COWBOYS SQUAD SHOW: The Cowboys have picked their new DC!

Summary

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Locked On Cowboys: Cowboys Squad Show – New Defensive Coordinator Reaction

Episode Date: January 23, 2026
Hosts: Landon McCool, Marcus Mosher (absent), Coach Glenn “Stretch” Smith
Network: Locked On Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Cowboys Squad Show focuses on the Dallas Cowboys’ latest major move: hiring Christian Parker as their new defensive coordinator. Landon McCool (Locked On Cowboys), Coach Glenn "Stretch" Smith, and host Jeff Biggs dive deep into Parker’s hiring, what it means for Dallas, and debate roster decisions and coaching philosophies. The conversation is candid, sometimes skeptical, and full of insider perspective on Dallas' current window for contention, staff construction, and upcoming personnel moves.

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Main Theme

The Dallas Cowboys have hired Christian Parker as their new Defensive Coordinator after an extensive search, generating optimism, skepticism, and urgent questions about the direction of the team’s defense heading into a pivotal window for the franchise.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reaction to Christian Parker’s Hiring as Defensive Coordinator

[03:27–05:40]

• Landon’s Enthusiasm: Landon is excited about Parker’s fast-rising career, versatility, and the broad net Dallas cast. He praises Parker as a “teacher, communicator” who “blew them away” during the process.

  “This is a guy who’s worked under Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph and Mike Pettine and Jerry Gray and Mike Elko. Each one of those guys, he left a distinct mark on.” – Landon McCool [04:40]

• Coach Stretch’s Skepticism: Stretch, while respectful, is blunt about Parker’s lack of play-calling experience, voicing urgency:

  “I don't have time for you to grow up. ... He never called the plays, he's never set a defense. With the team I have right now, I need a guy that's ready to go.” – Coach Jeff Biggs [05:40]

• Risk vs. Potential: Both agree Parker has upside but differ on whether Dallas should have prioritized experience given its win-now mandate.

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2. The Experience Debate: Is Dallas Taking the Right Risk?

[08:17–13:28]

• “Can He Step Right In?” Jeff suggests that the interview process should have vetted Parker’s readiness.
• Coach Stretch: Warns that learning on the job in a pressure-cooker environment like Dallas is daunting.

  “Until you got 80,000 there and you make that first call and make a bust … they boo the crap out of you.” – Coach Jeff Biggs [09:56]

• Landon’s Context: Notes that experienced DCs also have hit-or-miss results; recalls poor interviews from veteran candidates (e.g., “Gannon gave an absolutely terrible interview…”).
  • Points out this is Dallas’ first DC hire since 2014 who wasn’t a former head coach – a deliberate change in approach.

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3. Money Talks & Candidate Availability

[14:19–17:40]

• Debate about what Parker and other candidates (like Brian Flores) would command financially.
• Coach Stretch suspects cost-consciousness is a factor:

  “Jerry Jones does talk dollars. It is about money now.” – Coach Jeff Biggs [16:13]

• Landon adds that candidates like Flores possibly weren’t realistic due to their head-coaching ambitions.

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4. How Valuable Is Parker’s Experience with the Eagles?

[25:09–29:32]

• Insider Knowledge: Coach highlights that, while Parker knows the Eagles’ personnel and can provide small insights, the schematic impact is likely limited.
• Landon details Parker’s obsession with preparation and note-taking:

  “He really took advantage of the access. … This legendary Google Drive, he collects all these notes on everything…” – Landon McCool [29:32]

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5. Defensive Philosophy: What to Expect?

[31:32–36:45]

• Secondary Focus: With Dallas’ DB group a weak spot, Parker’s background as a secondary coach is seen as especially relevant.
• Scheme Speculation: Landon expects more modern coverages (cover 6, cover 8, match quarters), not a radical schematic shift but a focus on how concepts are taught.

  “You're going to see it's going to be a little bit of all of that … No one's really beholden to the kind of 3-4, 4-3 paradigm anymore…” – Landon McCool [32:54]

• Personnel Still King: Coach Stretch stresses you need the right body types to play certain fronts, and the Cowboys may lack a true “nose guard.”

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6. Coaching Staff Structure – Who Has Control?

[46:18–48:17]

• Cowboy’s Tradition: Typically, staff construction is a blend of front office and HC/DC input; outsiders may not get free rein.
• Financial considerations: Jones is unlikely to pay two full defensive staffs if staff is overhauled soon.

  “Jerry Jones is not for paying guys a bunch of money to go sit around and scratch...” – Coach Jeff Biggs [47:22]

• Transitional Help: Suggestion that a consultant/veteran assistant (e.g. Mike Pettine) could provide Parker a safety net.

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7. Personnel Talk: Jadeveon Clowney’s Future

[41:10–45:32]

• Clowney’s return considered “50/50,” viewed as a pure money issue.

  “Ain’t no hometown discount. … You have X amount of earning potential and you only have so much time to earn it.” – Coach Jeff Biggs [41:43]

• Flexibility: Clowney’s shape, late arrival, and possible need for veteran practice days discussed. Landon notes staff change means Clowney’s return isn’t guaranteed: “it's not like a guarantee that he's going to come back.” [45:50]

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8. Rumors: The George Pickens Trade Scenario

[54:50–62:55]

• Host Jeff proposes a rumor: tag and trade George Pickens, then sign Brandon Aiyuk. Landon and Coach are skeptical.
  • Landon expects Pickens will be tagged and likely signed long-term: “It would take a first. … Dak, CD and Pickens together is the window.” [59:13 & 62:10]
  • Coach presses the value of Pickens via a draft-pick lens and salary demands.
  • Both conclude: “Sides can’t meet. … No other team’s going to value the pick enough to go sign this guy to a max deal ...” – Landon McCool [62:55]

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9. Free Agency Wish List: Reed Blankenship?

[64:45–65:18]

• Coach floats whether Parker will want to sign S Reed Blankenship from Philly.

