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Cowboys’ theme of the season? Mike McCarthy says Dallas will be ‘rooted’ in 2024

With Year 5 of his Dallas tenure kicking off soon, McCarthy was reminded of life advice he received from his father.

With just a few days left until the Cowboys’ season opener, Mike McCarthy revealed the team’s theme for 2024: “Rooted.”

The Cowboys head coach told reporters he introduced players to the newest theme Wednesday morning. He described the phrase “rooted” as being based on the foundation he and the team have built over the last five years. The theme also incorporates an analogy of a bamboo tree that doesn’t grow until its fifth year of watering.

With Year 5 of the McCarthy era kicking off Sunday in Cleveland, the head coach was reminded of some life advice he received from his father.

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“My dad gave me some good advice about living your life in five-year increments, and what you can learn in that time of space. Not trying to do too much, too fast, and it was more of a life lesson,” McCarthy said. “So, I think the fifth year of what we’ve done and what we have to build off of is part of the root system that’s in place here.”

McCarthy has consistently used themes to set an early tone entering a new year. Last year, the words “Carpe Omnia” (meaning seize everything) were seen on players’ T-shirts and on a mural near a team meeting room. In 2022, “resilience” was the theme.

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McCarthy said the team also has a few sub-slogans that may pop up around the facility in the near future. He said he has grown to appreciate the lesson of five-year increments more as life goes on.

“It was a good life lesson to take a look at, and it’s held up. I think we all do, especially in this profession, we try to do too much, too fast. And that was his advice to me early in my coaching career,” McCarthy said.

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