FRISCO, Texas – Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media ahead of Thursday’s OTA practice. It had been a week since he last spoke publicly, so there were a lot of topics to cover.
Here are four topics McCarthy touched on in his press conference, including his coaching staff, plans to practice with another team, and a couple of positional flexibility.
Earlier this week, the Cowboys announced that Ben McAdoo would be joining Mike McCarthy’s staff as a consultant. McAdoo served as the head coach of the New York Giants for two seasons and spent years working with Mike McCarthy in various roles.
“He’s a great resource for us,” McCarthy said Thursday. “I have a long history with Ben. He will work mainly with offensive and defensive coordinators. I think he is a great contribution.”
McCarthy said that McAdoo’s exact role would be laid out on the job, but that his presence with staff will be common and that a crucial part of his job will be preparing against opponents early in the week or even more than a week before meeting. to a team.
“We’re working on the details of that,” McCarthy said. “He’s going to be here for the entire offseason schedule and he’s going to be in training camp. We’re designing the role. I personally haven’t had this kind of role on my staff. Ben has great flexibility. I know Dan (Quinn) was particularly excited. because it gives someone to do some pregame planning from the perspective of the opposite side of the ball. “
Practice with the Rams?
McCarthy also told the media that he had spoken with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay about the possibility of holding a joint practice between the Rams and Cowboys in Oxnard during training camp. He said he did not want to go into the details because it is not an official decision yet and, technically, it is not yet officially established that the Cowboys will go to Oxnard for training camp.
“That’s what we’re preparing for,” McCarthy said. “If we practiced against another team, it would be one day in Oxnard against the LA Rams.”
McCarthy did not do joint practices for most of his time in Green Bay for geographical reasons, but he sees the option as a useful way to prepare for the season.
“You can create really good ‘situational work’,” McCarthy said. “It’s a really good thing for the evaluation process. I think there’s a lot to gain. I’m looking forward to working against the Rams. This will be good for our players.”
Parsons off the edge?
The media got a little sneak peek of what to expect from Thursday’s practice regarding first-round draft pick Micah Parson. McCarthy said “pay attention” to the role of linebacker.
“He’s going to play from the outside a little bit,” McCarthy said. “Today we will see him rushing and coming off the edge. We are just reviewing our facilities.”
The head coach added that Parsons has adapted very well to everything the Cowboys are trying to do and looked great in practice. “He understands football,” he said. “There was an RPO at practice last week where he was about to hit the ball, so you can see his skill and his instincts with the way he can react.”
Last week at the OTAs, Tony Pollard lined up as a receiver on some specific plays. It won’t be a permanent change, but it was probably an exciting note for fans who want to see the young running back more involved in the team’s offense.
“We had some guys that weren’t feeling well,” McCarthy said, explaining why things changed. But he also noted that it was a great opportunity to put Pollard on reruns that he “couldn’t get last year.”
Pollard played catcher in college in Memphis. How did the job go during the OTAs? McCarthy said he looked “natural in space and lineup” and that it wasn’t a surprise because Pollard is an “exceptional athlete.”
Apparently, Pollard’s receiving skills also earned the respect of the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator. “Dan Quinn is looking at him as a catcher. That should tell you what he looks like.”