  “Do you want him? Yes or no?” – Coach Jeff Biggs “Yes.” – Landon McCool

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defensive Coordinator Experience:
  “If he's a guy that's going to take two to three years to get him to cut his teeth ... then I'd say it's bad timing.” – Coach Stretch [05:40]

• On Parker’s Preparation:
  “He's a very furious note taker. ... this legendary Google Drive ... collects all these notes.” – Landon McCool [29:32]

• On Cowboys’ Defensive Scheme:
  “In today's NFL … 3-4, 4-3, it's just not … that relative because … you're playing nickel against 12 personnel now.” – Coach Stretch [33:52]

• On Pickens Trade Rumors:
  “I want him back. … I'm not trading that away because now … we don’t have the explosive offense that we did.” – Landon McCool [62:19]

• Coach’s Money Mantra:
  “It's about money. Quit just standing around over there scratching your ass. It's about money now.” – Coach Stretch [47:25]

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Important Timestamps

• 03:27: Landon’s detailed breakdown of Parker’s background
• 05:40: Stretch outlines his concerns about Parker’s inexperience
• 09:54: The pressure on a first-time playcaller in Dallas
• 13:28: Landon on information/gossip inside NFL hiring processes
• 16:13: Debate over salary, candidate willingness, and hiring policies
• 25:09: Value of Parker’s knowledge of the Eagles
• 29:32: Landon details Parker’s obsession with film study and note-taking
• 32:54: Landon explains what new defensive fronts and coverages to expect
• 41:43: Clowney’s contract situation broken down
• 54:50: George Pickens contract/trade rumor emerges
• 62:55: Concluding takes on Pickens’ value and likely outcome

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Takeaways

• The Cowboys' decision to hire Christian Parker marks a shift away from established names towards fast-risers and teacher-types.
• While Parker’s upside is apparent, his lack of play-calling experience is a clear risk during Dallas’ competitive window.
• Roster and free agency decisions (Clowney, Pickens, Blankenship) will hinge as much on money and internal relationships as on pure on-field fit, underlining the “business” side of team-building.
• Both hosts agree on the need for defensive improvement, especially in the secondary, but debate how much one hire (and limited schematic changes) can fix.
• The episode is highly candid, tinged with trademark Cowboy skepticism and humor, and loaded with practical insight into NFL team-building—making it ideal for dedicated Dallas fans and NFL insiders alike.

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Transcript

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Foreign.

[Host Jeff]

Your team every day.

[Landon McCool]

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[Host Jeff]

Qualifying credit required.

[Landon McCool]

Traditions are a funny thing. They're why we tailgate in the pouring rain, wear full body paint and refuse.

[Host Jeff]

To wash that lucky jersey.

[Landon McCool]

And just like in football, tradition is.

[Host Jeff]

What inspires us at Tostitos to play.

[Landon McCool]

Make our masa the traditional way, starting.

[Host Jeff]

With whole corn kernels.

[Landon McCool]

No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives crafted for that perfect crunch.

[Host Jeff]

Tostitos tradition matters. Official Chip and Dip sponsor of the NFL. I am Jeff Biggs, host of the Cowboys Squad Show. The Cowboys have their new defensive coordinator and I can't wait to hear what the guys have to say about it.

[Landon McCool]

I'm Lana McCool the Locked On Cowboys podcast and I'm excited just to try something new at defensive coordinator Glenn Stretch Smith.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I was preaching patience and nobody was listening.

[Landon McCool]

How about them Cowboys? It's the Cowboy Squad. Everything Dallas Cowboys every week covering all the big hits and game changing plays from America's team the way only the Locked On Podcast network can get ready and squad up. It's the Cowboys Squad show starting now.

[Host Jeff]

Squad up and buckle up because we got a lot to get into tonight. The Cowboys search for a new defensive coordinator is over, but another edition of the Cowboys Squad show is here with you tonight. As always, thank you for joining us. We welcome one of the co hosts of the daily Lockdown Cowboys podcast, Landon McCool. Good evening Landon. Good to have you back. And former Cowboys coach, the one and only Glenn Stretch Smith. Aisha Morrison could not make it tonight, but she will be back with us next week. And before we get into everything, I need to let you know that this is a crossover Thursday courtesy of Prize Picks and it's presented by Prize Picks. Download the Prize Picks app today. Use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. All right gentlemen, we're going to get into the very latest. The search is over. We got another wild George Pickens rumor we'll say for later on. But big news of the day. The new D.C. christian Parker, who had been the Defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator with the Eagles the last two seasons. Also work for the Broncos as a defensive back coach and for the packers is their defensive quality coach. What do you guys think of the move?

[Landon McCool]

I love it. I mean, I, I, I, I think, you know, one of the things that we have been talking about was the Cowboys need to kind of broaden the search of candidates that they were looking at. They, you know, to their credit, cast a really wide net, as they, as they phrased it, and they interviewed a lot of folks, and I think that allowed them to, you know, go out and find someone that really blew them away. And they had very kind of clear criteria that they wanted in their new defensive coordinator. I think that they wanted, you know, someone who was a teacher, someone who was a communicator, someone who I think could, could break through to some of these guys and make sure that the concepts are getting kind of rooted down, which goes back a lot to, you know, what coach was saying throughout the season, is that it didn't feel like this defense had fully ingested this defense or the techniques that were being used or weren't using just kind of basic techniques. So we need to get back to someone who can kind of help teach the basics. And I think this is a guy who, you know, has gone from being a college queen coach to a key cog in the defensive court, the defensive system for a Super bowl winner in less than 10 years. And I think that that speaks to the kind of, the kind of impression that he's left on, on the folks that he's worked under. I mean, this is a guy who's worked under Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph and Mike Patini and Jerry Gray and Mike Elko. And each one of those guys, he left a, a distinct mark on to the point where they were dragging him over to other jobs that they had, Elko and Vangio, Fangio specifically. So I think, you know, we don't know exactly what this guy's going to be like as a defensive coordinator because he hasn't done the job yet. But I think as far as experience that you can have in a very limited amount of time and resume accomplishments, it's pretty impressive what this guy has done in a very short amount of time in the NFL. And it does clearly look like this is a guy whose arrow is pointing squarely up.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah, I'm sure he, you know, went in there and, and wowed him with an interview. I mean, that's, that there's something to be said for that. There's something to be said for having worked for multiple guys like you talked about, whether that was vance, Joseph or McFangio. Here's my. And I don't know Christian Parker other than what I've seen out there. Here's my side of this thing. I don't have time for you to grow up. I don't have time for you to be an intern. Defensive coordinator. He never called the plays, he's never set a defense. And with the team I have right now, like, I'm to the point now where I need a guy that's ready to go if he's ready to go, and we'll see that very quickly, then they made a good hire. If he's a guy that's going to take two to three years to get him to cut his teeth, a defensive coordinator, then I'd say it's bad timing for what they've done. I, I, I really, I hesitant to say this, I hesitate to say this, but it, it feels in some ways like Mr. Jones still doesn't really value experienced coaches. He thinks that guys can just come in and coach and so, you know, we'll, we'll see. I don't. What are they going to do with the rest of the staff? Does this guy have some guys that he knows that he can bring with him? Does this, is this, is this a cut corners where we're only hiring a coordinator and we're going to keep the rest of this staff From a financial standpoint, I don't know. And I'm not saying anything bad about Christian Parker. He may be a hell of a football coach, but I was expecting a more seasoned veteran guy to go along with an offense that feels like it is a seasoned and veteran offense with a quarterback, tight end, running back that's, you know, had a few years in the league, receivers that have had a few years in the league. I wasn't expecting a guy who, who had never called an NFL defense.

