Andy Reid once tried to lure Troy Aikman to Eagles in the middle of broadcast in 2002
After being released by the Dallas Cowboys in 2001, Troy Aikman announced his retirement from professional football. He quickly transitioned into a broadcasting career, becoming Fox's lead analyst alongside Joe Buck and calling six Super Bowls with him.
During his broadcasting tenure, Aikman received a surprising phone call from Andy Reid, who was then the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, one of the Cowboys' divisional rivals. This occurred in 2002 when Donovan McNabb, the Eagles' quarterback, broke his ankle during a game against the Arizona Cardinals. Aikman shared the story on KESN-FM 103.3 in 2014, recounting how he received a call from Reid during halftime of a 49ers-Chargers game in San Diego:
"We were in San Diego doing the game. We did a game break and said that Donovan McNabb had been injured. He had broken his leg. Then we got to halftime and my producer got into my ear and said, ‘Hey, I need you to call this number.’ He’s never done that. He’s never done it before and he’s never done it since. I said, ‘Well who is it?’ ‘Well, it’s Andy Reid.’ ‘Oh man’. ‘He says he wants you to call him at halftime.’ ‘Well we’re doing a game.’ ‘No, he wants you to call him.’"
Aikman, who was calling a 49ers-Chargers game in San Diego at the time, recalled the conversation with Reid:
"He said, ‘Hey, did you hear what happened.’ I said, ‘Yeah, we did a game break.' ‘Well I want to talk to you about coming to Philadelphia.’ ‘Andy, we’re in the middle of a broadcast. It’s halftime right now.’ ‘I know, I’m watching the game.’ ‘OK, I call you after the game.’"
"I had a home in Santa Barbara at the time and I called two people on the way up... I called my producer and talked to him about my future in television, and I called Norv Turner, and I said I just want to get your thoughts. I called Andy back and I said, ‘Andy, look. I have to sleep on this. I call you in the morning.’"
He eventually decided to stay retired:
"...And I woke up and I’m thinking, ‘I can either enjoy the next couple of days in Santa Barbara, California, it’s about 65, 70 degrees, or I’m going to be on a plane flying to Philadelphia and probably going to be playing on Monday night against the 49ers. I called Andy and I said, ‘Hey, I’m honored that you’ve called me, but I’m going to stay put.’"
McNabb eventually returned in time for the playoffs, and the Eagles reached the NFC Championship Game, only to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Aikman called that game with Buck and Cris Collinsworth.
The Miami Dolphins also reached out to Troy Aikman
Interestingly, the Philadelphia Eagles were not the only team that attempted to entice Aikman out of retirement. Aikmanrrevealed to Thom Brenneman in an episode of the NFL Network series A Football Life that he almost reached a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins' then-head coach Dave Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Norv Turner expressed interest in signing Aikman. However, the deal never materialized because the Dolphins grew concerned about potential injury risks.
"I almost... I was" going to come out of retirement my third year out. I got a call from (then-head coach Dave) Wannstedt... He says, 'I'd like to get with you... So I visited with (then-offensive coordinator Norv Turner)... He says, 'Do you think you could come back and play?' I called (Wannstedt) up and said, 'You know what? I think I want to do it'. Says okay.'Well, I'm going to start training as if I'm coming back. So I did.'"
But why did the Dolphins never sign him? He explained in 2020 to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times:
"I called Norv and asked what was going on. He said, ‘I think they’re a little nervous about signing you. They’re worried they’re going to sign you, and you’re going to get a concussion, this and that.'”