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ARLINGTON, Texas – When Amari Cooper walked into The Star on Tuesday morning, he made his way to the team headquarters weight room.
He figured he would have his cherry drink and beetroot juice in the weight room, like he does every day. Then he expected the routine and regiment of preparation for the game for Washington. Team meeting at 8:05 am, decomposition of the film with the other receivers, team training at 11:30 am. But all of that would come later. First he had his cherry drink and beetroot juice.
Cooper was hijacked.
Just outside the weight room on Tuesday morning, he saw teammates standing with solemn expressions. He asked what had happened.
“Someone told me,” Cooper said Thursday night. “We have suffered a huge loss.”
Cowboys strength and conditioning coordinator Markus Paul experienced a medical emergency at team headquarters shortly before 7:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. He was immediately treated by medical staff at the club and then transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he underwent further medical examinations. Wednesday evening, surrounded by his family, Paul passed away. He was 54 years old.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott made an opening statement before answering questions after a 41-16 Thanksgiving loss to Washington.
“I wanted to start off by sending my condolences to the Paul family first,” Elliott said. “I want to thank the Paul family for sharing Markus with us. He meant so much to this team and occupied such a big place in everyone’s daily life.
“We are just thankful that you shared it with us.”
Paul joined the Cowboys’ strengthening and conditioning team in 2018 and was promoted to coordinator in January. He spent a total of 23 seasons coaching with the Cowboys, Giants, Jets, Patriots and Saints. In all, Paul has contributed to five Super Bowl titles – two with the Giants and three with the Patriots. He also played five seasons with the Bears and Buccaneers, after Chicago selected Syracuse’s star defensive back in the fourth round of the 1989 NFL Draft.
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But for the 2020 Cowboys players, Paul was the coach who guided everything from their lifting sessions to pre-practice stretches. A “pleasant and soothing voice” whose “passion for her job and enthusiasm for life have earned her a lot of respect and admiration,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
On Tuesday, after Paul was transported to the hospital, the Cowboys canceled practices and team activities. On Wednesday, they resumed without Paul in control of the stretch. The void was palpable.
“We were lining up for practice, getting ready to stretch and you get the reminder that he’s not here with us anymore,” said Elliott. “We just have to lean on each other and help each other through this difficult time.”
After Paul’s death on Wednesday night, the Cowboys dedicated part of their team reunion to commemorating Paul. They celebrated his impact and exchanged stories about how Paul influenced them as players and as individuals. They marveled at how he still manages to work “elite and alert,” said linebacker Jaylon Smith, a mentor and servant leader. They were hoping to fight for him on the pitch on Thursday, as he would have liked.
“We really wanted to go out and do it for God and for Markus,” Smith said. “And we didn’t complete the mission. So it is difficult.
The Cowboys coordinated public tributes to their strength coach before and after the game. During the pre-match warm-ups, they donned caps with Paul’s initials. “MP” decals also adorned their gaming helmets. Cowboys center Joe Looney led a pre-game prayer session, his teammates kneeling in a circle on the field, arm in arm. The Cowboys honored Paul’s life with a tribute and a moment of silence. And yet, players wished it wasn’t JerryWorld Jumbotron that Paul was smiling at them.
“It was really emotional,” Looney said. “Anytime, like I said, you lose someone so suddenly like that, it’s really hard. And then to see his face on the Jumbotron and not have him on the sidelines with us? It’s hard.
“He made a lot of people here better men.
No player attributed their late-game loss to the emotional week, simply complaining that they couldn’t win in Paul’s honor. Elliott spent much of the week checking out young players, he said, some of whom hadn’t experienced much of such near death. Cooper described the balance between what he called the players’ two lives – their football life and their “real” life.
“It was tragic and we had to face it,” Cooper said. “And during those two lifetimes, always try to focus as much as possible on football while dealing with something in our personal life.”
Their Thanksgiving game is now behind them. A Thursday night game in Baltimore, pending COVID-19 issues, awaits the next schedule. Mourning spans everything, the vacuum in the elevators early in the morning and before training is hard to fill. McCarthy told players in the post-game locker room to take care of themselves and their families.
“It’s a week that I don’t think any of us will ever forget,” McCarthy said. “Markus was a special man. It was definitely someone [who] has had great success in his professional life. But if you really look at a man’s mark, it’s more about meaning than success. I can’t tell you the impact it had on our football team, really on the whole organization. I’ve only been working with Markus since January. But throughout the last 48 hours, 72 hours, it’s very clear what he means to everyone.
“He will definitely be missed. It’s a shame for his family, but we had the opportunity to celebrate it last night as a team. We will certainly continue to do so. His memory and impact touched many people and will always live with us.
“This is where we are at.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.
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