There might not be a bigger Dez Bryant fan at Valley Ranch than Dallas Cowboys receivers coach Derek Dooley.
So it goes without saying that Dooley, head coach at the University of Tennessee from 2010 through 2012 prior to joining the Cowboys in 2013, was pretty happy to see his standout receiver participate in Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Wednesday morning at Valley Ranch.
"It's always nice to see Dez. I miss him, so hopefully we can get him back here soon. I know he had some business he had to take care of this week. That's out of my hands," Dooley said. "All I can do is go coach the guys we got."
Of course, with Bryant not working with his fellow receivers for much of the early part of OTAs, that gives others a great opportunity to step up and make the most out of getting more repetitions in practice, an opportunity the man coaching this talented yet diverse group wants to see each of them capitalize on.
"We certainly want Dez here. We wish he was here, but we can't worry about him not being here. We got a lot of good players on our team. We got a lot of good receivers, so one man out is another man's opportunity," Dooley said.
And with Bryant, who is facing a July 15 deadline to sign his franchise tender or else be forced to settle for finishing 2015 on a one-year, $12.8 million contract, not currently a regular participant in drills, the attention automatically shifts to Baylor product Terrance Williams, who is already earning rave reviews for his strong work during the offseason.
"Terrance (Williams) has just been great. I think he's been able to really inspire more confidence in the quarterbacks and develop more rapport with the quarterbacks," Dooley said. "So it's certainly been a great opportunity for him and he's taken full advantage of it."
Neither Dooley, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett nor anyone else in the organization concern themselves with how this whole Bryant contract situation will play out.
But in the event it doesn't go in Bryant's favor, at least not now, and he does have to settle for the one-year deal without the comfort of a long-term extension, Dooley isn't worried about whether or not Bryant might let any displeasure which might linger regarding his contract situation bleed over onto the field.
"No, I'll worry about that when I see him disgruntled. I think all of our players get disgruntled at some point about something," Dooley said."
"It's our job as coaches to keep their spirit right, keep their juice right and when they do step on that field, there's no mental clutter out there that's going to affect their play."
