Cowboys LB Rashan Gary Talks Packers, Schottenheimer, UM-OSU & More with Rich

Rashan Gary gave Green Bay seven seasons. He found out he was leaving on a late-night phone call, and he had no idea where he was headed.

"No, not at all," Gary told Rich when asked if he knew Dallas was the destination. Brian Gutekunst called rather than FaceTimed because of the hour, told him what he had meant to the organization, and told him this would be a great opportunity. Gary admitted he needed a beat to process it. "When I first heard the news, I was kind of still didn't know how to really take it or how to feel, because I've been in Green Bay, shoot, my whole NFL career."

The split itself he framed carefully. Gary said it came down to "just understanding situations and just both parties wanting the best for each other," and that things he wanted for his career "just wasn't lining up with them." Pressed on whether the coaching staff was the problem, he shut that down flat. Matt LaFleur is a "great dude, genuine guy," and Gary said he played "a lot of good winning ball in Green Bay."

Then the roster hit him. Kenny Clark, the teammate he came up with in Green Bay, is now next to him again, one year after Dallas shipped Micah Parsons north in the deal that brought Clark to Texas. "It's crazy how God works," Gary said. "No one could ever write a story up no better than this." Asked how good that group can be, he did not blink: "As good as we want."

The defense should look nothing like the one that finished dead last a year ago, and Gary points at coordinator Christian Parker, who was on the Green Bay staff when Gary was drafted. Parker understands the back end and the front, understands how offenses want to attack, and knows how to free up one-on-ones and get a linebacker matched on a back. "Don't want to say too much, but he's a magician with what he does," Gary said. Scheme-wise, expect more 3-4 looks mixed with four-down fronts and new wrinkles behind them.

Anyone still selling doubt is welcome to keep selling it. "I just can't wait to Sunday night," Gary said. "Y'all going to see our display of physicality and how we play defense. Let people say what they got to say. Right now, we cooking."

That mindset shows up in the small stuff. Clarence Hill posted video of Cowboys players running conditioning after a joint practice with the Rams, with George Pickens telling Rams players to keep walking and mind their own business. Gary confirmed the running is now player-led. Coaches installed it on day one, and the team decided it wanted to be the most conditioned, most mentally tough group on the field.

On rookie safety Caleb Downs, Gary sounded genuinely entertained. "He's a young vet," he said, praising the confidence and the swagger, noting Downs rarely makes mistakes and corrects them on the spot. As for how he gets used, Gary would not give it away. "You guys got to see, but 13, he will be flying around and making a lot of plays for us."

Dak Prescott backed his car up in the parking lot to introduce himself and hand over his phone number, an act Gary read as leadership from the top down. Brian Schottenheimer, meanwhile, has been the same person every day since Gary signed.

The goal is not complicated. "We know we want one thing only, and that's to win the ring."

One more date is already circled. Week six, at Lambeau.