OXNARD, Calif. – The Dallas Cowboys have a new defensive backs and passing game coordinator this year, and he might be just what these young safeties and corners need.
"The cool part about it is, it doesn't matter how old or how young the group is,” explained Kris Richard. "The new season is a brand new unit. We never expect anybody to cornerback the same.”
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Richard, who pronounces his name "Ri-shard,” spent the last eight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, and fulfilled several different capacities, including spending the last three years as defensive coordinator. This is a man who definitely believes in leading by example.
"He has cleats on,” said second-year cornerback Chidobe Awuzie. “I think he's enjoying being out here, loving playing football. It's been a great thing. We have a coach that can participate with us, and kind of, you know, lead us in that way too.”
Richard agreed with Awuzie's assessment of him, “We are all part of it. It’s our team, and that's really the bottom line," he said. "How could we ever be willing to ask them to go someplace we're not willing to go ourselves."
Under Richard's direction in Seattle, former Texas Longhorn Earl Thomas earned five Pro Bowl nominations, and four All-Pro selections: three first-team and one second-team. Kam Chancellor was a four-time Pro Bowler, and Richard Sherman was a four-time Pro Bowler, earning four All-Pro selections as well: three first-team, one second-team.
Byron Jones, who is moving from safety to corner this year, was asked if he has looked back at what Richard and the Seahawks were able to accomplish during his tenure there, "It's tough because those guys are different. They had a different thing going on, different body types. I'm going to come into my own, Chido will come into his own. Jeff Heath, Xavier Woods, too, and that's what we are looking forward to. Kris Richard had a great thing there, but he's trying to create something special here as well."
In the first two weeks of training camp, the defense has out-performed the offense, and that's OK with Richard.
"We want to make it as hard out here as possible," explained Richard. "One, for our confidence, and two, for their confidence. Again, iron sharpens iron. So the better we are, the better they are. The better they are, the better we will become."