[Host Jeff]

All right, so let me ask you this. I mean, to your initial point about having somebody that has never coached and can he step right in and do the job? I mean, not to be Captain Obvious, but I would think that that would, that would be addressed, right? I mean, I would think that during the interview and the process that they would have a pretty good idea of where he's at with that. Does that make sense? I mean, I think they would, okay, we like the guy, but can he really do the job? And I would hope that they were convinced that, that he could, that he could step in and he could be ready to go. And the fact that he's been, you know, primarily a secondary coach is really what I mean, they need, they need somebody to make chicken salad out of that secondary.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah, I mean, that is a positive. I'm, I'm sorry, that, that, that, that is a positive that he is a secondary guy. No question about it. But I, I, I, I don't know that he can call, he can call a defense in a tight window. And guess what else? They don't either, they don't. They, he might have said, hey, this is what we do, and this is how I feel. And, you know, I'm, I'm a, I'm a guy that's going to hit the ground running here, and yes, I know this defense and yes, I'm able to. Yes, yes, yes. But until, until you got 80,000 there and you make that first call and you, and you, and you make a bust. You know what they do when you make a bad call? Jeff Diggs, you know what they do.

[Landon McCool]

If you're lucky, if you're lucky that.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Have their ass in the seats. Do you know what they do when you make a bad call?

[Host Jeff]

They yell at you and boo.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

They boo the crap out of you. I don't know if he, I don't know. I don't know if he's ever been in that situation or not. I don't know.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I think, you know, look, there's, there's obviously pros and cons to all these guys, for sure. And, and, and, and not having the experience specifically of calling diva plays is certainly one of these. I, you know, I tend to think that I have seen enough of, like, the, the definitely experienced guys to know that it's, it's still a crapshoot with those guys, too. You know, there were reports that Gannon came in there and gave an absolutely terrible interview and was unprepared for his interview. And, you know, and so, like, there's, I think that to coach's point, like, there are pros and cons to all these guys. I would point out that this is the first coach since 2014 that the Cowboys, the first defensive coordinator the Cowboys have hired since 2014 that wasn't a former head coach. So they clearly are, you know, making an effort to kind of go a different direction here. And, and coach is not wrong. Like, one of the things that we've talked about on the show a ton is, is the idea of they got to hit the ground running here. They got to get moving, right? They gotta, they have to be ready to hit this window that we're trying to hit that's coming up this season. Right. I, I tend to think that with the depth of experience that this guy has, with the multitude of different defensive coordinators, the fact that he was being groomed in Philadelphia to be the kind of, you know, next iteration of Vic Fangio, and the fact that coaches continually are dragging him and if you read deeper into, into his background, the way that this guy ingests football, the way this guy is a football nerd, I think he's got all the right elements to, to be the kind of guy that comes in here and is a very good play caller right away because he kind of all the elements surrounding it. But I mean, coach is absolutely still 100. Right. And, and it's going to be an unknown at this situation until we get into that first game and we see what the situation is. I, I think to, to my point and to the Cowboys point, maybe at this, at the situation, I think that they were willing to risk it because they felt like this guy was the best candidate and because they felt like, you know, they had kind of gone the route a little bit of the experienced veteran coach in the league and they didn't have a ton of great, you know, stuff to show for it.

[Host Jeff]

To be honest, I was maybe a little surprised because we were kind of led to believe that Jim Leonard was kind of the favorite. You know, he had the relationship with Shotty. They seemed to connect. Great, great resume himself. And then, you know, he did. I don't think he had an in person interview after the initial interview. And so the fact that they, they didn't, they didn't want to wait for that. I don't know if they have one planned or not, but it just says a lot.

[Landon McCool]

I think, I think, I think we also need to keep in mind that they have more information here than we do. Right. And they're talking to agents and they, and agents that know exactly what these coaches are thinking. And so, you know, like the, I think the Brian Flores situation was very enlightening. Right. You know, and that, that he made it clear that he wasn't interested in taking a defensive coordinator job that wasn't in Minnesota. Like he was basically going to take a head coaching job or go back to being a defensive coordinator in Minnesota. I wonder if Denver. I wonder if Leonard feels strongly that Vance Joseph is going to get a head coaching job in one of these, in one of these openings and that he's going to go back to Denver and be the defensive coordinator at Denver.

[Host Jeff]

Yeah.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean, let me ask you this. What. What do you. Let's just. Let's just play the game. What do you. What do you think they're going to pay this guy?

[Landon McCool]

I. I don't. I don't know, honestly.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean, what. What's what Schottenheimer's making what, five?

[Landon McCool]

I think that sounds right. Yeah. So probably.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

So you.

[Landon McCool]

Two million.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

What do you think? Two and a half million, probably. Okay. What do you think it. What. And then again, we're just. We're just. We're just talking a game here. We think it would. What do you think it would have cost to get Brian Flores?

[Landon McCool]

I don't think he's. I don't think he's interested in the. Hypothetically, probably close to that.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Four.

[Landon McCool]

Four and a half million.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah. You see where I'm going with a lot of this. I mean, you know, I'm not. I don't want to.

[Landon McCool]

But we also got to go by the candidate. By candidate here, Coach, because I think that if you're. If we're going to do the, the kind of hemming and hawing on experienced candidates, like, we got to talk about the, the guys that are available and I don't know that that, like, what's left like that are. They're all available for every job everywhere. Like, I think for someone like Flores, he's interested in being a head coach again. Right. So any coordinator job that he's taking is going to be. If that's, if that's your mindset, then. Then, like, you're going. You're just looking for either a head coaching job this cycle or a defensive coordinator job that's going to leap you back into the market again in 2027. Where is Brian Flores going to go for one year? And he's going to have the level of success that he had in Minnesota that he's going to be able to leap himself back into another head coaching job. I think the answer is nowhere. So I don't think there's any amount of money that would have. Like, you know, I think he's taking a bet on himself.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I'm telling you. I'm telling you guys. Jerry Jones does talk dollars. It is about money now. Now let me ask you something. What about a guy like Leslie Frazier, secondary coach, experienced, not a defensive coordinator right now. So it's not a lateral move. Does he want to be a head coach again? You'd have to ask him. But I'm just saying, when I look at this particular hire to me, it doesn't fit with where this football team is. Take whoever the person is out of it. I'm talking about a quarterback that's in his prime. I'm talking about, you got about a three year window right here. And I've got to have a guy, day one, that's got big time conviction, that's got unbelievable discernment and that's ready to go. And if this guy is that guy, then fine. But if you've never done it before, I have a hard time getting on here and saying, boy, I am convinced that day one in Oxnard he's going to be able to start to insert a defense. It's going to be a damn rolling ball of butcher knives.

[Landon McCool]

And I, I think that's fair to, to suggest that I, I agree with you. I think what I'm trying to convince you of is that is there anybody that you wouldn't be convinced of that, like, is there any, is there any name that is legitimately in consideration here that you feel like at this point, you know, would come in here and, and give you that, that kind of defense? I, I don't think for me there isn't. And I think that's, and that's why I'm willing.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

And you're saying that based on who they've inter, who they've interviewed so far.

