Cowboys Blog regular Don Swalinski had the good fortune of sitting next to former NFL linebacker Brian Cox on a flight recently. Cox was one of Bill Parcells' LBs with the Jets and Don got to quiz him on his old coach's plans heading towards the draft. Here are some of Don's recollections.
So I'm coming back from my annual golf trip with the boys and who's sitting next to me but former Parcells guy Bryan Cox.
Like most of you I couldn't help get some of those burning questions about the Cowboys, Parcells, and the draft off my chest.
Some of the things he had to say...
He and Parcells speak about once a month. Last time was at the combine.
Look for Dallas to target an offensive lineman in the first round. He thinks Dallas isn't likely to go hard after a receiver and that they may target a DL after the draft around June 1st cuts. Cox likes the WR's that Dallas has now.
He said he thought Parcells would take a look at one of the 3 top CB's if they were available as well (Rogers, Jones, and Rolle). He felt they needed a 3rd solid guy. He says he likes Henry and thinks it was a good pick up by Dallas and that Pete Hunter won't cut it as a corner.
I asked if Hunter could make the move to free saftey and he basically said who couldn't.
Expect these picks to be more Parcells guys. It appears there was some friction with Parcells and Jones last year and according to Cox, both Wiley and George were Jones calling the shots. Parcells didn't want them. After last season it appears Parcells will be buying most of the groceries.
Parcells will try hard to get the guys to be 3-4. He likes the flexibility of the defense. Cox loves Glover. He also said going to a 3-4 will allow Roy Williams to show off his talent. It will allow him to be the player he is. Cox likes the pick up of Ferguson but says [John] Abraham is the best defensive player in the NFL. I didn't follow up the question if Parcells was going to swap picks for him. Sorry guys.
Stephen Jones appears to be the guy behind the scenes running things. Jerry is still the front man but it sounded like Stephen makes the calls.
This had to be one of the only times when I wished a flight took longer.