Barry Switzer and Larry Lacewell met at the YMCA swimming pool in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1953. That's Switzer's version. Lacewell always said they met at a track meet a couple of years before that.

Doesn't matter. Time gets away. Suffice to say they were southern Arkansas teen-agers, Switzer from Crossett, Lacewell from Fordyce. 

“A short, sturdy little **** who wouldn’t shut up,” Switzer said Wednesday.  

Switzer’s barbs were masking his pain. His friend of 69 years died Tuesday in Hot Springs, Arkansas, at the age of 85. 

Lacewell’s football career was stunning in its success and breadth. He was defensive coordinator of Switzer’s OU Camelot teams of the 1970s, an 11-year head coach at Arkansas State and Jerry Jones’ 12-year director of college and pro scouting for the Dallas Cowboys. 

“Lacewell is the reason I was with the Cowboys,” Switzer said. “He talked me into taking the job.” 

Tramel's ScissorTales:Will Brent Venables give Jeff Lebby free rein with up-tempo offense?

When old Arkansas teammates Jones and Jimmy Johnson split ways after winning the Super Bowl in 1994, Jones turned to another Razorback, Switzer, who was five years removed from coaching the Sooners. Lacewell, who joined the Cowboys in 1992 and became a Jones confidant, endorsed Switzer for the job. 

“Barry, frankly, was brought in to the Dallas Cowboys to not screw it up,” Lacewell told The Oklahoman in 2009.

“So often people want a head coach with an ego who puts his stamp on a team. Everyone knew we had a great football team. They had won two Super Bowls under Jimmy. Barry’s style wasn’t conducive to what some of the players wanted. 

“(Quarterback Troy) Aikman wanted to truly believe that it was blood and guts that won football games. It wasn’t necessarily talent. Barry was just the opposite and knew talent was the biggest variable. Barry was laid back. The majority of players loved him. He did what we brought him in for.” 

The Cowboys reached the 1994 NFC Championship Game and won the Super Bowl the following year. That brought Lacewell his third Super Bowl ring. 

“My four years there, I’ve always said, Jerry, Stephen (Jones, Jerry’s son) and Lace were the reasons I loved the Cowboys,” Switzer said. “Really had a great time. It was an experience.” 

Switzer and Lacewell had their occasional feuds, and Lacewell left OU after the 1977 season. But they always found their way back to being friends. Switzer had a plane ticket to fly to Arkansas on Wednesday to see Lacewell one last time, until Switzer got the death notice Tuesday night on a call from Lacewell’s son. 

“Everyone knows Barry and I had our problems, but it wasn’t quite what people thought,” Lacewell said back in 2009. “It wasn’t good … at the same time, I don’t believe you walk away from a relationship where you could use the word love to describe how much we respected one another. We came from similar backgrounds. We had great admiration for each other. It was pretty easy to repair our friendship. It has flourished over the years. He still amazes me.” 

More:How did ex-NFL lineman Ryan Young wind up with OU football as SOUL Mission Senior Director?

Crossett and Fordyce are 54 miles apart, and Switzer and Lacewell ran into each other at ballgames and track meets in the mid-1950s. Lacewell attended Arkansas A&M (now Arkansas-Monticello), went into coaching and joined Jim Mackenzie’s maiden OU staff in 1966 as freshman coach. Lacewell left after one year but returned in 1969, became defensive coordinator in 1970 and stayed on when Switzer became head coach in 1973. 

Lacewell became quite the Oklahoma personality. Nationally renowned as a defensive coordinator, Lacewell even had his own television show, on Saturday mornings during the autumn. 

“I came from a small town in Arkansas,” Lacewell said. “To suddenly be a big shot and have the only television assistant coach’s show in the country, drive a Cadillac and coach a great defense, was a thrill.  

“I was such a good coach I made the Selmons (Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey) great, Rod Shoate great, Randy Hughes great. It was amazing how great I was.” 

But Switzer said Lacewell indeed was a top-flight coordinator, “smart, innovative, he dialed you up some problems.” 

Lacewell had a record of 69-58-4 at Arkansas State. He then became Johnny Majors’ defensive coordinator at Tennessee for two years, before joining the Cowboys. 

“I’ve always said Larry was the best there ever was; all you had to do was ask him,” Switzer said of the kid from Fordyce who had quite the football life. 

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.