FRISCO - Call us skeptical, but it's difficult to get too excited about a supposed "culture change" in June when NFL pads are still six weeks from poppin'.
We know, last year Dan Quinn was hired by the Washington Commanders and he changed their culture. Jayden Daniels helped too, right? Same with the stern disciplinarian that was Bill Belichick in New England. Funny how his "Patriot Way" culture didn't really amount to much until Tom Brady went under center.
There is a buzz at The Star - one that is being amplified with the fan boy websites x 1,000 - about how new head coach Brian Schottenheimer has transformed the Dallas Cowboys' culture this offseason. First he re-arranged the chairs in the locker room. Installed a ping-pong table. Basketball free-throw contests. Bought the whole staff Whataburger one day. Took players on a surprise field trip to play paintball. And now ... Greek dancing?
Seems Schottenheimer took the Cowboys' quarterbacks on some sort of Greek outing recently. There is video of Dak Prescott, Will Grier and Joe Milton dancing amongst the Greek tradition of throwing and breaking plates.
Schottenheimer has lauded the "juice" he has injected into the team.
Prescott, so far, seems to embrace the activities aimed at improving camaraderie.
"Energy 100 percent, a lot of it ... and starting from Schotty and down to the coaches," Prescott said during OTAs. "I mean, he did a hell of a job of calling out the coaches in that instance yesterday and making sure that they're accountable to that. And just to hear their response—and not only their response—the way that they approached practice and the way that they administered some energy and brought it themselves and made sure their players in each position group had it—collectively, you felt it out there in the practice yesterday and obviously today as well."
Charming. But ... will it make any difference at all on the football field?
It was just two years ago that the Cowboys' "culture" was good enough to win 12 games and make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. If the organization really wants - needs? - a culture change, it would have to start at the top with Jerry Jones. Right?
Bill Parcells tried to change the Cowboys' culture by having long, deep-dive talks with his players. Dave Campo instituted a rule in which players wore hard hats and punched a time clock at training camp. Those tricks sorta lost their steam when the coaches trotted out quarterbacks such as Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.
Jimmy Johnson always gets credit for his hard-nosed culture at Valley Ranch in the 1990s - "asthma field" ring a bell? - but, again, we tend to think Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin had more to do with the success.
Said Schottenheimer during OTAs, "We've spoken very openly about trying to create one of the greatest cultures in professional sports."
Remains to be seen whether Greek dancing will help create one of the greatest teams in the NFL.