[Landon McCool]

Who they've interviewed so far, who's available, who's actually available.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I'm just saying, let's, let's say this. If they had exercised a little patience and Jim Schwartz doesn't get the job in Cleveland, would you have wanted to talk to him?

[Landon McCool]

Potentially. But again, I also think that they're, I think that we, you know, when we say patience, like, I think that, that it's waiting for the information to get out to us. I think that they know all this stuff already. I think that they talked to the agent. So they know what Jim Schwartz's level of interest and what he's looking to do and where he's going. Like, this is not like something that they are waiting for interviews for. They didn't need to.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

So you're saying they've gone out and turned over every stone that you feel like they could turn over?

[Landon McCool]

No, I don't think that that necessarily that's the case.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Talking to agents or whoever.

[Landon McCool]

I do think that there's, I do think that they have more information than we have, and I think that there's a possibility that, that, you know, some of these guys whose names that we think are available aren't necessarily available to be interviewed or aren't necessarily interested in the job or have plans that are maybe secretly written and haven't been announced yet that, that we're just as not not aware of because we don't have.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

That information that's topic for, for enough for another segment. Would you rather, would you rather work for Jerry Jones or Terry Pula?

[Landon McCool]

I mean, look, look, that's not even a question after what we've seen in press conferences so far. And look, I, I don't think that that's, that, that's not necessarily me saying like, oh, I don't think people are interested in this job. I think that's me saying, like, maybe Jim Schwartz has more inside track on that Cleveland job than we all realize. Or maybe Jim Schwartz has a handshake deal to be the defensive coordinator for so and so if he gets a job over there. Right. I just think that there's a lot of that that goes on that has kind of like marked that, you know, knocked guys off the list, off of their list that we don't know aren't on the list, aren't on. It's almost like draft prospects, right? Like, there's like, there's like a whole people that get taken off a list of draft prospects that get taken off the board because of investigation they do in the Aussies or whatever. Same thing here. I think that there's a whole list of guys that are being taken off the D.C. list because of inside baseball stuff that they're aware of that we aren't necessarily aware of.

[Host Jeff]

All right. See, I told you. This is why I said I can't wait to hear what they have to say about it. I get to sit and watch like you guys do. It's awesome. I love it. All right, when we come back, a couple more quick questions. I, I, I just got to keep this going. We'll do that when we come back. This is the Cowboys squad show. All right, I want to talk to you about Robin Hood because what if sports were traded like markets? Well, now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood. Prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you against participating in a live market. Now you can buy or sell your positions live all game long. You can use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. And Robinhood Prediction Markets changes the game. It's people moving the action so when momentum shifts, you can move with it. Now you may feel like, hey, you always knew the game but never had a way to maybe Apply that knowledge in some way. Well, now you can actually take part. Live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator, you're play by play. You decide. So take every play. With Robinhood now available across the U.S. download the Robinhood app now to begin futures and cleared swaps. Trading involves significant risk, is not apparent, not appropriate for everyone and event contracts are offered by Robin Hood Derivatives llc, the registered futures commission, merchant and swap firm. And it's that time. It is game time. As you know, it's that time of the year. Got a lot going on and our friends over at Game Time, NFL season full swing. We got the conference championships coming up on Sunday and there's nothing like being at the game. I mean the crowd noise, the energy, cheering alongside with other fans. Watching at home is great, but being in the stadium is different and it hits different. And so the frustrating part has really been getting tickets. I mean, you wait in queues, you deal with logins and then you watch the prices change, write a checkout. That's why the Game Time app gives the advantage back to the fans. It's the hack for unlocking amazing NFL tickets and experiences in just a few taps. Now, the app is incredibly intuitive, right? I mean browsing, comparing, buying tickets takes just minutes. And one of the cool things is the view from your seat before you buy. So you can do that. There's no surprises. They have these zone deals, right? You pick the section and then Game Time picks the seats and you save even more. I mean, seeing NFL tickets available for around $100 really makes it easy to plan a game day trip. And the fees are included up front. So the price you see is exactly what you pay. So take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with Game time. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NFL that's locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, open and create an account and redeem code. Lockdown NFL for $20 off. Download the game Time app today and get back to being. All right, we are back. Cowboy squad show Landon McCool, former Cowboys coach Glenn Stretch Smith. All right, want to keep this going a little bit more. The big news of the day, the Cowboys hire Christian Parker away from the Eagles. He was working in their secondary. He is the new Cowboys defensive coordinator. I want to ask both of you this, and I mean this sincerely. Not just the surface level obviously, but the fact that he's been with the Eagles right the last couple of seasons. I mean that that has to Be a bonus. But take us a little deeper to coach. I mean, what. Think about, you know, a guy coming over from, you know, one of your bigger rivals. What, what's that like? What, what can he, what can he share? What can he bring? What kind of an impact can that really make? It sounds good to me.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean, obviously he knows, you know, he's going to know the personnel, he's going to understand the weaknesses of that team. He's going to understand really both sides of the football because you have to think that not only was he involved with what they did defensively, but he was also involved in how, you know, they structure what they do. From a scout team standpoint, young guys are always, you know, multitasking in those roles. So I mean, that, that all that is, is a positive. Does it, does it gain you any sort of advantage? Probably not. But I think that anytime you can upgrade your staff with guys who have a good, sound personnel understanding, I think that's, that's, that's a good thing. And I was talking to some guys about this today because I think it's, you know, when you, when you look at how pro personnel departments work, you'll walk into a pro personnel room and on their boards they'll have guys ranked. For instance, you could probably look at the strong safety board and say, okay, who do they have as the best strong safety in the league? And then who do they have at 32? And then in between that, who, who do they have at 15 or 16? And so understanding and, and having knowledge of all of the personnel side of things, I think that's where you get number one. You get experience in understanding what you're dealing with, but also a little bit of a look ahead to knowing what certain teams strengths and weaknesses are. So. Especially when it's somebody from in your division. Yeah, I think that's a plus. Do I think from a schematic standpoint, he's going to bring anything as the inside. Not really. I mean, he may be able to say, hey, you know, I think, you know, we used to do X defensively to the Cowboys or we really thought that we had an advantage here if we did, you know, whatever. We run this X stunt, we, we come out the back door when we're running a, A down, down and around, whatever, whatever the scenario is. And obviously that information, you know, you take in and you gather. But I mean this, you know, the Eagles are, have already fired Patullo, so offensively you're not gaining much at all because they're going to Change, they're going to change what they're doing offensively. So, okay, schematically, does it matter? Not really. Personnel wise, I think you can get something out of it.

