Culture Shock: Cowboys Rob Davis On His Job Description And The Most Important Room in the Building - Mike Fisher, Cowboys Maven

When reports came out that Mike McCarthy had hired Rob Davis as assistant head coach, many were baffled given his history as a player and executive, but not as a coach. Davis explains his role.

Its pretty fluid right now, Davis told us. Mike and I have a long history and relationship. I played for him (for a decade as the Green Bay long-snapper), worked with him, volunteer-coached at St. Norberts College. But Ive been a life coach for long time. Most of my post-career has been around the life-coaching space, trying to develop high-performance teams and develop young men into being better men and better players.

It occurred to us that Davis almost sounds like a McCarthy lieutenant and maybe a liaison into the locker room. And indeed, he told us that he will be connected to the leaders in the Cowboys player programs department (Bryan Wansley), the executive wing (Todd Williams, COO Stephen Jones right-hand man) and the scouting department (Will McClay).

All-encompassing, Davis said of his role, adding, The locker room is the most important room in the building. No disrespect to any other offices, but Mike wants to make sure the locker room is operating at a high level.

Could the Cowboys look to revive the Jamal Adams trade? Its among three proposed trades for the team to pursue.

Blockbuster: Trade pick No. 17 for Jamal Adams

[Adams] can make plays from any alignment, but theres no doubt hes most comfortable in and around the box, where he can consistently make an impact against the run and pass. Adams is outstanding at attacking his run fits and knifing his way into the backfield to make plays as a blitzer. In coverage, he has the rare ability to provide tight-man coverage against tight ends while possessing the football intelligence and instincts to succeed in zone coverage. Also, Adams is a much more reliable tackler than the Cowboys previous strong safety, Jeff Heath.

The only argument against trading a first-rounder for Adams is that it sacrifices some future financial flexibility at a time when the Cowboys cap space is likely to shrink heavily if and when they sign Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper to mega contracts.

A player selected in the first round comes on a relatively cheap contract while being under team control for at least four years. Adams, on the other hand, is entering the final years of his rookie deal, so if the Cowboys wanted to keep him long-term, theyd have to re-sign yet another player to a big contract in the immediate future, shrinking the money pool they would use to improve the rest of the roster.

McCarthy is definitely bringing in a lot of guys he knows in the coaching ranks, but they also come with a lot of experience.

With four former head coaches and a former defensive coordinator already on board, experience is clearly one of the hallmarks of the new staff being assembled by Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy.

But its also one that is coming to be known for its familiarity with McCarthy as well as its diversity, as highlighted by the recent hire of Rob Davis as assistant head coach.

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Davis is also the seventh coach with personal ties to McCarthy. Offensive line coach Joe Philbin, linebackers coach Scott McCurley, assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko, and Harris worked with him in Green Bay. Offensive assistant Scott Tolzien was a backup quarterback for the Packers.

Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan hired McCarthy as offensive coordinator when he was named head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2005.

Ex-Cowboys player DeMarco Murray continues his transition into coaching.

DeMarco Murray transitioned from playing football to coaching it last year and now hell be continuing on the coaching path at his alma mater.

The University of Oklahoma announced on Monday that Murray will be their running backs coach during the 2020 season. Murray coached at Arizona last year.

Murray holds school records for all-purpose yards, kickoff return average and touchdowns scored. He is also second in school history in rushing attempts and kick return yards, third in rushing touchdowns and seventh in rushing yards.

Now that the Cowboys have undergone a coaching staff change, will there be an emphasis on going out and getting players to fit the preferences of the new group?

I know the core decision makers are still in place, but with a new head coach do you think free agency might be more of a priority than past years? Im not expecting high-end signings, but it does seem a tall order to address defensive line, starting safety, starting corner, and any needs on the other side of the ball solely through the draft. - JEFF PARSONS / AMARILLO, TX

Rob: Well find out in March when market opens. I do expect some of their impending free agents to be re-signed. Thats pretty much a must when you have this many expiring contracts. I still expect them to take a more opportunistic than splashy approach to free agency, but theres no doubt in my mind that the front office will listen to the new staffs preferences with regard to personnel. Systems and philosophies are changing this year, so thats important.

David: I expect it to look a lot like last year, to be honest. The Cowboys arent going to splash cash on outside free agents, but they will address their needs. Robert Quinn and Randall Cobb both played big roles for this team. I imagine well see signings like that reasonable and affordable with high upside.

If the Cowboys are forced to walk away from one free agent, Byron Jones is the name that keeps coming up.

The Dallas Cowboys could theoretically bring back quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Byron Jones. But thatd be extremely prohibitive, even for a team with nearly $80 million in salary-cap space.

So since Dallas cant realistically let go of Prescott or Cooper without taking a big step backward on offense, Jones will likely have to go.

Hes probably their best corner, but thats the issue. A 27-year-old outside cover man with a Pro Bowl on his resume will likely command a large deal on the open market. Dallas cant afford to get involved in that game, especially with talented youngsters Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis already on the roster.

The Cowboys should focus on Prescott and Cooper, let Jones strike gold elsewhere, re-sign the inevitably cheaper Anthony Brown and pick up another corner early in the draft.

BTBs own RJ Ochoa is out and about in Miami for Super Bowl LIV and on Monday night he spoke to a handful of former Dallas Cowboys: Charvarius Ward, Anthony Hitchens, Morris Claiborne, and Miles Austin. You can hear those interviews on Tuesdays episode of The Ocho.

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Cowboys news: McCarthy hire Rob Davis will work toward creating positive locker room culture - Blogging The Boys