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Tony Romo too fiery? Coach wants QB keeping cool
August, 17, 2012
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
OXNARD, Calif. -- The days of Tony Romo being too timid to confront teammates are distant memories.
There were several occasions during training camp when Romo expressed his frustration with a teammate following a mistake in a high-decibel manner. Some might consider that evidence of Romo’s continued development as a leader.
Coach Jason Garrett, a former teammate of often fiery Troy Aikman, warns that temper control is also a critical component of leadership.
“Cool and poised under pressure is good leadership,” Garrett said. “That’s when you make your best decisions instead of being irate, jumping up and down. Are you really going to make your best decision? Can you really execute the play well the next time when you’re playing a position like quarterback?
“When you’re (irate), are you really going to be at your best? It’s like flying a plane.”
Garrett, who frequently praises Romo’s leadership ability, isn’t suggesting that Romo should shy away from ripping a teammate for mental mistakes. Nor does Garrett necessarily mind seeing Romo react to a couple of consecutive busted blitz pickups by slamming the ball to the ground in disgust.
Garrett is just pointing out that there can be a fine line between holding teammates accountable and allowing frustration to get the best out of you.
“Body language is important,” Garrett said. “If you’re jumping up and down as a coach or as a quarterback and flying off the handle, you’re probably not at your best the next time. But there has to be a firmness to it. You have to be able to get in somebody’s face and hold them accountable to something. That’s part of the deal, but different people are going to do it different ways.”