[Landon McCool]

It's not like they were doing anything super unique. Schematically on offense that he was gonna bring over here. I, I, I, I, I will, I will bring this up. He, when he got his start in the NFL, it was, he was a 27 year old. I think he may have been even younger than that. And he, he, he got a job as a quality control coach with Green Bay and he basically not only did his job right and was, and he, the reason he got the job in the first place is that they went through this very thorough vetting of quality control coaches and basically what they would do is they bring the coaches in, they would, I mean, the, the potential candidates in and they would have them break down film in front of, front of the coaches under the gun and they had like X amount of time to do so. And apparently he was far and away the best one of these guys, but what he did once he got into the, the building was that he really, really took advantage. This is kind of part of his philosophy is that he really took advantage of the access. Right? So he spent all his time and including all his free time, he didn't have kids, he wasn't married. And he would call up old tape on old guys and create cutups on old guys, defensive backs that he liked from back in the day, he would do, he would look at all kinds of different things in the Green Bay database that he could just to gain knowledge. And that like has become a, an obsession with him.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Right.

[Landon McCool]

Like apparently he's a very furious note taker. I mean that in, in the amount of note taking, not in the, the emotions of when she take them. He is very, he has apparently this legendary Google Drive, right, that he collects all these notes and then, and he takes notes on everything and apparently he takes notes on how Howie Roseman does his business, how he handles personnel. Like, and so it's when coach talked about some of the stuff that he, you know, he, he could bring, I do think that there is some of that kind of, you know, coloring in between the lines a little bit that, that maybe he could provide just because he is apparently just this sponge that just, you know, wherever he goes, he really absorbs what's around him a lot. You know, is this a lot of stuff that the Cowboys know about their division rivals already? Obviously, yes, clearly they, they, you know, play these guys two times A year. They've got probably as good an insight on the Eagles as anybody does already. Right. But what I think it can do is. Yeah, I think it's. It's individual things like that. Like Coach mentioned, like, maybe how Fangio wants to attack Dallas. Right. Like in. In kind of how he's talked about how he likes to attack Dak and that sort of thing. I think those are interesting notes that. That can kind of, you know, just help you with self scouting a little bit.

[Host Jeff]

And what do you think, too? Like, I was trying to think about it, that. Look, the. The. The guys up front are solid, right? They're. They're. Yeah, they could use a little help, but, I mean, they're. They're. That's not the weak spot.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Right.

[Host Jeff]

And, yeah, they're going to get some improvement in the linebackers, but as we talked, I mean, the secondary, priority number one for sure. And I, I mean, I would have to think that that was a big focal point of their conversation. I would love to have heard it. I'd love to hear. I'm sure he'll talk a little bit about it when he's introduced to the media, but, I mean, that's going to be the big focal point.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I think it's going to be about, like, you know, cover sick. We're going to learn a lot about COVID 6 and cover 8 and match quarters and all the kind of modern concepts that have been filtering into these defenses that are all kind of helping try to break the Shanahan defenses. Right. So, yeah, I think it's. It's gonna be, you know, nothing. They're not reinventing the wheel, as coach will tell us. Like, this isn't coverage stuff that they haven't seen before. I think what's different is about the rules in which they're taught and how they play these coverages. And I think when you're trying to learn that stuff, the details matter. Right. And how it gets taught to you matters. Right. And this is the guy that Fangio has relied upon to. To teach these concepts to his defensive backs the last two years in the Philadelphia and then the two years previous to that, when he was with Denver and he was kicking butt over there, the one year he didn't have him was in Miami. And look at the difference between how that defense was between how it was in Denver and how it was in Philadelphia. So clearly this. This guy is a great teacher of these concepts. How is that going to expand with his responsibilities? Like coach said that that's the thing that we're gonna have to find out all together.

[Host Jeff]

All right.

[Landon McCool]

And real quick, can I just say I'm seeing questions in here about 34 versus 43 I I Guys, you're gonna see it's gonna be a, a little bit of all of that, right? There's gonna definitely be some three, three man defensive line stuff because that's a Fangio plays a little bit of that. If you, if you aren't aware of the idea of mint and tight fronts that, that was very popular in the Saban systems in, in college defense. I would say look those up as well. But you're going to see four man fronts on in nickel sets and dime sets. That's just part of how it is. And, and, and it no one's really beholden to the kind of 3-443- paradigm anymore. People are just playing the all kinds of different fronts. That's just part of football. So I would say that I would that the fronts probably will be more varied under, under Parker if he's following kind of a Fangio model than what we saw under Ebert flues Coach.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean you don't see many people anymore lining up in either 12 personnel or 21 personnel, which is 12 would be two tight ends and one back. 21 be two backs and one tight end where you're actually playing a base defense. Most people base base today out of 11 personnel, which then does it really matter if you're in a 34, a 43, a Jack Crow six one diamond doesn't make a rip.

[Landon McCool]

And coach, coach, real quick. They're playing nickel on against those 12 personnel now too. Right. Because they just, a lot of these teams have big nickels and they'll just play you straight up with a nickel.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah, but the point I'm making is so, so, so when you start Talking about a 34 defense to me, you have to have 34 personnel. Pittsburgh and Hayward is a 34 true no squared stance. Nose guard Vince Wilfolk was a true 34 squared stance. You know, guy plays over the center. Now you're going to talk about six inches here. Whether a guy moves to a G or a one eye or he's playing head up or he moves, you know, wherever. I still think that in today's NFL, excuse me, there are guys that are playing still squared stance, two gap teams and there's also guys who are playing staggered stance. Rod Marinelli, get your ass up the field defense. So you know, I mean, I mean 34, 43 in today's NFL, it's just not that it's really not that relative because other than the fact that you're walking in Wednesday to give the scouting report and you're talking about guys in what type of stance they're playing in on the defensive line, that that's really the only difference that you're going to see is are guys bigger squared stance guys or they staggered stance guys like you've got in, say, Houston, where they're going to come blowing their ass up the field.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And they'll mix it up too. Like one down, they'll be playing, you know, some guy.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

The point again, the point I'm making is it's about personnel. You got to have the right personnel in order to play whatever it is that you're looking at playing. You, you, you got to have that personnel. And I don't know that the Cowboys right now truly have a 330 pound, 340 pound nose guard who can play a squared stance and fight a double team block.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. The only body type that's close to that would be toy. Right. But he's not a player that you're.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

And I don't want. I don't want him in the game very much.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I agree.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

All right, well, sorry to bother you over there, Jeff. Just take it easy.

[Host Jeff]

I'm good. Thank you, coach. I appreciate it. When we come back, I'm going to ask you about somebody on the D line and whether or not they'll be back. And it's not. It's not toya. So we'll do that when we return. This is the Cowboys squad show. Not to brag or anything, but RB's new 799 meet in three box is kind of a big deal. The other guys give you just one side. We give you three sides. Not to brag. You get a meaty sandwich, curly fries, mott sticks, a sweet treat and a drink, all for just 7.99. It's more meal for your money. More meal for your money.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

More meal for your money.

[Host Jeff]

Where'd that come from?

