FRISCO, Texas – Another day, another sign of change.
Mike McCarthy wasted no time putting his thumbprint on the image of this Cowboys team during his first year as head coach. Going all the way back to the depths of the offseason, there have been signs of change from the previous era.
Heading into his first game week with the Cowboys, McCarthy revealed another change when he revealed how the team would designate captains in 2020.
"We will have weekly captains," he said. "There will be three captains that will serve each week. That will be part of our team meeting on Saturday. That's where we'll let the team know who they are."
That's obviously a departure from the way things have worked here for the past decade. Under Jason Garrett, the Cowboys typically had a preseason vote on five captains – two offense, two defense and one special teams. Last year they actually had six, adding a second special teams captain to the mix.
Asked why he favored that approach, McCarthy said it will provide a chance for many of his players to develop leadership experience.
"I feel it's an opportunity for your full roster to experience -- it's an opportunity for leadership," he said. "There's a number of positive factors in my view of doing it that way."
This roster has no shortage of options for a captaincy vote. Dak Prescott and Zack Martin have been mainstays on offense in recent seasons, while DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford, Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee have all served as defensive captains in the past. Chris Jones was the team's special teams captain in 2019.
It stands to reason that we'll see many different captains under this format as the season goes along. McCarthy did point out, though, that if the Cowboys are good enough to make the postseason, they'll have an official vote on captains for the duration of the playoffs.
