Dalton Schultz Compares Cowboys Culture to 'Zoo'

Tight end Dalton Schultz says he prefers the Houston Texans' "football-first" culture to the "zoo" he was forced to play in with the Dallas Cowboys.

Why haven't the Dallas Cowboys been able to at least play in an NFC Championship game in the last 28 years? 

The Cowboys have seemingly had a consistently talented roster, especially in recent years, where they've managed to record three straight 12-win seasons. However, come playoff time, that same team that won 12 games seemingly can't figure out how to win more than one in the postseason. So, if it isn't the roster or the coaching, then what is it? 

Judging by recent comments from now Houston Texans and former Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz, the issue may lie in the franchise's "culture." 

"But the focus [in Houston] is just football," Schultz said in a recent interview on The Pat McAfee Show. "Going back and telling some people [about the] Cowboys ... describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis, surprised a lot of people. 

"There’s people literally going on tours while you’re lifting in the weight room. And they’ve got a one-way mirror for people to like look at, it’s literally a zoo, dude."

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When comparing his current team to the Cowboys, Schultz paints two vastly different pictures. At least in the opinion of the 27-year-old tight end who just signed a three-year contract extension with the Texans for $36 million, the Cowboys bring a lot of unnecessary distractions onto themselves.

"That’s the brand that they’ve built. That’s what Jerry Jones likes. That’s the way that they run things, and there’s nothing wrong with that," Schultz said. "It’s just you don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract from stuff just in a locker room being in the facility until you go somewhere else, and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, dude, there’s none of that.’"

As Schultz explained, it is important to point out that the Cowboys wouldn't have the privilege (and maybe a curse) of constantly being in the spotlight if it wasn't for the success they experienced in the '90s. 

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In fact, without the three Super Bowls that helped establish the Cowboys under owner Jerry Jones as what they are today, the world's most valuable sports franchise, maybe the "culture" in Dallas is different. 

However, the past can't be changed, which means the Cowboys will have to either adapt and find ways to lessen the potential distractions created by their $9 billion brand or start looking for players and coaches best suited to deal with it as is. 

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