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Arby's. We have the meats and participating Arby's.

[Landon McCool]

For a limited time.

[Host Jeff]

All right, well, believe it or not, it's getting close to tax time. Tax season doesn't have to take over your life, though. This year, TurboTax is making it easier than ever to just hand things off and move on with your day. Now, with TurboTax full service, you can have your taxes done for you by a trusted local expert, start to finish. And you can do it without the stress or the guesswork. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out forms. You can actually meet with a local TurboTax expert in person or connect online. They handle everything from W2s to self employed forms and they work to get you every deduction you can, upload your documents, go about your day, and get updates right in the Turbo Tax app. It's a huge time saver and gives real peace of mind knowing that an expert is handling. So for a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just 150 all in. If a TurboTax expert didn't file for you last year, just file by February 28, take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com local to book your appointment today. Okay, we're back. The Cowboys squad show former Cowboys coach Glenn Stretch Smith and we of the co hosts of the daily Lock on Cowboys podcast, Landon McCool.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Where's the other guy on the daily podcast? What's he doing?

[Landon McCool]

Probably shoveling snow, coach. You know, I mean it's, I don't know why they have to live up there.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

It's probably putting that little crap bird of his to bed.

[Host Jeff]

I said, I said, Marcus, we'd love a cameo, but he, it's okay. He'll be back Monday night. Marcus and Aisha will be back Monday as well. Real quick, before I ask my personnel question, have you noticed with these head coaching hirings that we're starting to see that they're all defensive guys instead of, instead of all offensive coordinators and quarterback gurus now we're seeing kind of a shift. Mentor goes to the Ravens. I don't know. Interesting. What does that say to you, if anything?

[Landon McCool]

I think mentor is just the exception of the rule, to be honest. I mean, he to me is the one guy who is the kind of young defensive coordinator, head coach eligible type coach. Like I, I don't know that the rest you're gonna see too many other defensive coordinator that aren't like previous head coach candidates getting hired. Yeah, I mean, I, I just think that that's, I think that the trend has more been towards these younger offensive coaches obviously, and, and that, you know, kind of seemingly will probably continue, but we'll see. I mean, obviously I think mentor's situation is very specific because he is a coach who is just high in demand because of the way of his coaching career has kind of gone back and forth between pro from college to pro. So he just has like a, a level of experience I think folks are looking for. But yeah, I, I would imagine that most of the rest of the candidates are going to be either former head coaches or potentially offensive coordinate offensive hot offensive coordinators that are getting head coaching books.

[Host Jeff]

All right, well, one of the Cowboys that were kind of 50, 50, apparently, according to reports, is that Jadevian Clowney at this point is 50, 50 to me, and we've. We've talked about it. I think he's. He's a guy that fit well. Fit well here. So to me, it would be kind of a win win rather than trying to go do all that again. What do you think about his possible return? You think it's just a money thing? Maybe it's too early. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe he'll be back.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

It's always just a money thing. Yeah, it's always where it is. I mean, I never, not one time in my whole time with the Cowboys, not one time when I was anywhere where they said, oh, boy, this guy, you know, he. Donald Driver, I remember he's a perfect example. He lives in Dallas, man. He's. He works out here. He loves living in the Metroplex, and, you know, his family's here and he ain't getting a hometown discount. He's going, he's getting the most money. And that's. I mean, you, you have X amount of earning potential and you only have so much time to earn it. I got news for you there. There ain't no hometown discounts. But, you know, when you, when you look at Clowney, you know, he's a, He's a player that came in and produced, and he really produced. Once he got great shape about week three of the season or three or four when he was here, I mean, he really turned it on. Now what you got to ask yourself is what's happened to him before, you know, after he's gotten a, you know, gotten a decent deal, is, you know, can he stay healthy and then can you continue to get that type of production out of him? So to me, that becomes the risk reward question.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I feel like Clowney last year kind of played that, you know, sort of track of, I'm the veteran who, yeah, I'll sign with your team a little bit later. I don't want to go through training camp. So let's, let's, let's, let's get, get. Why don't you get through training camp and give me a call kind of situation. Right? I think that, you know, he even commented on it that I think it next year he's not going to want to do that because he, because of what coach just talked about, he felt like it took him a little bit longer than he expected to kind of get into game shape the way he needed to. So I imagine that money may be part of it, but also kind of working on a, on a, a training camp plan, you know, and so like, yeah, I'll come in, just, I'll come in to start training camp, but I want, you know, kind of maybe a couple extra veteran days that other guys.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah, yeah, I mean, he may say that. I want every Thursday, I want every third day off. I showed you I could play last year without coming to training camp. Now do you, do you want to deal with that? I mean, would you know who, who, who. And that, that opens a whole nother can of worms. Now who, who is the defensive line coach? Yeah, you got a young defensive coordinator. Is he going to want to, is he going to want to deal with that? Is he going to want to know? Man, you know, rotationally, I'm trying to work on this rotation of guys or that rotation of guys in training camp. Now am I going to have to deal with every third day? I mean, you know, I got to look at kind of changing the rotation or doing what I'm doing. I'm, I mean, there's a lot of questions that need to be answered here and it's not just going to be Javion deciding one way or the other. This new defensive coordinator.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

You hired him. You have to allow him to have a say. And guess what? We're putting in a brand new, you know, brand new defense. And so, you know, we, we, we can't have, you know, we may not can afford to have guys off now. Maybe, maybe he says there's enough upside here that I see in what Jadevion can do.

[Landon McCool]

He.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Guess what. Yeah, we'll give, we'll, we'll, we'll be, we'll work with him in that situation and, and then, you know, can the two sides come together and figure that out? But it's just not. I don't think it's just a one sided question. You know, you're going to have some, both sides and you're going to. Don't. There needs, there's going to need to be some give and take in each of those scenarios.

[Host Jeff]

Let me ask.

[Landon McCool]

And there's also, there's also more people available on the market now than there were when he signed. So maybe you might have better options, honestly, so that at a better price. So, yeah, I think there's a lot to consider there and especially since we're not bringing back the same coordinator, it's not like a guarantee that he's going to come back. Right.

[Host Jeff]

So that's the perfect segue into my George Pickens question. But real quick, before we go to break and we do that, I'm going to save that for after just a quick Christian Parker question. So how does that work when you have a new defensive coordinator that's never had the job? Does he get to pick his staff? Do they tell him, no, we want you to keep this guy? And how important is it for him to have his guys under. Underneath him?

[Landon McCool]

Well, traditionally with the Cowboys, they. Even if you have experience, they don't necessarily. They usually are. It's a mix and match with the front office about, like, who's. How they make these decisions. Obviously they'll make them with you. I would imagine that they are going to give Schottenheimer a lot of leeway here. I, I can't imagine that Jerry Jones has any idea before 2 days ago who Christian Parker is. So I have a feeling that. I have a feeling that, that, that this is, you know, they're giving. This is a sign that they already are giving him and, and Stephen maybe a lot of leeway here to make these decisions. So, yeah, I, I would imagine it's going to be a mix and match. I would not be shocked if there were a couple coaches who stayed from last year. White cotton specifically, maybe, but we'll see.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

All right, Jeff, if you haven't taken one other thing out of this show that I've said. What, what have I. What have I been saying this whole 45 minutes?

