By his estimation, Jim Hess spent more than 200 days a year on the road during his eight years as a college scout for the Cowboys. Hess never minded the travel. It was simply part of the job.
Besides, he says with a chuckle, maybe being away from home so much as a coach and scout is the reason he'll celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary next year.
Hess, who retired after the 2004 season, is partly responsible for several key players on the Cowboys' roster. Terence Newman and Roy Williams were first-round picks.
"A blind man could have found them," he said laughing.
Hess, 69, is also credited with scouting Bradie James, Marcus Spears and Keith Davis. But it's Tony Romo's success that will determine Hess' place, if any, in the Cowboys' annals.
Bill Parcells can take all of the credit for his four-year plan to develop Romo, who will make his second NFL start today against Washington, but the head coach is not the primary reason Romo is on the roster.
Hess deserves the credit.
Sure, Romo had a lot of support from Sean Payton, the Cowboys' former quarterbacks coach, but there was some thought that Payton had been blinded by school loyalty because he also attended Eastern Illinois.
Hess made sure Romo was as legitimate as any 6-2 quarterback with average arm strength from a Division I-AA school can be. Now, Romo has the weight of an organization on his shoulders after completing 24 of 36 passes for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception last week against Carolina in his first NFL start.
Is Romo the next Aikman – Jerry Jones would settle for the next Danny White – or will he join the list of failed Cowboys quarterbacks like Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson and Drew Henson? We'll get the answer in the next nine weeks as Romo tries to take the Cowboys to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Hess wants no credit for finding Romo. Any credit, he says, belongs to Payton for finding Romo. Or Larry Lacewell for coordinating the draft. Or Jerry and Bill for listening to Hess'opinion.
Hess became an expert on Romo because he was responsible for cross-checking the quarterbacks for the 2003 draft, meaning he studied the top 20 to 25 college quarterbacks.
"Even on video, you could see he had that spark ... something that made you think in the right situation he could be a player," Hess said.
At the NFL Scouting Combine prior to the draft, Hess met Romo. Although he hadn't been invited to the combine, Romo served as one of three extra throwers, meaning he threw balls to the running backs, receivers, linebackers and defensive backs during their drills. Hess saw Romo throw about 1,000 passes that week.
That required humility for the I-AA Player of the Year, something Hess noted because it spoke to Romo's character.
"It was a long day and one or two of the kids finally went home, but Romo stayed through the whole thing," Hess said. "I talked to him quite a bit and got to know him. He was really a good kid, and I came back to Dallas pretty high on him."
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ANDREW P. SCOTT / DMN Tony Romo has a quarterback rating of 84.9. |
The Cowboys rated Romo as the 11th-best quarterback and put a high fifth-round grade on him. On draft day, Hess called Romo at the start of every round starting in the fifth round. Maybe this is the round we'll get you, he told Romo.
"Sean really wanted him, but we never picked him," Hess said. "If we had really known he was going to be this good, obviously, we would have drafted him.
"But he's getting a chance. Everyone doesn't get one. I hope it's the right situation for him, but it's a long way from making one start to being a savior."
Romo can save the season. He can save Parcells' legacy. He can even save Jerry money because Dallas needs to spend a first-round pick on a quarterback in April if Romo isn't the answer.
That's why an old football man sat in his San Angelo home last Sunday and cheered loudly for Romo.
"I was a Dallas Cowboys fan from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head that night," said Hess, who spends much of his time organizing his summer football clinic. "He's the mustard on the hamburger – the little something that makes it better – and I was sitting in West Texas cheering for him. Seeing him play was very exciting for me."
And it made all the long days and lonely nights worthwhile.
E-mail jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
