Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy rips Albert Huggins for shoving Rams staffer

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called DT Albert Huggins‘ behavior after he shoved a Rams staffer on Wednesday “unacceptable.” The fifth-year Cowboys head coach made sure Rams coach Sean McVay heard from him about the incident, which occurred while McCarthy was on the other side of the field at joint practice.

As far as Huggins is concerned, McCarthy has accepted his apology for the errant shove.

“Obviously, his behavior is unacceptable. It’s something that’s been addressed,” McCarthy said. “He has apologized and I’m comfortable with his apology. I was obviously on the offensive side of the field when it happened. I had a chance to talk to Mike Zimmer and Sean McVay.

“When it did happen, we removed him from practice. Frankly, when I saw the video a few hours later after the practice, I called Sean again. His response to me was, ‘You’d have been proud of the way your coaches reacted.’ I just want to make sure that behavior is unaccepted. Emotional discipline in that moment. That’s not what we’re about. And he clearly understands that.”

Whether on purpose or not, the former Clemson DL took his momentum on a QB rush right into one of the Rams staffers filling in at quarterback. Huggins shoved the staffer to the ground, leading to a rush of LA linemen moving to reprimand the defender.

Players and/or staffers can be heard in footage, snagged by Dallas Morning News‘ Calvin Watkins, saying things like, “What the f*** was that?” Even Rams head coach Sean McVay had to swoop in to diffuse the situation.

The sparks were flying at Dallas Cowboys training camp practice on Wednesday as the team hosted the LA Rams for another joint practice. After the Rams beat Dallas by one point on Sunday, the Cowboys welcomed the team back for another practice and scrimmage, but, as expected, there was some tension.

Jerod Mayo has expert way of managing practice fights

This week, New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo revealed the key reason why he doesn’t like to have more than one joint practice with an opposing team in any given week.

“What I’ve seen over the years is that second day always get a lot more chippier. You go back and watch the film and say, ‘I didn’t see that.’  Then the next day something breaks out,” Mayo recalled on Tuesday. “We didn’t want that to happen. We’re out here as football players and not fighters. That is our message to the team.

“You don’t fight in a real game. If you fight in a real game you get fined, you kicked out. It’s the same thing happens here,” Mayo added. 

The first-year head coach, stepping into the legendary shoes of Bill Belichick, has an almost fool-proof way of keeping players from fighting on the practice field.

“If you fight and you’re a starter, you’re playing the whole preseason game. If you’re not a starter, you won’t play at all,” said Mayo. “That is my mindset with that.”