[Landon McCool]

It's about money.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

And it's about money. Quit just standing around over there scratching your ass. It's about money now. Hey, how many of these guys have multiple years on their contracts? Jerry Jones is not for paying guys a bunch of money to go sit around and scratch that. That's not it. So then the question becomes, okay, maybe this is this young coordinator. We're going to hire him and hopefully he can work with some of our other coaches or maybe he has a guy or two guys to where we're not having to just pay a whole staff of defensive guys to walk away. I'm telling you 100%. That has to do with this entire. It's got to do with money.

[Landon McCool]

All right, well, you know, Mike Patini just retired, but I, I wonder if maybe coach could convince him one more year to come back and just give Parker like a transition year to give him some help out just A guy that's a steady hand on the wheel, that has done this a lot in the NFL, who's worked with Parker before and just recently had a court. That kind of. Not a coordinator job, but a defensive consultant job.

[Host Jeff]

Yeah.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah. And maybe, and maybe, maybe that is what it is. You know, maybe you bring an older guy in along with, let's say, I don't know, a defensive back guy or a linebacker guy.

[Landon McCool]

A linebacker coach. That's like a bit. Yeah.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Like. Yeah, you kind of, you know, then you kind of keep. Okay, hey, you know, I'm sure he's been told, hey, you know, keep these guys one year. If it does, if we can't get it worked out, then, you know, we'll, we'll do whatever we need to do. I'm going to tell you that. And this is just me saying this. I, I believe this is a, this, this could be a short term scenario here where if the Joneses don't see a turnaround off a 500 football team, I mean, I think you could, I mean, I think you could see, you know, a clean sweep here. And that's not to say I'm not, I'm not making any predictions. I'm saying that I, I don't think Jerry Jones is going to want to have just hired a staff of guys who, I'm sure all of those guys got at least two year deals and he's going to want to say, okay, well, let's get rid of this defensive staff. Some of them, one or two of them may have three year deals. Let's get rid of these guys and let me start paying a whole nother crew of guys. I'm telling you, I know how, I know how he is and that, that, that ain't going to happen.

[Landon McCool]

One of the worst defenses in history last year. So the good news for Christian Parker is, hey, buddy. Only way up.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Only way up.

[Landon McCool]

He's up.

[Host Jeff]

Well said.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Can you get us, can, can you, can you get us 10 critical. Just the one abacus. Can, can we do 10 beads across the one abacus in the first half of the season to make it worth our while?

[Landon McCool]

From, from worst to like third worst of all time? That'd be, that's an improvement, right?

[Host Jeff]

It would be. All right. Final segment when we come back. This is a wild Brandon A. George Pickens rumor. We'll do that when we come back. This is the Cowboys squad show.

[Landon McCool]

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[Host Jeff]

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[Landon McCool]

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[Host Jeff]

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[Landon McCool]

Yeah. I mean, honestly, that's that's going to be obviously a topic on mine for a little while. We have the Senior bowl coming up. It's. Which is crazy. Every time we talk about the Senior bowl coming up every year, we're always surprised. So anytime that we're making an announcement about a Senior bowl podcast, it's always like, oh my gosh, it's time for the Senior Bowl. But also the Shrine bowl, which is coming up, which is being hosted at the Star in Frisco. So we'll talk about that. But definitely some draft Prospects, we'll talk about some free agency stuff because now we have a defensive coordinator in place. So, yeah, there's tons to talk about, obviously, and we're going to be there talking a lot of Cowboys for the.

[Host Jeff]

Next few weeks with those, with those bowl games, the Shrine and the senior bowls. Is that more about what goes on in practice as opposed to the game itself? I mean, the coaches and scouts, are they just watching guys on the practice field and trying to get a look that way as opposed to what they see in the game?

[Landon McCool]

I think the point is that it's probably equal evaluation and sometimes more evaluation than the game. But I don't. We shouldn't discount the game either because I do think you've seen a couple different times that some of the guys that end up sticking out in the NFL maybe weren't fantastic through the week of practice, but really showed you something in the game, even in limited reps. So I do think that there's something to the game as well. But yes, like, definitely don't discount and don't ignore the practice notes. You see, because the coaches and the front offices are getting a lot of information out of how these practices because they get unlimited, kind of a really incredible access to these kids in these, in these practices. So it's a great opportunity for the teams.

[Host Jeff]

Nice. All right, so we talked about George Pickens and his looming contract a little bit the other night. Now, I just want to be on the record here. I am not looking for this. I am not looking for clickbait. I am.

[Landon McCool]

Jeff, what are you, what are you about to do? What are you about to propose here?

[Host Jeff]

But here's the thing. I just, I can't get past this. So kind of the narrative is, hey, the Cowboys will tag him and maybe he'll just play in a tag or they'll give him a one or two year deal and they'll, you know, live happily ever after and everything will be great. And to me, I'm saying, look, if you're him and his agent, you're feeling like last season was. That was his prove me contract season and he wants to get paid. He doesn't want a one year deal. He wants, he wants a max deal, a really big deal. And I just, I, maybe I'm in the minority, maybe because it doesn't seem like many people agree with me, but I just, I don't, I don't see how that's going to end, especially with his agent being Micah's agent. I think that, you know, I think he's Going to be looking to really get a good deal, really make a big splash and get a big deal for Pickens. And I'm just not sure if the Cowboys are going to be on the same page. And so it's starting to get a little momentum, right. This whole. What's going to happen with George. And so there's different things coming out, and the latest one is that they could trade Pickens for a pick or two and then sign Brandon Iuk, who's going to get cut loose by the 49ers.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, I, I think he's going to get tagged and I think. Or he's going to get signed. I don't know. It just. It feels like too good of a fit, and I think he understands that, too. And I think that the. I don't buy into the agent talk stuff like, I mean, Jerry's gonna deal with that agent. I mean, he's. That's the number one agency in the NFL, right? Like, what is Jerry just not gonna make. Sign any more deals with those guys? Like, it. There's got to be a working relationship there. And, and so, yeah, I just think. I kind of think that it. A deal gets worked out. I understand why there's. Why there's. There's a lot. I mean, especially after the mica thing, I certainly understand why there's a lot of talk about the, you know, potential trades and, and, you know, ways of kind of exiting this. But I, I don't think that the Cowboys are interested in doing that because I think they have a kind of rare, unique opportunity where they. They got a player in his prime for cheap. And I think, you know, look, I also think that Jerry's mindset matters here. Right? Like, for Jerry, he always, you know, he. He. He feels like he owes it to the fan base, I think, to sign, to do this deal after the way that Michael went down, just like you knew, I felt like part of the reason that you got that, that. That Quinn Williams deal is because he still felt like he. He owed it to the fan base here. So I, I just. I just kind of roll and, and, you know, we've even heard him say that like, you know, the, the pig, the. The using Pickens as an example of a guy that they should be able to sign because they didn't have to do the Parsons deal or whatever. So I, I just, I understand the, the conjecture there, but to me, it seems like it's just conjecture and it's certainly for this year, because I just think he's getting Tagged. And that's, it's almost like I've already allocated my brain at this point.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Point. So how many, how many teams you think want to give him this max deal?

