It's Hip To Be "All In" But Bill Parcells Was The Trendsetter For This NFL Cliché

Dallas Poker Club

It might be hip to be "all in" in the NFL but former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was a trendsetter when it comes to poker analogies in the NFL.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the Ravens, Raiders and Seahawks are "all in", an unofficial slogan to signify that every member of the team and coaching staff is completely committed to winning.

The article cites NFL executives who trace the genesis "of the cliché to the New York Giants, who used it in their late 2011 playoff run which ended with a Super Bowl title. Within a year, the Jacksonville Jaguars had adopted it as a marketing slogan."

It goes back further than that.

Anyone who covered the Cowboys when Bill Parcells coached the team knows that in 2006 the head coach had players wearing t-shirts with the phrase "Who's All In?" featuring a set of hands pushing a pile of pokers chips on the chest.  Blasts from the past like Terrell Owens, Mike Vanderjagt and Drew Bledsoe all sported the catchy T's.

Of course, these were the pre-Twitter & Instagram days so, natch, there's not a pic of the t-shirts to be found.