In my opinion, unified
focus is a key intangible ingredient that makes up part of mental toughness. Distractions can weaken it. Focus can be obtained with a combination of very good-to-great head coaching leadership (uh oh there is that word again)
and/or single-minded, organized team determination.
Sean McVay. Bruce Arians. Andy Reid. Tom Landry. Jimmy Johnson. I think that the league, fans and media mostly agree these five head coaches' personas kept their teams' focus centered on the ultimate goal. Yeah yeah. Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is the goat and he cannot be denied some credit while mentioning Arians. I mentioned Tom. Hope that satisfies his fans.
I believe Zac Taylor and Barry Switzer are/were in the same boat leadership wise helping their team maintain tunnelvision week in, week out. They were fortunate to have self-determination of players like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Mixon to fortify overall focus. That is critical when unorthodoxy hovers over the entire team from above, leeching at a head coach's usually undivided guiding identity for all their players.
One step the team must take towards adopting necessary focus and thus gain essential mental toughness is for Mike McCarthy to tap into Taylor's leadership traits. Whatever Taylor is doing drowns out Mike Brown in large part. McCarthy should do the same and serve as a blinding buffer between the team and Jerry Jones.
The Dallas Cowboys general manager has been distraction personified since Day One. To what degree? I will not even attempt to quantify but it always exists regardless and the roster does not need it ever. Johnson served as a steel wall. Switzer and team leaders erected a brick wall (hey whatever works). McCarthy and Parsons and whomever else together must step up and do the same this season in order reinforce team focus, construct hardened mental toughness, and strive towards their ultimate goal too.
