Early in the week, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones broke some news about changes the team would be making amid its disappointing 2-3 start to the season. Jones said that, in addition to the hiring of senior consultant Mike Pettine to help defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the team would also make a change on Parker during games: He would be moving to the coaches’ box above the field and call games with a bird’s eye view, as some NFL defensive coordinators do.
But when coach Brian Schottenheimer met with reporters the next day he walked that back, saying that no change on Parker’s positioning had been finalized yet. And, indeed, when Parker met with reporters on Thursday, he indicated that he would prefer to stay on the field. So, there has been confusion about the subject–at least until Friday.
Christian Parker Will ‘Stay Down on the Field’
Schottenheimer, also on 105.3 The Fan, was asked about what Pettine’s spot in the Cowboys coaching pecking order will be–will he answer to Schottenheimer or Parker?
As he answered, Schottenheimer revealed the final decision on where Parker will be when the calls Sunday’s game.
The coach said: “Mike reports directly to me. He works side-by-side with everyone, all three phases. I think the important thing right now is to be a sounding board for Chrisitan. When you have issues and you are looking for answers, you throw a lot of things out there. We talked about a lot of different things.
“CP is going to stay down on the field. Pet’s going to be up in the box, being great eyes and ears for him. And I really I feel like as we worked through the issues in the week, we felt like that was the best thing for us.”
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Spoke Too Soon
But that does lead to the question: What, exactly, happened with Jones saying that the Cowboys were going to move Parker?
Schottenheimer hinted that Jones might have gotten out in front of his skis on that: “Jerry and I have talked about so many things. That was one of those things we talked about. … That’s what I love about Jerry, he and I have real conversations, we throw things out there. There’s a lot of things we just totally dive into. He’s got great perspective, I’ve got great experience. That was one of the things we talked about.”
Cowboys Make Final Decision on Christian Parker Before Week 6