THE BOYS ARE BACK: Wheels down in Oxnard | Dallas Cowboys rested and ready | Dallas Cowboys 2014-2015 Training Camp
Upon wrapping up the team minicamp on June 19, which followed several weeks of Organized Team Activities (OTAs), official Dallas Cowboys on-field action ceases for awhile, giving the players about five weeks off before they report for training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on July 22.
DALLAS COWBOYS INJURIES: 2013 2014 Key injury recap | How ‘bout them hamstrings
With the Dallas Cowboys 2013 2014 season over, injuries to several key players took shape this season. The Cowboys lost 77 gameday starts to player injuries this season, including 23 to hamstring problems.
Veteran and well-respected strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Woicik said his staff worked hard to solve the number of hamstring injuries. Extra stretching and monitoring the amount of work players did during practices were some of the things Woicik’s staff did to combat the problem.
The Cowboys lost seven players to hamstring injuries this season including five games each to wide receiver Miles Austin and linebacker Justin Durant. Austin just wasn’t the same player in the latter half of the season because of his tender hamstrings.
Durant was placed on injured reserve Dec. 17 because he couldn’t recover in enough time to get ready to play.
Here’s the list of Dallas Cowboys players who were injured and how many games were lost:
DeMarco Murray, two games
Lance Dunbar, seven games
Dwayne Harris, three games
Miles Austin, five games
Tony Romo, one game
DeMarcus Ware, three games
Sean Lee, five games
Bruce Carter, one game
Morris Claiborne, five games
Jason Hatcher, one game
Justin Durant, six games
DeVonte Holloman, seven games
Edgar Jones, nine games
Ernie Sims, four games
Anthony Spencer, 15 games
J.J. Wilcox, three games
COACHES ROSTER: Meet the 2013-14 Dallas Cowboys coaching staff
There have been a number of changes in the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff over the offseason. Here’s an updated list of the assistant coaches and links for more detailed information on each of them. This page will be updated if any other changes are made.
DALLAS COWBOYS HEAD COACH
Jason Garrett was named the eighth head coach in Dallas Cowboys history on January 5, 2011. Garrett, who played for or worked alongside four of his predecessors, became the first former Dallas Cowboys player to become the team’s head coach.
DALLAS COWBOYS COACHING STAFF
| Offensive Coaches | Defensive Coaches | Specialty Coaches |
| Jimmy Robinson Asst. Head Coach/Wide Receivers |
Monte Kiffin Defensive Coordinator |
Mike Woicik Strength and Conditioning |
| To Be Determined Tight Ends/Passing Game Coord. |
Jerome Henderson Secondary |
Chris Boniol Assistant Special Teams/ Kickers |
| Wade Wilson Quarterbacks |
Matt Eberflus Linebackers |
Brett Bech Assistant Strength and Conditioning |
| Bill Callahan Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
Rod Marinelli Defensive Line |
Rich Bisaccia
Special Teams |
| Wes Phillips Assistant Offensive Line |
Ben Bloom Quality Control/Linebackers |
|
| Keith O’Quinn Off. Quality Control/Wide Receivers |
Joe Baker Assistant Secondary |
OFFSEASON HEALING: Dallas Cowboys medical staff keeping busy
When the Cowboys’ season ended, they had 11 players on injured reserve and rookie safety Matt Johnson on the reserve/injured returnable list.
Rookie wide receiver Danny Coale was on the practice squad reserve/injured list.
It was a busy year for the Cowboys’ medical staff.
One of the lasting images of the season was strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik trying to loosen up the back of wide receiver Dez Bryant, who suffered severe back spasms in the regular season finale at Washington. Bryant had to leave the stadium in a wheelchair.
Quarterback Tony Romo walked out of Washington with a fractured rib. Several other players left the stadium needing crutches to get to the team bus.
Several players, including wide receiver Miles Austin and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, had to deal with hamstring issues off and on.
Woicik and his staff stretched out some players individually before the team stretching period. The staff did everything they could to get players ready to play. Austin seems to always be battling hamstring problems, and Johnson was only able to practice a handful of times because of his hamstring and ended up hurting his back while rehabbing.
"You have to evaluate what the injuries are and if there is any correlation to your strength and conditioning program," coach Jason Garrett said.
Woicik is considered one of the best in the NFL. He’s been a part of six Super Bowl-winning teams, including three with the Cowboys in the 1990s.
"I think you have evaluate them one by one and see if there is anything we could have done differently in terms of practicing, offseason program, anything like that," Garrett said. "A lot of that just seemed to be those kinds of injuries that happens over the course of a season in the NFL."
MIKE WOICIK: Strength coach’s awards help team camaraderie
Every championship run begins with offseason leaders. Before Troy Aikman and Tom Brady captured their Super Bowl victories, one man was pushing the two quarterbacks as well as their respective Cowboys and Patriots teams.
Winning was never an issue for strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik. Six total Super Bowl rings between Dallas and New England give credence to any football knowledge offered by Woicik.
His offseason program led to three titles with the Cowboys from 1990-96, including the team’s last championship in 1995, when current head coach Jason Garrett was still backup quarterback Jason Garrett.
Garrett knew how Woicik went about his business before the strength and conditioning coach rejoined the Cowboys last year, in a shortened season with no Organized Team Activities (OTAs) or minicamps. This year is the first since 1996 that Woicik could install his offseason awards program with the Cowboys.
“It adds a little motivation to the whole thing,” Woicik says. “Really, what we want is for guys to come in. When they play football games, they keep score. We want them to keep score in their training.”
