Amari Cooper’s time in Dallas produced plenty of highlights — but it ended on far bumpier terms than most fans care to remember.
Yes, a most visible fracture came between Cooper and former head coach Mike McCarthy. Their relationship was strained.
But it wasn’t just McCarthy.
As CowboysCountry.com first reported three years ago: Multiple voices inside the Cowboys building — coaches, executives, personnel evaluators — questioned Amari’s durability, his practice habits, and his commitment when the ball wasn’t coming his way.
Fair or unfair, the perception inside The Star was clear: Cooper was brilliant, but selectively engaged.
Adding fuel to the fire? Cooper’s refusal to get vaccinated during the height of the pandemic, which led to public scapegoating from Jerry Jones himself.
That wasn't the reason for the trade-dump breakup. But it was another brick in the wall of Cowboys management viewing Amari as something less than a team-first guy.
Fast-forward to now: Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports there’s “growing interest” in a Cowboys-Cooper reunion.
We don't doubt Nick's angle.
It's just that we have a different one.
Cowboys Country’s Mike Fisher has often offered a sourced perspective, one that hasn't changed much over the years.
Fish then and now isn't saying the idea is completely impossible ... just that it's wildly imperfect.
"If you took a vote of the football people in this building, there would be far more "no's'' than "yesses,'' Fish reports.
But it only takes one "yes'' to change everything.
"Shrinkage" was the stance then.
Has Amari changed? Nah.
Has Dallas' setup changed?
If the previous Cowboys staff — not nearly as obsessed with physicality, toughness, and "buy-in" as this current Brian Schottenheimer-led crew — couldn’t live with Amari's quirks, what makes anyone think this regime would embrace them?
Yes, Cooper’s calculated, cerebral style could appeal to Schottenheimer’s love of football IQ. But age, declining production, and a stone-cold NFL market suggest there’s more desperation from fans than actual movement from the team.
If Cooper was truly in high demand, someone would’ve already made it happen.
A Frisco reunion? Never say never in the NFL.
But the cold truth? This feels like desperate wishful thinking - on somebody's part - more than wise reality.
