Three-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Pro Bowl selection, Darren Woodson is one of the greatest players to ever wear a Dallas Cowboys uniform. The vocal leader of the defense during the Cowboys 1990’s Super Bowl teams, Woodson was one of the most popular players both inside the clubhouse and as an ambassador in the community. Upon retirement, Woodson joined ESPN as an NFL analyst. He appears on NFL Live and SportsCenter, as well as other ESPN platforms throughout the year.
Woodson earned a reputation as one of the hardest hitters and most ferocious strong safeties in the NFL during his 13 seasons (1992-2004), all with the Dallas Cowboys. The quarterback of the team’s defense during its three championship runs in the 1990s (Super Bowl’s XXVII, XXVIII and XXX), Woodson registered career totals of 11 sacks, 23 interceptions and 1,350 tackles, the most in Cowboys franchise history at the time of his retirement in 2004.
A native of Phoenix, Woodson was a second-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft (37th overall) from Arizona State University, where he was a converted linebacker. He earned a bachelor of science from ASU in Justice Studies.
In addition to his analyst work for ESPN, Woodson is involved in several businesses, and he remains active in the Dallas community, most notably as a board member for the North Texas Chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
What are the cultural differences between mediocre teams and winning teams, whether they are in sports or business? In this speech, Darren Woodson (5 time Pro Bowl safety and 3 time NFL Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys) describes what leaders must embrace in order to build a culture of excellence with their teams. Learn how to embrace change, competition, and confrontation within your organization.
Cultures of excellence embrace:
“Darren really hit home the message of cultural differences between mediocre teams and winning teams. He truly left the room compelled to do more, give more, be more. Thank you, Darren, for an excellent keynote last night. The standing ovation was extremely deserved!”
“Darren was terrific. In fact, I just received a phone call from a senior executive telling me that Darren was one of the best speakers he had ever heard. He brought energy, empathy, humor and insight to all, even those without a love of the game (or the Cowboys!). He engaged in a friendly banter with our leader, agreed to throw footballs into the audience, recognized one of our employees for her work with Diversity & Inclusion, and stayed after making sure he got to every last person waiting for a photo, autograph and wanting to tell their story. He even did a video for someone who requested it!”
“For 13 years, Woodson was everything you could ask for — unselfish, reliable, dependable, a team player first and a team leader always. He’s a living, breathing example of the saying that character does matter.”
“Darren was dynamic and engaging. Our franchisees loved his message and energy. Many described him as the best speaker they have ever heard!”
“Darren was absolutely amazing. Not only is he a wonderful and super nice
person, he knows how to get a crowd fired up! His message is very clear and he puts ownership on the audience to get to work. We loved him!”