Photo Credit: Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Days after the heartbreaking loss of Cowboys’ strength and conditioning coordinator, Markus Paul, Dallas coaches opened up about the emotional state of the team as reality sets in. As coaches and players walk around the Star on a Friday, there are reminders all round them of a void now present.
Paul collapsed at the team facility Tuesday morning in the weight room and was rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance. He remained in critical condition and never recovered, passing away on Wednesday evening surrounded by loved ones.
At the time of the collapse, some players and coaches were in the weight room watching the tragic situation unfold before their eyes on a routine morning. The majority of players and coaches then followed suit and rushed over as word quickly circulated around the Star.
“ We had a special teams meeting Tuesday morning, and I was in the locker room about five minutes before the meeting was going to start, just kind of rounding guys up and handing out some last minute bits of breakfast, “ special teams coordinator John Fassel emotionally recounted to media. “ The guys were about to come in, and one of the trainers came racing through with the defibrillator and I followed him into the weight room, and was a witness to everything that happened. And it was hard, hard to see. “
Head coach Mike McCarthy came from the coaches’ offices upstairs just moments later describing to local reporters, “I was there two or three minutes after it happened.”
“ I was there and most of us were there. That is why this is so very personal for all of us. Not only just because of Markus but also how it happened, where it happened, and when it happened. As far as cancelling everything, to me it was a no-brainer. My instinct, I wanted everyone with family or where everybody felt they needed to be.”
Markus Paul was a man of great significance to the entire Cowboys’ organization and coaches and players are still deservedly shaken up. The staff struggled to find the words to not only describe the person that Markus was and the influence he had in their lives, but also to replay Tuesday’s events that are forever engrained in their memories. Life can change in the blink of an eye and what seemed to be a regular mundane morning of preparation for Washington, quickly turned into a nightmare.
Some witnessed the tragedy in the weight room and some did not. Everyone grieves in different ways; some have dealt with loss and some have not. Everyone is at a different place and Mike McCarthy immediately embodied his leadership role and took charge, putting the mental health of players and coaches, first and foremost. He made the decision to cancel everything on Tuesday, to give everyone time to decompress and cope with what had just happened.
“ That is our job as a coach. To look, out for the players and to make sure that they come first, “ Mike Nolan emphatically said via conference call. “The thing that really, that I enjoy, but more importantly that I respect about Mike is that he is true to his word. His family comes first and he treats the players that way. The first thing that came to his mind is ‘What do I have to do to take care of the players?’ That is why he did the things he did do.”
The team is now in the stages of moving forward and processing each day as it comes. The Cowboys, like every NFL team, have resources within the football operations and staff members that specifically specialize in mental health counseling for players, coaches, and their families. In the wake of the tragedy, the staff has been diligent in placing that as a priority and checking in on the players’ well being around the clock and placing them first.
Mike Nolan noted, “ I think the right thing, in our goal as coaches, is to not think about yourself but think about the guys you’re in charge of and making sure that their needs are met. That’s what our job is. In a simplistic way, that’s what our job is to do as coaches. We’re not just here all about football. There are people involved, and football is a people business. When something as tragic as this occurs, the right thing to do is look out for the people you’re responsible for, and as cruel as it may sound, get to yourself later. ”
The Cowboys have battled through adversity this season like none before and this past week has been gut wrenching for the organization that lost a beloved coach, mentor, and friend. Going through hardship has a way of pushing people together and the Cowboys’ family with a new coaching staff in an unprecedented year with the COVID pandemic, will no doubt grow closer and stronger together in the face of hardship.
“ Hopefully guys got a little tighter and I think you had a little bit of a reality check of perspective on life, “ Kellen Moore described on call with media. “Hopefully something positive can come out of it, recognizing where our time is in this whole thing and you never know how much time. Hopefully, you take advantage of opportunities and take care of each other and help each other. “