[Landon McCool]

I think that that's a fair point, too. That's another fair point here, is that.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

No, no, no, let's just, let's, let's just play along with the game here. I mean, how many teams you think want to do that?

[Host Jeff]

Maybe six.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Okay, now, now what, what do you think those six will. What do you think those six will trade you for him?

[Host Jeff]

I don't know. First round pick.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

That answer. Where's the pick? Like, what is the, is it a first round pick?

[Host Jeff]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe first round, second round.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Okay, you don't have a second and you don't have, you currently don't have a two and you don't have a three. So, Landon, I'll ask you. I mean, what, what, what would it, what, what would it take from a trade standpoint to blow your dress up?

[Landon McCool]

And this is, this is the problem, right? Like, I don't know that anyone's going to be offering. Like it would take. I, I want to. Just because of the, all the other things that we're talking about, including this window that we've created, the opportunity. It would take a first. It would take a first round pick.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

For me or, okay, mid first, a mid one, late one.

[Landon McCool]

Mid late one. I take a high second, too.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

You would, you'd take, you take an early two right now for George Pickens. Are you one of those guys that stands there and scratches your ass to hit 16 when the dealer's showing 10?

[Landon McCool]

I would ask for something back. I would ask for more than, more than a two. I need two. And a sweet and a nice sweetener.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean, I'm with you. I'm just saying. I mean, I, I think when you, when you put his production this year on this football team out there, he is definitely worth a mid one. He's. He's worth a mid one now. I haven't looked at the receivers. This is the time of year where you're going to have a chance now to go, to go line up just the top five receivers. I don't know, look up on the board and tell me who the top. I don't know who's Kuiper got as the top five receivers? Right. Or give me the top three and then, and then say, okay, where would you insert Pickens into those top three? Because his age isn't an issue right now.

[Host Jeff]

No.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

And, and then you Say yourself. Okay, what kind of grade would you actually put. Because of his age, what grade would you put on George Pickens? And, and you? I, I don't know because I haven't looked at him and so I don't like speaking on that. But I don't even know who the top receiver who landed. Do you know who the top receiver coming out in the, in the draft is this year?

[Landon McCool]

It depends on who you ask, but probably was it the, the kid from Ohio State, the, the Tate, Jeremiah Smith? No, he, Jeremiah Smith just missed next year.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Okay, so in your mind, I mean, did you, did you see Ohio State play two or three games? I mean, could you, Would you feel good saying, okay, who would you rather have? Would you. Let's just, let's just play the game. Would you rather have George Pickens or this Ohio State receiver? And I'm going to say that that Ohio State receiver is probably going to be somewhere in that mid first round. Wouldn't you say that?

[Landon McCool]

You hope so, but yeah, I mean.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

That'S why I'm putting that value part of it now. And now is he better, you know, then is he better than that guy? That kind of conversations that I'm sure will be had if somebody in fact picks up the phone and offers you that. Now here's the flip side. You're gonna have to pay him so he's not going to fit into your salary cap like a, like, like a, you know, a rookie on a, on a rookie deal would fit.

[Landon McCool]

Let's put it this way too. To me, Dak, CD and Pickens together is the window. Like that's what we're talking about.

[Host Jeff]

I agree. I want him back.

[Landon McCool]

So, so like I'm not trading that away because now it's like we've got reconfigured this thing and now we don't have the, the explosive offense that we did.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Again, I'm, let me clarify this. I'm in no way saying trade. I'm not. Yeah, I'm saying, I'm saying if your discussion is money and how much money, that's where, what would he be worth in the eyes of another beholder? And you're saying probably not worth as much as in the eyes of this beholder.

[Landon McCool]

The sides can't meet. That's the problem is that no other team's gonna value the pick, you know, given away enough to go sign this guy to a max deal that is entice him away from us. That feels like, oh, let's close our, or extend or change our window. And then also have to go out and get another wide receiver in a not so great wide receiver class. Yeah, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Well, let me ask you this right now. Would you rather have George Pickens or Marvin Harrison Jr. Let's see where. I mean. Yeah, I'm not. I'm not disagreeing.

[Landon McCool]

He was a top three pick or whatever it was.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Right. So.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I think he was. I think he was the top pick.

[Landon McCool]

Give me. Yeah, give me the sure thing. Give like, you know, we've done. We've. I mean, like, I'm not.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

You're the guy that wants the bird in the hand versus two in the bush. You bunted that. You bunted your little 200 yard drive right in the middle of the fairway and you're saying, I. I want to hit it out of the short grass. I don't want to take. I don't want to take a mulligan, please.

[Host Jeff]

All right, well, you guys kind of. I mean, you kind of helped me with my point of that. I mean, it's. It's not far fetched to see that he and his agent feel like, okay, I had a great season. I showed what I can do. I just want to get paid. And so we'll see. I like Landon. You think that there's going to be enough money there to get that done, and that's always.

[Landon McCool]

There's always enough like this. They can shuffle this money around any way they want. Let's just see if they do it.

[Host Jeff]

Okay. Fair enough. We will leave it there for now. We'll have months to talk about it.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, that's for sure.

[Host Jeff]

We'll look forward to it. All right, Landon, look forward to your shows with Marcus. Talking about the higher and the Bulls this weekend. Be safe this weekend. We look forward to it.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Let me. Let me ask you one question before we sign off here.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Landon, if you. If, since you got the. Since you got Parker, does he walk in tomorrow and say, our first free agent find is Re Blankenship. You want him?

[Landon McCool]

I'm wondering if Blankenship is someone that they may target. I. I do. I think it makes sense just because I think it provides some stability.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

I mean, you got a quarter. You'd have a quarterback right now on the back end of the defense. Do you want him? Yes or no?

[Landon McCool]

Yes.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

Yeah, I do. Right now. I asked. I asked Marcus and I bet he. Marcus would probably scratch his ass a couple times before he'd give you a yes or no.

[Landon McCool]

Well, I'll go ask him because we're about to record a show on this whole thing.

[Coach Jeff Biggs]

You make sure.

[Landon McCool]

All right, I will.

[Host Jeff]

All right, guys, we'll talk next week. Enjoy. This has been the Cowboys Squad show. Locked On.

[Landon McCool]

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