Surprise, it's not Stephen A. Smith
Former Dallas Cowboys coach and ESPN analyst Bill Parcells often cautioned his players - and fans - to not get too giddy too soon.
He once hung mouse traps around Valley Ranch, reminding his 3-1 team "not to eat the cheese" of fawning media praise after its fast start. And he tamped down early-season success by warning, "Let me get to Thanksgiving before you ask me what kind of team I have. Because until then nobody knows nothing."
There's Parcells' tapping the brakes, and then there's the skepticism-on-steroids of current ESPN analyst Mike Wilbon. (We'll politely exclude the rantings of ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, because his shenanigans are no more authentic than a WWE actor.)
A former Washington Post sportswriter and for 20 years the co-host of ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, Wilbon - who in 2017 compared Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to a slave owner - this year is seemingly on a crusade to rile up Cowboys fans by harpooning Dallas' success.
Before the season opener at Tampa Bay a month ago, Wilbon called the Cowboys "worthless" and "nothing" and labeled their fans "overrated." Now, in light of their three-game winning streak and 3-1 start, partner Tony Korneiser posed a question on Monday's show:
"Is it time to take the Cowboys seriously?"
Wilbon had his blowtorch at the ready ...
Nauseated by Dallas' hype a month ago, Kornheiser changed his tune and answered his question in the affirmative.
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"I am," he said. "I would say emphatically, 'yes'. The Cowboys are a lot better than I thought. Dak Prescott is a lot better than I thought. They look to me like a Top 10 team right now. They're not just gonna scrape by and make the playoffs. They're a good team."
The one-on-one debate show obviously hasn't survived two decades by having two talking heads merely parroting each other's opinions. But Wilbon's disgust for all things Cowboys seems to be escalating with each victory.
"Really?! How do we know that?," Wilbon retorted to Kornheiser's confidence in the Cowboys as 2021 NFC East champs. "Because they scrape by every year and some years they don't make the playoffs. I'm sorry. How many times do we praise the Cowboys in October the past 20 years? Go ahead. You crown 'em. Not me."
Ol' Parcells would have to look no farther than Wilbon to diffuse any brewing Cowboys' arrogance. Perhaps current coach Mike McCarthy - whose team is heavily favored Sunday against the 1-3 New York Giants - should take a lesson from both.