New Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy Details First Meeting with QB Dak Prescott

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Getty Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.

At the time of his introductory press conference, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy had yet to meet his latest pet project, quarterback Dak Prescott. The silence was broken Thursday.

In a sitdown with local media, McCarthy addressed his initial communication with the franchise signal-caller, who also spoke separately with newly-promoted QB coach Doug Nussmeier and retained offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

“Good … he’s energetic,” McCarthy said, via the team’s official website. “And we talked about his plan for the next couple of weeks and what he’s going in front of him. I know Kellen and Doug also talked to all the quarterbacks.”

McCarthy divulged that he and Prescott didn’t visit for long, just enough to get a feel for one another. He was much more forthcoming on the two-time Pro Bowl passer during his official presser, explaining that Dallas’ offense will revolve around Dak.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with Dak [Prescott]. What he’s done so far is very impressive,” McCarthy said on Jan. 8, per WFAA’s Mike Leslie. “I think like a lot of us, in the league, you watch people from afar. But when you have a chance to watch a player live, and I can recall his rookie year when we played him in Green Bay, so I’ve always been impressed with him. You’re gonna be able to run the whole offense and then some. And I think he has an incredible foundation to build off of. Our offensive system will be built around making the quarterback successful. That’s the way I’ve learned it, and that’s the way I believe you play offense. We have a great one there to work with.

Speaking of the offense, McCarthy revealed Moore will continue calling plays for the club in 2020, and that he’s leaving the terminology mostly unchanged, providing important continuity for Prescott, an impending free agent likely to score a massive contract this offseason.

There will be different elements sprinkled in, but for all intents and purposes, it’s the same system as this past season, when Prescott set a career-high with 4,902 passing yards, one shy of the team’s all-time single-season record held by Tony Romo.

“I say we run the west coast system,” McCarthy said, via the Dallas Morning News. “It’s a system of offense that will be implemented into the Dallas Cowboys offense. … It’s just really how we play design, the detail of the play design, how everything is tied to the QBs feet, the timing component that you already acknowledged. But digit system, west coast, it’s to me it’s really all the same.”

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Cowboys Passing on Senior Bowl

McCarthy touched on his plan for the foreseeable future as it relates to Prescott and, indirectly, the team’s numerous other free agents, including wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Byron Jones.

That being the case, the Cowboys’ coaches have opted not to travel to Mobile for the upcoming Senior Bowl, a decision rooted in McCarthy’s preference to finalize his staff and evaluate personnel — the entire roster, top to bottom — as he adjusts to his new digs.

“I just think the Senior Bowl has changed,” McCarthy said, per the team’s official website. “I know as a young coach — particularly coaching quarterbacks, for an offensive coordinator — when you were able to get on the practice field and stand right next to those guys, I thought the evaluation was significant. To be that close and interact on that level was a lot different than sitting up in the stands. I think now, because they practice at the stadium — and the video has improved too in the last five, 10 years. So I just don’t see the value of taking the staff, especially in Year 1. I mean, Year 1 we have a lot of work to do.”


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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL