FRISCO, Texas -- As Jason Witten started his retirement news conference, he opened with a Bill Parcells story.
Witten was just 20 years old at his first rookie minicamp in 2003, eager to please and learn from the new Dallas Cowboys coach. At one point later that summer, “I wasn’t sure if he thought my name was some expletive or Witten,” the tight end joked.
In October of his rookie year, Witten suffered a broken jaw that required three plates to fix. He spent a couple days in the hospital and was in the training room on a Wednesday when Parcells offered words he can still hear today.