It’s during that time in the offseason when players’ self-discipline is the primary motivating factor that Woicik rewards those who go beyond the call of duty. With three Super Bowl rings from two different teams, he knows his approach works.
And with nearly 100 percent offseason attendance this year, the Cowboys players know it does, too.
“It builds a lot of camaraderie, being able to work out together in the offseason,” says Sean Lee, one of the nine offseason award winners for 2012. “That’s something we had this year. We had a lot of guys there. The camaraderie was there. The hard work was there. And I think you’re seeing that on the field.”
THE CORNERS BACK: Dallas Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins starts practice and conditioning Saturday
The long road to recovery for Mike Jenkins should end Saturday, when he’s eligible to begin practicing for the first time since his shoulder surgery.
Head coach Jason Garrett said the Dallas Cowboys doctors gave Jenkins an in-house exam and forwarded that information to Dr. James Andrews, who gave the cornerback permission to return and avoid the Physically Unable to Perform List to begin the season.
Jenkins fought through injuries throughout 2011, including shoulder, hamstring and neck issues, to finish tied for the team lead with 10 pass deflections.
“He hasn’t practiced a whole lot of football in a while,” Garrett said. “Conditioning is certainly a factor, getting himself acclimated to just playing football is a factor. We’ll evaluate him day by day. It’s good to see that he is cleared. It’s going to be good to have him out on the practice field on Saturday.”
Garrett isn’t concerned with how much Jenkins will play or how they’ll use the fifth-year defensive back yet. He just wants to see him running in full pads with the team. Garrett said during training camp that Jenkins would have to practice before he could start playing in games.
“All we want to do with Mike Jenkins is get him back on the practice field, see how he’s moving around,” Garrett said. “We’re not overly focused on any particular role that he has.”
Jenkins started the last three seasons at right cornerback after winning the job in 2009. Following the acquisitions of first-round pick Morris Claiborne and free agent Brandon Carr, Jenkins role is still unclear this year. Garrett said he hasn’t had any conversations with Jenkins about playing special teams.
COACHES ROSTER: Meet the 2013-14 Dallas Cowboys coaching staff
There have been a number of changes in the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff over the past few years. Here’s an updated list of the assistant coaches and links for more detailed information on each of them.
DALLAS COWBOYS HEAD COACH
Jason Garrett was named the eighth head coach in Dallas Cowboys history on January 5, 2011. Garrett, who played for or worked alongside four of his predecessors, became the first former Dallas Cowboys player to become the team’s head coach.
DALLAS COWBOYS COACHING STAFF
| Offensive Coaches | Defensive Coaches | Specialty Coaches |
| Jimmy Robinson Asst. Head Coach/Wide Receivers |
Monte Kiffin Defensive Coordinator |
Mike Woicik Strength and Conditioning |
| To Be Determined Tight Ends/Passing Game Coord. |
Jerome Henderson Secondary |
Chris Boniol Assistant Special Teams/ Kickers |
| Wade Wilson Quarterbacks |
Matt Eberflus Linebackers |
Brett Bech Assistant Strength and Conditioning |
| Bill Callahan Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line |
Rod Marinelli Defensive Line |
|
| Wes Phillips Assistant Offensive Line |
Ben Bloom Quality Control/Linebackers |
|
| Keith O’Quinn Off. Quality Control/Wide Receivers |
Joe Baker Assistant Secondary |
This post has been revised. Please click HERE.
THE WOICIK FACTOR: Miles Austin, other Cowboys expecting benefits from Dallas’ strength and conditioning program
When Cowboys receiver Miles Austin said during a recent interview that he wasn’t in the best physical shape last season, he didn’t mean to suggest that he didn’t work hard in the off season when he trained primarily in California during the lockout.
Austin said he worked hard but he acknowledges that his preparation is different this off season under the guidance of Cowboys strength coach Mike Woicik. He hopes it leads to better results after missing time in training camp last year and six games during the regular season because hamstrings problems in both legs.
“What I meant to say is that I felt prepared. I felt prepared, but what I’m doing now with Woicik and our team is different than what I was doing,” Austin said. “I’m confident in what we’re doing now. I feel good. I’m working out every day. I mean, I was working out every day before, but now I’m working out with our strength coaches.”
Coach Jason Garrett said earlier this off season that the Cowboys are working with Austin to solve the hamstring issues that not only plagued him last seasons but also in 2009.
Austin didn’t acknowledge whether he thought the hamstring issues might be chronic, only saying “I’m working very hard.”
2012 OFFSEASON DEVELOPMENT: Players will get first offseason training program with Mike Woicik
IRVING, Texas — Of Jason Garrett’s staff hires last winter, strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik had the longest wait.
The four-month NFL lockout eliminated the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason training program. Woicik’s primary office, the weight room at Valley Ranch, was empty until late July.
With labor peace now established, Woicik’s program will start on time in a couple of months. And the primary beneficiaries are the Cowboys’ 2011 rookies, who became professionals last summer without any offseason time in a professional setting.
Woicik has six Super Bowl rings with the Cowboys and Patriots. He knows how to physically prepare a team for a 16-game grind.
The young offensive lineman in particular need time: tackle Tyron Smith; guard Bill Nagy, who broke his ankle; and guard David Arkin, who essentially redshirted and needed to get stronger.
"It’s more of a maintenance-type situation (during the season). The offseason is really when (Woicik) gets to work," Garrett said. "We’re excited about the opportunity to have our players be with him — our older players and also our younger players because I think he has a track record of developing individual players and hopefully help develop our football team."
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