T

en years ago this week, Tony Romo was in Dak Prescott's position. He was the young quarterback Dallas Cowboys fans clamored to see on the field. He was the heir apparent, the dude who represented hope for a franchise desperate for a quarterback.

Romo was an unlikely star of America's Team.

He had no FBS scholarship offers out of high school in Burlington, Wisconsin. After winning the Walter Payton Award as the FCS' best player as a senior at Eastern Illinois, he received a late invite to the NFL combine, then went undrafted. He spent 3 1/2 seasons as the backup to a second-round bust, two former minor league baseball players and two has-been No. 1 picks.

Then Bill Parcells gave him an opportunity -- and Romo promptly threw an interception.

These days, Romo owns every notable passing record for a franchise with an illustrious quarterback history. He's 78-49 as starter -- though only 2-4 in the playoffs -- and has passed for more than 34,000 yards with 247 touchdowns against 117 interceptions. Only two quarterbacks in NFL history have a higher passer rating than his 97.1.

As Romo confronts the possible end of his tenure in Dallas, we're reflecting on his improbable NFL journey. From undrafted free agent in 2003 to his move up the depth chart to the moment Parcells turned the team over to him on Monday Night Football on Oct. 23, 2006 -- 10 years ago this week -- teammates and coaches who watched Romo's ascent up close discuss what they saw in the quarterback and what landed him the job.

The team

When Romo went to the NFL combine in 2003, he did more than other aspiring draft prospects. The league needed extra quarterbacks to throw to prospects who went through drills, so Romo stayed around longer than the rest of the group. The Cowboys were impressed with Romo's arm but not impressed enough to draft him. The Denver Broncos were among the teams trying to sign him as an undrafted free agent.

After Parcells was hired as the Cowboys' coach in 2003, he brought in Sean Payton -- like Romo an alumnus of Eastern Illinois -- as his quarterbacks coach.

Sean Payton, Cowboys assistant coach, 2003-05: "He was one of the guys at the combine that was there the whole week. Tony wasn't just throwing with the quarterbacks; he threw on Thursday, Friday and Saturday."

Tony Romo, Cowboys quarterback, 2003-present: "I did a very poor job at the combine. I wasn't a very good thrower of the football back then."

Larry Lacewell, Cowboys scouting director, 1992-2004: "I did not look at Tony in college until the day before the draft because he was a nobody."

David Lee, Cowboys assistant coach, 2003-06: "Sean and I both evaluated him, and we put him in the fifth round to draft. I remember my report said it was like he had eight sets of eyes in his head, and he never saw the rush. I hated his release point; it was clearly side-armed."

Stephen Jones, Cowboys vice president, 1989-present: "Bill [Parcells] liked him a lot. Of course, Sean loved him. If you really want to know who found Tony, it was Sean."

Bill Parcells, Cowboys head coach, 2003-06: "I had not been with my assistant coaches all that long to really determine who was a good evaluator and who wasn't."

Stephen Jones: "[Payton] was on the table to draft him. Sean kept going over to Jerry saying, 'We gotta draft this guy. He's a good player.'"

Sean Payton: "I'll tell you this, once the draft ended, there were a handful of teams all competing for his services, and, to his credit, I think Tony was wise about looking at the situation and the opportunity. I know he had more money to go out and play at Denver with [Mike] Shanahan, but he felt like he was going to be joining a new staff and a new head coach."

Mike Shanahan, Broncos head coach, 1995-2008: "When you offer a free agent $20,000, it means you're pretty interested because you just don't throw that kind of money around to free agents. They offered him $10,000, but they had a history of keeping three quarterbacks and we had a history of keeping two, and I think that's why he chose the Cowboys."

Tony Romo: "The money was a nonissue for me. I never make certain decisions in life based on money. I probably would not have gone anywhere where there was a young great player in position, just because eventually you want to grow into being that guy."

Sean Payton: "I remember right outside the draft room there was a lunchroom area, and we had just finished eating some barbeque and Jerry [Jones] said, 'I don't know you too well, but you just saved me $10,000. I'm beginning to like you.'"

The beginning

At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Romo didn't have prototypical NFL quarterback size when he joined the Cowboys in the summer of 2003. A roster spot was hardly guaranteed, and the Cowboys still wanted him to fix his delivery. Romo regularly had three-a-day throwing sessions to try to change his muscle memory.

The Cowboys had four quarterbacks in training camp, including starter Quincy Carter, a second-round pick in 2001 who was benched in his second season, and pro baseball washout Chad Hutchinson, who had signed a lucrative deal. One of the four had to go. After Romo completed 9 of 17 passes for 134 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the preseason, third-stringer Clint Stoerner, who had started two games for the Cowboys in 2001, was released.

Randal Williams, Cowboys receiver/special-teams player, 2001-04: "You got a kid in Quincy [Carter], who was a second-round pick, and you got Chad Hutchinson, who just got paid a lot of money. There's no way [Romo] is ever gonna make it. He can put all the work in he wants, but it's all for naught because he doesn't stand a chance."

Quincy Carter, Cowboys quarterback, 2001-04: "To be honest with you, I thought he was gonna get cut. He was terrible. He couldn't even get the snap. He was horrible; he was absolutely horrible. He did bring breakfast sandwiches on time on Fridays, but he was terrible on the field."

Clint Stoerner, Cowboys quarterback, 2000-03: "I wasn't concerned about him from a physical standpoint. Hell, I'd been playing with Randall Cunningham, Troy Aikman and Chad Hutchinson ... and those guys were physically imposing. He didn't scare me at all."

Darren Woodson, Cowboys safety 1992-2004: "I didn't know who Romo was until training camp. I'm watching him throw balls against us in training camp, and his ball was better than Quincy Carter's, for sure. He was the most accurate of the bunch, and to me, he was the most athletic. He was more athletic than Quincy."

Zuriel Smith, Cowboys receiver, 2003: "I was actually shocked at how athletic he was. We were playing basketball on the courts by the practice field. ... He was dunking."

Sean Payton: "Tony was a willing worker. If you have work laid out, he'd do it."

Clint Stoerner: "He loved studying protections and loved studying the run. He knew everybody's assignment in the run game. Who does that? Obviously the great ones do."

Tony Sparano, Cowboys assistant coach 2003-07: "It was just interesting how everybody followed him. He showed up in the huddle and nobody knew who the heck he was, but he had this demeanor about him."

Stephen Jones: "I remember just how confident he was. He kept going to Bill and the coaches saying 'I'm your guy.'"

Clint Stoerner: "He was two or three reps into a 7-on-7 or team drill and he drops back, takes the snap and pulls the trigger, and I'm thinking, 'Where in the hell is he throwing the ball?' because I knew the playcall and I was reading it out myself. About that time, the receiver shoots out from behind the linebacker and in front of the safety, catches the ball in stride and cuts up the middle and gets tackled for an 18- to 20-yard gain. At that time, I knew he was going to be special, and I knew my time was going to be cut short."

Darren Woodson: "He had made the team and we were right there by the equipment room, and he was picking my brain about why we rotate in Cover 3, and I looked at him said, 'Listen, man, let me tell you something. You are by far the best quarterback on this roster right now.' The look he gave me was like, 'What?'"