12:55 PM
Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy will be back to work on Thursday as his team prepares for the big game against the Washington Football Team at FedEx Field.
The protocol experience has been an education, but I feel great. McCarthy said he was ready to go. I think it's a technicality with the testing process that's keeping me out of the full 10 days. My arrival will be in the morning. I think I might go at midnight.
McCarthy watched the Cowboys beat the Saints from a hotel in Texas. Since being placed in COVID protocols, he has run the meetings with players and coaches. The head coach against the Saints was Dan Quinn.
The offensive line coaches, Jeff Blasko, Joe Philbin, Scott Tolzien, Harold Nash, and Kendall Smith are back at The Star after missing the Saints game.
The weight room was open again last Friday. The players can eat at the facility. Nahshon Wright is expected to be cleared by Friday and is on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
McCarthy said that they were back to a normal protocol. We expanded some of the meeting rooms to be extra cautious. Bigger rooms for our O-line and D-line is the only big change.
McCarthy has been staying in a hotel for over a week and admits to being a little stir crazy.
I leave. He said that he takes walks. I'm not a fan of the telephone, and this has really, really tested my patience, because I feel like I live on the telephone and Zoom calls, so..."
McCarthy said that he will stay at the hotel a little longer with four family members testing positive for the disease, but they are all doing well.
He said that they wanted to make sure that their home space was clear before they had everyone back at the house.
McCarthy missed just one game and not a playoff contest, like Cleveland's Kevin Stefanski, who was out for his team's wild-card win against Pittsburgh.
McCarthy said that he can get back to his job full-time now that it's behind him. It's a challenge, not being there every day, especially with what's right in front of us, the Washington challenge. I think it's a silver lining that I don't have to deal with testing for the next 90 days.
