In 2025, I watched my oldest child turn 30 and, perhaps surprisingly, it really did not make me feel old. I also celebrated the birth of my first grandchild, which actually made me feel young since she looks just like her momma did thirty years ago. But watching the Cowboys docuseries released last month, now that makes me feel old. As a person who was present for most of the scenes starting in 1990, I can tell you that the docuseries played loose with the timeline. Still, it was a mostly accurate reminder of an amazing era in our fair berg. There was never a dull moment covering that team.
The show also serves as a reminder of how football used to be played and practiced. In those days, physicality was never discussed because it was a given. From the middle drill in the blazing heat of Austin, to the grueling 110’s at the end of practice, everything was designed to make you tough and ready for Sundays in the fall. You may have heard it stated by team pundit Michael Irvin, “In those days Jimmy wanted practices to be hell so the games would be heaven,” Irvin said.
None of that is a part of the culture of the Cowboys now. Brian Schottenheimer has placed an emphasis on being more physical this year. Will it work? So far, the grade is incomplete because the season is so long. The truth is that no team today is as physical as the teams we saw battling it out in the 90s. The rules have changed, defenders are not allowed to hit quarterbacks as they once did, and the defenseless receiver is protected too. Running backs still take a pounding, but not like Emmitt Smith did. Do you remember that he carried the ball 37 times in the game in 1993? Thirty-seven carries for 142 yards against the Saints. I remember that the next day, Emmitt could barely walk, but he played the next week.
There are a few teams in the league known for being very physical in this day of finesse football. They are the 49ers, the Ravens, the Lions, oh, and the Philadelphia Eagles. These are all teams that have given the Cowboys fits over the past several years. Each of them has cultivated this identity as a physical team by acquiring players who are known to play physically and by practicing hard. Lions coach Dan Campbell often apologizes to his players for demanding that they work so hard in practice. But he adds that it is the only way he knows to build a successful team. When Dan took over the Lions, they had not been successful in decades. Now they are one of the best teams in the NFC year in and year out.
So let’s hope that what Shotty is trying to accomplish is accepted and embraced. Like many, I was underwhelmed when the Cowboys decided to hire Schottenheimer. But so far, I have been very impressed with what he is trying to do. I must caution that it takes a while to change a culture. Campbell took over the Lions in 2021; that year, they finished 3-13. In 2022, they improved to 9-8. By 2023, the buy-in was real, the players believed, and they went 12-5; they were just one poor quarter from making it to their first Super Bowl. Last year’s 15-2 mark was accomplished despite injuries to 17 players on the defense.
We all know that Jerry Jones is a gambler. The title of the docuseries says so. But in this case, I am hoping he lets it ride. Give Schottenheimer a chance to put an old-school stamp on this team. Give him time to draft the kind of players who will bring the physicality. The kind of players who make the other team know that they were in a battle. Clearly, this group of Cowboys is not as talented as the teams of the 90s, few teams in any city ever were. But physicality can be a great equalizer, especially in this day and age.
I remember when she was in high school, my thirty-year-old asked me an earnest question, she said, “Dad, were the Cowboys ever good?” She does not remember the glory days; no one her age does. Now it is time to get physical, get an identity, and make sure that my granddaughter is not compelled to ask the same question. By then, I may be too old to remember the 90s.
