt, Troy and Michael, of course. George W. Bush spins some yarns, while we go deep on Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Deion Sanders and Charles Haley. Then we have the commentators: Skip Bayless, Al Michaels, former Dallas Morning News scribes Ed Werder and Rick Gosselin, who famously broke the news of Johnson’s firing, but it wouldn’t be a party without Dale Hansen.
Former Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin (left) and Emmitt Smith at the premiere of Netflix’s “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” in Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 11, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Raised in Iowa, Hansen built his storied career in North Texas, riding a wave of late-career fame for his pull-no-punches commentary on the NFL. Retired in 2021, he lives in Waxahachie with his wife, Chris, and so many pets he doesn’t know the number off-hand.
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“Four dogs, three cats, two Longhorn steers, four horses, two miniature donkeys and a parrot,” he tells me (16, for the record). “I would’ve been a rich man if I hadn’t gotten so obsessed with the animals. But I wouldn’t trade it.”
Now 77, he and Chris (the real animal lover) once had 24 pets, but lately they’ve been saying goodbye to them. His donkey Edward R. Burro is long gone, and so is Luka Donkey, who had to be returned. In retrospect, it might have been a sign. Huey P. Longhorn, named after Louisiana politician Huey Long, has also gone to the rainbow bridge.
But Hansen isn’t ready to say goodbye. He may have left the TV grind, but the sports legend still has his fastball.
Dale Hansen and Troy Aikman in 1992.
William Snyder / WILLIAM SNYDER — The Dallas Morning News
How do you describe Dallas to people who don’t live here?
Dallas doesn’t have an identity like New Orleans, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, except I think it’s one of the greatest cities in America. When I came to interview for a job in 1980, I called my wife-to-be, and I said, Do you want to die in Dallas? Because I’m going to, and I’d like you to come with me.
That’s very romantic.
It worked, anyway. I love Dallas! I love the airports, I love the golf courses. The heat has never bothered me, because that’s why God invented air-conditioning.
Tex Mex or BBQ, and where?
BBQ to me is like sex. There’s only three kinds: good, good-er and good-est.
My favorite place is Lockhart in Bishop Arts, but I mean what I said about sex. The worst sex I ever had was really good, and the worst BBQ I’ve ever had was, too.
Let’s talk about this Netflix docuseries. Have you seen it?
No, but they talked to me for like five and a half hours, which is typical for a production like that. I’m hoping I get 30 seconds.
You get a bit more than that. It’s a slick series, but seven out of eight episodes are about the ’90s.
Really? As I understand it, this was a Jerry Jones-approved documentary. So on one hand, that doesn’t surprise me. But if that’s the extent of that documentary, I’d be frustrated and disappointed. That is a blip of what Jerry Jones has done to this franchise.
Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones poses with the Super Bowl trophy with former head coach Jimmy Johnson in Netflix’s trailer for “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”
Courtesy: Netflix
I did learn things, although I’m no Cowboys expert. I didn’t realize how much Jimmy Johnson built the team.
A lot of people didn’t for the longest time.
The Herschel Walker trade was brilliant.
That was a Jimmy Johnson idea, and props to Jerry for writing the check. It seemed horrific at first. Reporters at WFAA were screaming at the television monitors about the stupidity of trading Herschel Walker. Then Jimmy took me aside and said, Let me explain how this is going to work. We could get Minnesota to basically give us the entire franchise going forward, which they almost did. They got, like, seven players in the draft, not very good ones, but Jimmy told me, I’m gonna get rid of the players, because I’ve got draft picks as compensation if the players don’t stay on my roster. That trade was all Jimmy. Jerry was trying to pay the light bill, keep his finances in order.
As a businessman, Jerry is an absolute genius, but it’s safe to say he’s been exposed as a football idiot. That doesn’t make him a bad person, but he insists upon using his expertise in an area where he has none. We’ve seen the results of that for about 30 years now.
The question of who’s responsible for the Herschel Walker trade becomes an extended debate in the series. Jimmy says it’s him, but Jerry says it’s both of them.
Shocking. I’m shocked. [Laughs.] No, that was Jimmy. But Jerry always paints it like, that was my idea, too. Oh hell no, it wasn’t. If every single assistant coach on that team lied to me, then I’m wrong about Jerry’s involvement. But I’m gonna take my chances.
Michael Irvin leaves the Dallas grand jury room during his trial in March 1996.
You’re also featured in an episode on the players’ hard-partying. Another thing I didn’t realize is how Jimmy kept a tight leash on the players, and then Switzer takes over — and the leash comes off.
As [Cowboys running backs coach] Joe Brodsky said to me, it’s not a coincidence that Michael Irvin gets busted for drugs once Jimmy’s gone and Barry’s the coach. Michael’s been partying forever. But Jimmy kept a boot on his throat and managed to get him under control. Once Barry showed up, it was like, Ahhh, you’re all men. Do what you want. And next thing you know, Michael’s being paraded through the courthouse in a fur coat.
I hold Jerry responsible for that. He’s the one who hired Switzer and Chan Gailey and Dave Campo and Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett. It’s ridiculous what he’s done to this franchise.
The series is basically about a toxic bromance between Jimmy and Jerry, but I was disappointed how little I learned about Jerry. I think he’s one of the great American stories. We do get some childhood tales, but it’s just family lore.
I doubt there’s a long list of documentaries that maintain their journalistic integrity. It’s a different beast. But I totally agree. Jerry Jones is one of the most iconic figures in American sports. He changed the landscape of the NFL.
We were sitting in Wichita Falls, and the Washington football team had been sold for, like, a billion dollars or some nonsense. I looked at Jerry and said, Would you sell the franchise if I gave you $2 billion? He said, I wouldn’t sell them for $4 billion. Well, then you’re an idiot, because you paid $160 million, and we all know a billion dollars is the ceiling. We were never going higher than that, right? Now they’re worth, what, $11 billion?
Jerry could’ve walked away with more money than his grandchildren could ever spend, because he is a financial visionary. He’s an American story absolutely worth telling.
Dale Hansen (right) laughs with broadcaster Brad Sham at a celebration in Sham’s honor. Sept. 16, 2018.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
We miss you in Dallas media. Will you ever come back?
I am back in a sense. I’m doing a podcast once a month called Dallas Dialogue with Dale, sponsored by an insurance company. I’m writing commentaries again. In fact, I’m sitting at my computer right now. When I retired, I was done. Then I realized I miss the platform. In the first two days, I wrote five commentaries.
Oh my God, this is such great news.
After I retired, people said to me, do you miss it? And for the longest time, I tried to downplay it. My wife and I went to the Grand Canyon. What could be better than that? Then I realized, if I didn’t miss it in my heart, in my soul, then it wasn’t as good as I thought it was. You have to miss it.
This podcast is trying to feed that part of my desire — but I’m a big man. I need a little more to eat.
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