DALLAS — A significant part of Rich Dalrymple’s job was to navigate Cowboys players, coaches — and yes, owner — through the public minefields they too often found themselves treading.
Dalrymple is now the one who needs to be careful where he steps.
The organization? There’s a lot in need of repair.
The man who adroitly handled the transgressions, boorish behavior and unfortunate comments of others in the 32 years he presided over the club’s public relations department, the former college quarterback who called the plays when Jerry Jones or one of the team’s stars found themselves in an ugly predicament, now has his own crisis to manage.
A little more than two weeks into his retirement, Dalrymple surfaced as the central figure of a long-closeted $2.4 million settlement. An ESPN investigation outlined how the franchise paid that sum in May 2016 — five months after an episode that took place in the cheerleaders’ locker room at AT&T Stadium — after a resolution that bound all of the principals to a non-disclosure agreement.
The incident that led to the settlement has been independently verified by The Dallas Morning News.
Dalrymple has been one of the NFL’s most respected, effective and visible club executives since the Cowboys championship run in the ‘90s. If you want to argue that last point, counter with how many other team executives around the league have their own IMDb page that lists their TV and movie appearances.
Years of dealing with what took place in the Cowboys organization wasn’t much different from the antics and juvenile behavior depicted on HBO’s Entourage, which is one of Dalrymple’s credits.
The former Cowboys senior vice president for public relations and communications is a trusted adviser and friend to the Jones family. He’s a confidant. He worked tirelessly not just for the family and to protect the organization’s image, but for Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin and others who stepped in it from a public relations standpoint.
Jones has made no secret of his love of partying. Dalrymple was often left to deal with the fallout when details surfaced, as they did in 2014 when compromising photos of Jones and two women in the restroom of a Dallas restaurant hit social media five years after the incident occurred.
Dalrymple was in place when it was revealed that Irvin and others rented a house that could be seen from the practice fields of the team’s old Valley Ranch training complex. Known as the White House, Irvin acknowledged in later years it was envisioned as a responsible setting for irresponsible behavior.
He was there when Irvin was accused of stabbing teammate Everett McIver in the neck with a pair of barber’s scissors and one year into the receiver’s retirement when he was arrested on charges of cocaine possession, charges that were later dropped.
Dalrymple was the public relations executive when head coach Barry Switzer was arrested at the airport for having a loaded .38-caliber revolver in his luggage; when cornerback Dwayne Goodrich was involved in a hit-and-run accident that left two dead; when a drunken defensive tackle Josh Brent was at the wheel of a crash that killed teammate Jerry Brown hours before the team departed for a game in Cincinnati; and when the club signed defensive end Greg Hardy after domestic violence charges because it needed a pass rusher.
While far from comprehensive, this provides a snapshot into how Dalrymple’s job was about much more than providing information for the media guide and what took place on the field.
Dez Bryant spoke for several generations of players a few years ago. When frustrated by a social media post, the former Cowboys receiver yelled in a crowded locker room at the team’s old Valley Ranch practice facility, “Fix this [expletive], Rich.’’
Dalrymple fixed a lot in his tenure with the Cowboys. The calls came at all hours of the day and night. He forged lasting relationships with the players and coaches he advised and protected, the broadcasters who furthered the franchise brand — he was particularly close with John Madden and became emotional at his funeral — and the network executives who raved to Jones about how good Dalrymple was at his job.
There’s a fine line to walk in the Dallas organization between the head coach and an owner who isn’t shy about publicly questioning his employees' failed decisions or approach after a loss. Dalrymple had the trust of the men in both positions throughout his time with the Cowboys. There’s no way to tell how many potential conflicts were avoided due to his deft touch.
Those impressive professional accomplishments are currently overshadowed by recent revelations. What ESPN first reported, and The Dallas Morning News has corroborated, is this:
Dalrymple used his security key card to gain entry through the back door to the cheerleaders’ dressing area during the Cowboys Kickoff Luncheon on Sept. 2, 2015. Four women were changing clothes when one said she saw a person she recognized as Dalrymple with his iPhone extended toward them.
ESPN also reported that five months before the Kickoff Luncheon, a Cowboys fan in Shreveport, La., named Randy Horton, saw what he believed was Dalrymple using his cell phone to position under the dress of Charlotte Jones to take a photo. Horton, who later signed a three-page affidavit, said he witnessed the alleged incident during a livestream of the NFL draft on the team’s website.
Jim Wilkinson, a communications consultant for the franchise for close to two years, issued a statement designed to stress how zealously the club investigated these episodes more than six years ago. He said “no evidence of wrongdoing’' was found. Sources said Dalrymple told club officials he wasn’t aware the women were in the locker room and left quickly after learning they were.
Dalrymple has declined to comment. But in a statement issued through Wilkinson, he said the accusations were false.
“One was accidental and the other [Charlotte Jones] simply did not happen,’’ the statement read.
Dalrymple grew up in West View, Pa., a small town just north of Pittsburgh. After graduating from North Hills High School in ‘78, he went to Westminster College, where he still ranks on school’s top 20 all-time list for career passing yards.
A career in public relations began at Otterbein College in Ohio in the early ‘80s. Dalrymple spent two years there before joining the sports information department at the University of Miami. The Hurricanes football team won two national championships during that period.
Jimmy Johnson left Miami in ‘89 to become the head coach of the Cowboys. One year later, when Greg Aiello left the club’s public relations department to join the league office in New York, Jones asked Johnson if there was anyone he would recommend. Johnson immediately mentioned Dalrymple, but felt the Cowboys owner should know he was really young.
“We’re all young,’’ Jones responded. “We’re all new to the NFL.
“I want to meet him.’’
Dalrymple was 29 years old when he was hired by the Cowboys. He remained with the club since that day, working with Johnson and the seven head coaches who came after him.
On Feb.2, The News reported that Dalrymple was retiring. He said he first broached the topic with Jones early in the season. Attending Madden’s memorial service in January had an impact.
Friends and associates said Dalrymple told them his decision was made, in part, for the fact that he’s the oldest living male on his side of the family. He turns 62 later this year. When The News contacted chief operating officer Stephen Jones for a brief statement on the retirement earlier this month, he never responded.
It’s clear now why he didn’t.
The Cowboys knew in November that the investigation was under way, although the organization wasn’t aware of the focus. ESPN reported that Dalrymple’s retirement came several weeks after the organization began to interview people about the alleged incident and days after the network contacted attorneys involved in the settlement.
The statement issued by Dalrymple stated the allegations, “had nothing to do with my retirement from a long and fulfilling career, and I was only contacted about this story after I had retired.’’
It’s reasonable to view the retirement as a preemptive strike. If this investigation dropped before Dalrymple walked away, the Jones family would have been forced to fire a loyal employee and friend. If the Jones family didn’t fire Dalrymple, their inaction would have shifted focus onto their actions and motivation.
The most likely scenario is that Dalrymple would have resigned, an option that must have been discussed nearly six years ago if this episode ever came to light. Retiring when he did gives the Cowboys and Dalrymple plausible deniability.
It doesn’t remove the stain.
The settlement involving Dalrymple speaks to the more disturbing aspects of the Cowboys culture. The man who spent years helping others publicly manage their misdeeds finds himself mired in a mess on his way out.
The fixer is gone.
The minefield remains.
