FRISCO, Texas – Despite icy roads and freezing temperatures. The East-West Shrine Bowl practices rolled on Saturday morning.
For the East team, Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton led his second practice as the group's defensive coordinator, a new experience for him that is still taking some getting used to.
"It's really fun, it's exciting," Whitecotton said. "The only thing that sucks about being a coordinator is I feel like I'm not doing anything in individual, because usually in individual I'm getting after it and going crazy."
"But it's cool to get eyes on these players for a first look. Starting to develop relationships with them, see how they work, see how they process information, see what their abilities are. I think that's the biggest thing about it, now I have a global view of all these players rather than just the d-line, and that's been a really cool experience."
While overlooking the defense as a coordinator is a new experience, it could be one that Whitecotton will be getting used to at the NFL level. He interviewed for the Cowboys' DC opening before the team hired Christian Parker on Thursday, and is planning to interview for the Titans' defensive coordinator position in the near future.
Tennessee hired former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to be their head coach on Thursday. When Saleh was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021-2024, Whitecotton was on his staff as the defensive line coach. In 2020, Whitecotton was the 49ers assistant defensive line coach when Saleh was in his first stint as San Francisco's DC.
For now, Whitecotton is staying where his feet are and putting all his focus into his responsibilities as the defensive coordinator for the East team.
"I'm just trying to live in the present," Whitecotton said. "I'm so busy with this East-West game and what we've got going here in Dallas. I haven't [interviewed with the Titans yet], so I haven't really had a chance to go through that in my mind. The game has been an incredibly good distraction, I don't have to sit there and think about this or think about this, I'm working my butt off trying to get these boys ready to play. I think that's kind of where my mind's at right now."
The experience Whitecotton is getting as the overseer of a defense is a valuable one, and he's soaking up everything he can from the Shrine Bowl in case he needs it for NFL sidelines in the future.
"It's really cool," Whitecotton said. "There's nothing that's going to prepare you for that on Sunday, and this is as close as I can get to it. What a cool opportunity."
As for what Whitecotton and the Cowboys have going in Dallas at present, Parker joins the coaching staff in his first defensive coordinator role at just 34 years old. While there could be changes as Parker builds his staff, Whitecotton has met Parker and had high praise for Dallas' new shot caller on the defensive side of the ball.
"Utmost respect for him and his career," Whitecotton said. "Happy for him that he's starting this new chapter. Really cool guy, great interaction, excited to work together."
As the week goes on, Whitecotton will continue to not just coach the defensive players on his East team, but get an inside look of how they approach the game on and off the field. It's valuable insight for the draft process, and he has a history of continuing to coach players from these settings at the NFL level.
"It's an awesome advantage," Whitecotton said. "Every time I've been involved in an All-Star game, the team that I was on, we acquired one of those players in the All-Star game whether it was draft, free agency or on down the road… it's definitely a leg up. Now there's some work involved with it, a price you've got to pay, but it's worth it."
