Cowboys Move Home With 'Family-First' Mindset As Training Camp Closes In Oxnard

The Dallas Cowboys have been in Oxnard, enduring training camp since July 20, and that is a long time to be away from family and friends.

Granted, that is what everyone signs up for in the NFL, but that doesn't mean it makes it any easier, especially with young children in the mix, too.

So with the Cowboys' training camp in Oxnard winding down and the team returning to The Star, having been away from family for so long, when they do touchdown in Dallas, football won't be the main item on the menu for the locker room and coaching staff.

It's family time.

“We want them to reconnect with their families,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "I want them all taking their kids to school on Friday. Friday will be an off day. Take your kids to school and be around your family. Reconnect. I've got a daughter moving into college that I've barely talked to, but I hope she can give me 10 or 15 minutes just to touch base on how everything's going.

“When you play this game, it takes you away from a lot of things and sacrifices, which we should make and we openly make because we want to and we want to be great. When you get those opportunities to pause and celebrate and be around your family, I want them to do that.”

We know that since he's been sitting in the big chair, Schottenheimer has prioritized relationships within the building, and that has only grown since being in Oxnard.

But now is the time to disconnect as such from the football world, and for the players to reconnect with family life, because while they all live and breathe football, nothing compares to family.

And having been away for the best part of three weeks - with families once in a while popping onto the scene in Oxnard but with football the top priority - you can bet that the heartstrings are being pulled right now.

So the message is clear. When the team touches down in Dallas, football, for a moment, isn't the priority.

It's family time.