Panthers Head Coach Reveals Emotional Connection to Dak Prescott, Prepares for Clash with Cowboys
When the Carolina Panthers face off against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Panthers head coach Frank Reich will have his eye on one player in particular – Dak Prescott. But Reich’s interest in Prescott goes back much further than this upcoming game. In fact, Reich has been closely following Prescott’s career since the former Mississippi State quarterback was preparing to enter the NFL.
Reich, who was the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, revealed last week that he had a much higher opinion of Prescott than most people in the league did during the weeks leading up to the 2016 NFL draft. He believed that Prescott was one of the top quarterbacks in his draft class.
However, the Eagles ended up trading up to obtain the second overall pick, which they used to select quarterback Carson Wentz. This meant that Reich missed out on the opportunity to work with Prescott. Nevertheless, Reich has since made a conscious effort to closely track Prescott’s career because he felt emotionally invested in him.
None of Prescott’s accomplishments, from winning the starting quarterback job for the Cowboys as a rookie fourth-round pick to earning a lucrative four-year, $160 million contract in March 2021 to helping his team become a Super Bowl contender, have surprised Reich.
Reich stated, I had a real high grade on Dak coming out. I was on a team that was looking for a quarterback that year Dak came out. I had a very high grade on Dak Prescott — a lot higher than other people. I’ve always followed his career closely and have a lot of respect for him, and I think he’s playing really good football right now.
On Sunday, Reich will have the opportunity to witness Prescott in action up close. In recent weeks, Prescott has been on fire, with his passing yardage totals increasing week by week. He threw for 272 yards against the Chargers in Week 6, followed by 304 yards against the Rams in Week 8, and then 374 yards in the Cowboys’ Week 9 loss to the Eagles. Last Sunday, he set a season-high record of 404 yards passing against the Giants.
It is worth noting the irony of how things could have turned out differently if Reich had gotten his way with the Eagles. Prescott could have been Philadelphia’s quarterback, and Jalen Hurts might have ended up being drafted by the Cowboys. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones previously implied that Dallas had interest in drafting Hurts in the 2020 draft, but the Eagles selected him in the second round before the Cowboys had a chance to choose him.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones commented on this, saying, We looked at him really hard. Obviously our guy is Dak, but at the same time, Mike McCarthy is a big proponent of continuing to look at quarterback.
As the Panthers and Cowboys prepare to clash on the field, all eyes will be on Dak Prescott. With his impressive performances this season, it’s clear that Reich’s high opinion of Prescott was well-founded. The Panthers’ head coach will have an emotional connection to the quarterback he once hoped to work with and will undoubtedly be prepared for the challenge that Prescott and the Cowboys present.
