There was a time when Tony Romo‘s football future looked nothing like the one the Dallas Cowboys fans remember. Before he became an undrafted free agent and a four-time Pro Bowler, Romo’s college coaches had serious doubts about whether he even belonged behind center.
In fact, they were ready to move him to an entirely different position. But the story says that Romo responded by asking the coach for six months to prove them wrong and the rest is history.
Tony Romo says college coaches wanted to move him to tight end
In an interview with renowned sports interviewer Graham Bensinger, the Cowboys’ former star QB shed light on what would have been his career if he did not play at the quarterback position. “I didn’t do very well in training camp”, Romo started explaining the situation, which could have pushed him to become a tight end instead of a quarterback. “I struggled throughout the season. I wasn’t playing; I was just a backup.”
“But it was like, nah, this isn’t going well. And that’s when, right after that season, Coach Spoo called me and asked me if I wanted to move to tight end. And so I said, I tell you what, Coach, if you still feel the same way after spring football, then we can have the discussion again. But let me go work at this and attack this, and hopefully I can change your mind here in the next 6 months to 8 months. He says, okay, I can allow that,” he added.
If we look at Romo’s NFL career at Eastern Illinois, no one would believe that his capability at the QB position was doubted at the collegiate level. And what happened after 6 months?
As the 46-year-old former NFL QB recalled, in spring football, he made his coach change the tight end-related opinion. “I wasn’t very good, and I needed to improve. And what happened, to wrap up the story, was basically 6 months later, when I went through the spring game, I went like 19 for 22, you know, for like 3 touchdowns,” Romo wrapped up talking about the career-changing phase.
During his college days, the star QB became one of the most decorated in program history, but it almost took a very different path. From 1999 to 2002, he guided the Panthers to a 25-10 overall record and a remarkable 17-2 mark in conference play as a starter, helping the team earn national rankings in each of his final three seasons.
He also rewrote the school’s record book with 34 touchdown passes in 2002 and 85 for his career, marks that stood for more than a decade. His impact on the program was later recognized when he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, making him the first player in Eastern Illinois history to receive the honor.
And then he joined the greatest team in the NFL: the Dallas Cowboys. In the big league, he also played 12 seasons for Jerry Jones. Though he couldn’t win a Super Bowl, Romo passed for 34,183 yards while scoring 248 touchdowns against just 117 interceptions through the 12 years, before getting taken over by Dak Prescott.
So, the next time you watch a quarterback effortlessly sling it downfield, just remember that even the greats have had to fight like hell to stay under center.