Attitude adjustment: Bill Parcells, the master of the reclamation project, has Dallas playing at a whole new level of intensity

Football Digest, Jan, 2004 by Charean Williams

GONE ARE THE DOMINOES games, the long stays on the injury list, and the undisciplined play. Bill Parcells' fingerprints are all over the Dallas Cowboys. He has taken former coach Dave Campo's talent and made it presentable. And what's most remarkable is that he's done it virtually overnight.

"He has allowed us to develop that confidence and that chemistry that allows us to go into games expecting to win rather than going into games hoping to win," Cowboys tight end James Whalen says.

Parcells, who took over as coach last winter, is using a starting lineup that is similar to last season's. What's different, though, is that the Cowboys actually are are winning. In 2002, they regularly beat themselves with stupid penalties, costly turnovers, or questionable coaching decisions. But now the players are performing to their fullest potential.

We've always thought we had the talent," Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter says, "Now we've got the coaching to go with it."

That's the difference, Carter points out, between, say, last season's 31-27 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and this season's 35-32 overtime victory over the New York Giants. The Cowboys, who held a 27-24 lead on the 49ers, faced a fourth-and-one with just more than two minutes remaining. Campo called for a play, but offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet didn't have one, prompting a 47-yard field goal try. Billy Cundiff missed, and the 49ers drove 63 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

On September 15 of this season, on the other hand, the Cowboys trailed the Giants 32-29 with 11 seconds remaining and the ball on their own 40. Parcells called a play the Cowboys had practiced so many times that Carter instantly knew it was going to work. A 29-yard reception by Antonio Bryant set up Cundiffs 52-yard field goal on the last play of regulation to tie it.

"It's the attention to detail," Cowboys defensive tackle La'Roi Glover says. "I mean, we go over situation after situation after situation, and some of them have won us ballgames."

The players have bought into the Parcells way. They respect him; they fear him; they don't want to disappoint him.

After Dallas' 24-7 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on October 5, Carter iced his arm at Texas Stadium and then returned to the team's training complex at Valley Ranch to watch film. Before Parcells arrived, the players didn't exhibit that type of work ethic. We're not perfect yet," Glover says, "but you can see the change." The very fact that the Cowboys players now are striving for perfection demonstrates the impact Parcells has had.

After three consecutive 5-11 finishes, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired Campo and replaced him with Parcells. It was considered the toughest rebuilding project of Parcells' career. His past accomplishments included transforming the Giants, New England Patriots, and New York Jets from losers into winners. It was with the Giants in the 1980s that he reached the pinnacle of his profession, leading them to two Super Bowl titles.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, were 49-83 overall and 1-3 in three playoff appearances from 1996 through 2002. They haven't been to the playoffs since 1999, and they haven't won a playoff game since 1996. Dallas' drafts since 1995, their last Super Bowl season, have produced only one Pro Bowler.

Job No. 1 for Parcells was to change the attitude of the team. His players have become much more physically and mentally prepared, and they exude a confidence that they previously lacked.

"I'm trying to teach the players philosophically what I believe in," Parcells says. "I try to educate them as to, 'Here's what the hell we're trying to do here, boys. It's just not running plays. Here's how we're trying to play.'

"I just go out to practice every day with the intention of trying to improve the team. And I will stop progress if I have to make sure that we pay attention to details that I deem to be very important to our eventual success. If we have to just junk something to get something else fixed, I've always been one to do that."

Parcells has taken some interesting measures to change the mindset of the team. He lowered the temperature in the room, making it an uncomfortable place to be for the players. The message was that he didn't want players dwelling on their injuries--and it worked. During training camp, Bryant was back on the practice field only hours after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his left pinky.

The popular foosball, Ping-Pong, and dominoes games that had occupied the team's daily lunch hour over the years have disappeared from the team's locker room. Valley Ranch is all business, with motivational signs posted everywhere, reminding players, among other things, that: DUMB PLAYERS DO DUMB THINGS. SMART PLAYERS VERY SELDOM DO DUMB THINGS. Every Saturday, Parcells posts memos on the players' lockers. "What will you help us do to win?" read one recent delivery.

"All I want them to think is, 'Hey, this guy is coaching us. He's trying to prepare us with what he knows. He's trying to give us what he knows about, and his staff is trying to give us what he knows to get us ready to play,'" Parcells says. "There's a sign hanging up that says, THERE ARE A LOT OF EXIT DOORS IN PRO FOOTBALL ONE OF THEM IS, "WEIL, THE COACH DIDN'T HAVE US PREPARED." They aren't using that one around here if I can help it."