With Jason Witten officially retired, he is going down as not only the best tight end in the Dallas Cowboys storied history, but also as one of the best players to have the star on the side of their helmet.

One guy who knows a ton about the pressure of being apart of the Cowboys is Bill Parcells who came to the team in 2003, the same year that Witten was a rookie. He was the coach of Witten through the 2006 season and was always really impressed with what he saw from the then rising star.

“Jason Witten is what pro football is supposed to be about,” Parcells said, via ESPN.com. “He came to the Cowboys, got himself established very early, maximized his potential as a player and sustained very, very good play for an exceptionally long period of time and made a significant contribution to the team every year. Now he’s transitioning to another career by virtue of his reputation and his affiliation with the Cowboys and the success he has had. That’s what pro football is supposed to be.”

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Witten learned a lot from Parcells when he was the coach in Dallas, but one of the biggest lessons he learned was during his rookie season. He had just suffered a broken jaw a few days earlier and was in the training room when Parcells reminded him:

“'I’m just telling you, the best ones, they find a way,'” Witten remembered Parcells saying. “'And listen to me Witten, look at me now,' he says, ‘Durability and dependability, in this league, in this business, it’s invaluable.’ And I never forgot that.”

With Witten now retired the countdown is on for when he can join his first coach again, in Canton in the NFL.