Ermal Allen Ermal Glenn Allen ( December 25 , 1918 – February 9 , 1988 ) was an American football quarterback and assistant coach . He grew up in Tennessee and attended the University of Kentucky , where he played basketball , track , golf , and football . After four years in the U . S . Army during World War II , Allen was drafted in 1947 by the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He instead went to play for the Cleveland Browns of the competing All - America Football Conference , who won the league championship that year . Allen played in Cleveland for one season , returning to the University of Kentucky in 1948 to serve as an assistant football coach under Bear Bryant . He stayed at Kentucky after Blanton Collier took over as head coach in 1954 , working as the team ' s defensive coordinator . In 1962 , Tom Landry hired him as a backfield coach on the NFL ' s Dallas Cowboys . He became the head of the Cowboys ' research and development department in 1970 and was charged with scouting opponents . The Cowboys won Super Bowl VI in 1972 . Allen remained with the team until retiring in 1983 . He died of cancer in 1998 in a Dallas hospital . Early life and college . Allen grew up in Morristown , Tennessee and was a star athlete at Morristown High School . He attended the University of Kentucky , where he played football , basketball , track and golf . He was on the varsity football team between 1939 and 1941 , playing as a tailback under head coach A . D . Kirwan . The team finished with winning records in each of the seasons Allen played , but was not ranked in the AP Poll of the best college teams in the country . Allen was a triple threat man , handling passing , running and kicking duties for Kentucky . Allen was a member of a Kentucky golf team that lost only one match in 1940 and went undefeated in 1941 and 1942 . He played varsity basketball between 1940 and 1942 , earning a spot on the Southeastern Conference all - star team in his final year . Allen ' s college career was interrupted by service in the U . S . Army during World War II . He enlisted in 1942 and spent four years in the Army , rising to the rank of major . Allen returned to the University of Kentucky to finish his education and play a final year of football . A controversy developed , however , over his eligibility to play in 1946 because he had already played three varsity seasons before enlisting . Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Conner ruled him ineligible in September , shortly after he had been certified to play based on a rule that gave four years of varsity eligibility to men who served in the war . Several days later , he was again ruled eligible by the conference ' s executive committee . Kentucky head coach Bear Bryant said he was " deligted " with the decision . After quarterbacking Kentucky to victories over the University of Mississippi and University of Cincinnati , the conference reversed its decision and declared him ineligible . He spent the rest of the year coaching backs under Bryant . Professional football career . Allen was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League ( NFL ) in 1947 but instead joined the Cleveland Browns of the competing All - America Football Conference ( AAFC ) . He competed to be a backup for starting quarterback Otto Graham in the team ' s T formation offense . Allen struggled to learn Cleveland ' s formations , which differed significantly from the single - wing formation his Kentucky teams used . Allen had four interceptions in limited playing time for Cleveland as the team finished the season with the 12 – 1 – 1 record and beat the New York Yankees in the championship game . Coaching career . Allen returned to the University of Kentucky in 1948 and was named the football team ' s offensive coordinator under Bryant . Blanton Collier , who had been a backfield coach for the Browns , succeeded Bryant as Kentucky head coach in 1954 . Collier kept Allen on his staff but switched him to defensive coordinator . Allen remained an avid golfer as he continued his coaching career , winning the Kentucky Amateur Golf Championship in 1955 and 1958 . He came in second place in the tournament in 1956 and tied for first place in a tri - state championship . Allen left Kentucky in 1962 to become a backfield coach for the NFL ' s Dallas Cowboys under head coach Tom Landry . In 1970 , he became a special assistant to Landry and headed the Cowboys ' research and development department . In that role , he was responsible for scouting all of the Cowboys ' opponents . The Cowboys won Super Bowl VI in 1972 while Allen was with the team . Allen suffered a heart attack before the 1973 season , but remained with the team until 1983 . Death . Allen died of cancer in 1988 at the Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas . " He was a tremendous coach , as well as a real bright type of guy who had a statistical mind , " Landry said after his death . " He could keep up with anything . " Landry also praised his sense of humor . Eugene Meeks , who played college football with Allen , said he was one of Kentucky ' s best - ever athletes and a dominant golf player during his time at the university .