MICHAEL Strahan and Howie Long were jokingly offered the chance to come out of retirement by a Fox NFL Sunday colleague.
Host Curt Menefee tried to broker a deal with the Dallas Cowboys live on air for the pair to return to the field.
Strahan, 52, won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants before retiring in 2007.
Long, 64, was a Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Raiders before his career ended in 1993.
But despite the pass rushers both being way past their prime – host Menefee offered their services.
Strahan, Long and Menefee appeared on Fox NFL Sunday alongside Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson.
The crew welcomed Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for a live interview ahead of a Week 6 game.
Jones was speaking from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas before the Cowboys faced the Detroit Lions.
And host Menefee noted the injuries that Dallas is dealing with on defense before offering his colleagues’ services.
“You’ve got all those injuries on defense,” Menefee told Jones.
“Michael Strahan and Howie Long.
“You’re a deal maker – what will you give me for them for one afternoon?”
The crew laughed as Jones responded to the attempts to broker a deal.
“We were doing this great celebration for Jimmy Johnson,” the Cowboys owner said.
“Next thing Howie Long was talking about all this confusion going on the sidelines.
“But we brought them in so we could make a big show for Jimmy.”
Michael Strahan’s NFL career
Michael Strahan is one of the most recognizable faces on television.
But he came into his media career off the back of a hugely successful stint in the NFL.
Strahan spent 14 years all with the New York Giants from 1993 to 2007.
He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and helped them win the Super Bowl in 2007 – ending the New England Patriots’ hopes of a perfect season.
Strahan was also a two-time NFL sacks leader and also won Defensive Player of the Year.
The ex-Giants star set the single-season sack record with 22.5 in 2001 – a feat which was matched by J.J. Watt exactly 20 years later.
He is one of the best defensive stars to have ever played the game – finishing with 141.5 career sacks and 854 tackles.
Long responded “it was an amazing day” as the crew laughed at his expense.
Cowboys owner Jones had no reason to laugh or smile after Sunday’s game.
He suffered the worst home loss of his 35-year tenure as Dallas was thumped 47-9 by the Lions.
“I regret that for our fans,” Jones told reporters after the loss.
“I regret it for everybody that is a part of the Dallas Cowboys.
“The key thing to think about is we’re six games in and we’re 3-3.
“We’ve had times when we haven’t liked where we were in the early part of the season and we don’t like where we are now.
“There’s a lot of work to do and a lot of improvement before we sit here with any smiles on our face.”
