Cowboys Practice On Monday: In Pads and Indoors
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy made a grand admission just before the start of Sunday's sweltering second training camp practice outdoors here at The Star in Frisco. He conceded that he's new to football in Texas and that he conducts nightly "ethics meetings'' to consider changes in the structure of workouts.
On Monday will come two major changes.
The team's first practice in pads is on the schedule for Monday. And now, in an "ethics meeting'' change, the team's Monday morning session is being moved indoors, to Ford Center.
"My personal goal is to be on the grass,'' McCarthy said a few days ago. "That's just a personal preference. The weather and those types of things will factor into it. … I'm sure there will be days or a day or two where we may come inside with Ford Center."
That day is here.
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McCarthy and his staff are knee-deep in evaluating the 80-man camp roster, and maybe the COVID-19-related tightening of the summer schedule will mean less competitive practice situations. That is to say, picking this year's 53-man roster might already be largely done in the minds of the coaching staff.
The move inside Ford Center is a matter of "tightening,'' too; there's not as much space in there for 80 players to work as there is outside in the backyard. But for McCarthy, who previously coached the Green Bay Packers for 13 seasons in summers not quite as grueling as Texas', there are obviously benefits to air conditioning.
The 12,000-seat Ford Center has been used for team meetings, with a stage on the field and players spread out in the seats in the stands. On Monday, another of the many required adjustments will take place.
"I'm very impressed with our players and our staff just the way everybody has recreated the flow that you always look for at this time of year," McCarthy said.
On Monday, the "flow'' comes indoors.
