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FRISCO, Texas — Tuesday presented current Dallas Cowboys coaches and players their first opportunity to express their emotions and thoughts about the “sudden” death of Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Larry Allen, who died while on a family vacation in Mexico on Sunday.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy made sure to start the team’s mandatory minicamp off with a video of Allen during a morning team meeting.
“Obviously a huge loss for the Cowboys and everybody,” McCarthy said. “Not knowing Larry, I just remember him as a great player, a Hall of Fame player. Just to hear the stories being told about him the last day and a half, it’s been really cool. We actually had a video in honor of him today in our team meeting. I just wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to speak on the passing of Larry Allen.”
New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer was on Dallas coaching staffs from the beginning to the end of Allen’s Cowboys career from 1994-2005 in various roles as an assistant coach (1994), defensive backs coach (1995-1999) and defensive coordinator (2000-2006).
“I talked to the team today. Larry and I came into the league together. As young guys we sat in the back row with the special teams group, so I got a chance to get to know him over the years with that,” Zimmer said. “Larry was obviously a great player, 700-pound bench press, 11 Pro Bowls. He was a guy that really didn’t say much, but he had a very infectious laugh. It’s a sad day that we lost him.”
Zimmer recalled seeing opposing teams’ injury reports filled with surprise inactive defensive players, which the Cowboys coaching staff would attribute to players around the league not wanting to face Allen.
“The night before a game, we would come in and so-and-so wouldn’t be playing. They would say he’s got the ‘Larry Allen flu.’ There weren’t very many people who wanted to play against him. It’s a sad day that we lost him….
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/remembering-larry-allen-cowboys-players-coaches-lament-death-of-hall-of-fame-offensive-lineman/
Author : Garrett Podell
Publish date : 2024-06-05 14:18:56
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