FRISCO — Talk of culture tends to make the eyes of fans glaze over.

Whenever the word is used with a losing team, the assumption is the culture is bad and requires an overhaul. That assertion has been made with the Cowboys.

It doesn’t stick. At least it shouldn’t.

Just because the Cowboys are below .500 doesn’t mean the culture in the locker room is bad. An argument can be made the pride and accountability built in producing three consecutive 12-5 seasons is behind this team winning three of its last four games in an otherwise lost season.

“I mean that’s who we are,’’ left guard Tyler Smith said after a 30-14 win over Carolina. “We’re never going to quit. We’re never going to lay down for anybody. That speaks to who we are, not only as individuals, but as men and as players.

“That’s our culture. Whether other people believe it or not, we’re going to come in there and fight all day, every day, anywhere, any place, any time.’’

Dallas carries a 6-8 record into Week 16. The team’s playoff probability is at 1 percent.

And holding.

Mike McCarthy is a realist. The head coach understands what does — and doesn’t — lie ahead for this group.

That doesn’t diminish the esteem with which he holds this team.

“I have a lot of pride in the commitment that we have to one another,’’ McCarthy said. “It shows up. Monday through Saturday is the hardest part.

“Sundays, I mean, this is what we live for to get out here and compete against other NFL teams. I just love the way they stay after it every single day, and that’s a credit to the coaches and the players.

“We won three out of four and we obvioulsy know the path that’s been cut out for us.’’

This has been a season of loss for the Cowboys. That applies to personnel in addition to the record.

Five players from the team’s Pro Bowl nucleus — Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs — have or will spend time on injured reserve. Diggs and linebacker DeMarvion Overhsown have been lost for the season since the Cowboys played Cincinnati on Monday night last week.

“I mean, we acknowledge it’s painful to lose those guys,’’ Smith said. “They mean so much to everything that we try to do in terms of winning, in terms of who we are as a team.

“But I think the biggest thing for us is continuing to carry on their will. Even though they can’t be on the field with us, we’ve still got to go out there and play hard. I know if they had the opportunity, if they could move heaven and earth to be out there on the field with us…

“We’ve just got to continue to fight for them.’’

Micah Parsons never landed on IR, but he did miss four games earlier this season with a high ankle sprain. Parsons talks about the special feeling teammates get when they’re out there fighting for each other. He believes how someone responds when things aren’t going well as a team says a lot about them.

“Me personally, I’ve never given up on anything in life, anything that I ever truly wanted,’’ Parsons said. “So to me, I’m always going to keep fighting and clawing. That’s part of the journey.

“You know how much better of a team we’ll be if we say, ‘damn, we went 9-8. We missed 10 starters and we’re playing this good.’ The momentum you have going into next year…

“That’s part of the mountain. That’s part of the journey.’’

It will come as no surprise that Parsons wasn’t done.

“There’s a downfall in every story,’’ he said. “We were climaxing and climaxing and we had to (fall). We fell big.

“But I know what time it is. I’m looking forward to finishing this year off strong and coming back next year.’’

Who will be the coach next season? Owner Jerry Jones made that an open question the moment he allowed McCarthy and his staff to go into this season in the final years of their contracts. Prescott, Parsons and others have come out in support of McCarthy in recent weeks.

Add Smith to the list.

“I mean, he’s a great leader of men,’’ Smith said. “Always keeps us focused. Always, always hones in on what’s important, and that’s the men in this room.

“I mean, great coach, great mentor, great leader of men.’’

And what does McCarthy have to say when asked about culture?

“At the end of the day, our job is to create the culture, make sure the team is being trained properly and make sure our guys are getting everything they need to win football games,’’ he said. “I do enjoy these questions, because I am a philosopher.’’

He stopped.

“I can’t even say it with a straight face,’’ McCarthy said.

“But we need to beat Tampa. We really do. We need to beat Tampa.’’

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.

X/Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Dallas Cowboys Nation was in a stir over the weekend after questionable comments made by team COO Stephen Jones about star defender Micah Parsos.

Jones hinted that Parsons’ future in Dallas could be in question with the team reconsidering a long-term extension.

That led to speculation about trading Parsons in the offseason.

MORE: Cowboys COO Stephen Jones has firm stance on Micah Parsons trade rumors

However, during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan Jones attempted to clear up his comments and his plans for Parsons with the team moving forward.

“We see Micah as being a Cowboy for a long time,” Jones said.

“We’ve said all along that our goal was to sign all three of those guys [Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons] and that’s still our goal.”

The comments are news to Cowboys fans’ ears with Parsons continuing to prove he is a game changer on the defensive side of the field.

This season, Parsons has recorded 32 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Parsons recorded multiple sacks in several games.

If Parsons were to leave the Cowboys, it would be a devastating blow for the franchise. There is no denying Parsons is a generational player, so the team needs to do everything in their power to lock up Parsons for the long run.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Cowboys from Dallas Cowboys on SI —

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An expanded College Football Playoff field means we’ll get a chance to see more Dallas-area standouts represent their teams.

By now, most college football fans know the origin stories of names like Ashton Jeanty and Quinn Ewers. They won’t be the only North Texas products hunting for a national title over the next few weeks.

Here’s a look at a few players with Dallas-area ties to watch in this year’s CFP:

1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB

High school: Frisco Lone Star

The Heisman finalist has been key in Boise State’s run to the College Football Playoff. Jeanty has maintained a consistently high level of play throughout the 2024 season, rushing for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Jeanty finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, earning 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points. Before landing at Boise State, Jeanty worked his way up at Frisco Lone Star. His first season at the school came in 2019 after his family relocated to North Texas from Italy.

The running back had an explosive senior year, rushing for 1,835 yards and 31 touchdowns while catching 41 passes for 810 yards and 10 touchdowns. Although he didn’t win the Heisman, Jeanty did receive national recognition this year by winning the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards.

2. Quinn Ewers, Texas QB

High school: Southlake Carroll

Once the kid with the mullet who reclassified his graduating class so he could get to Ohio State early, Ewers now leads the Longhorns’ attempt to go where they haven’t gone since 2010. He’s spent three seasons as the Longhorns starter and is making his second appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Ewers, who took Southlake Carroll to a state championship appearance in 2020, will perhaps get to slay an old demon in the Longhorns’ first-round matchup: Texas will face off against Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who led the Austin Westlake team that beat Carroll in the 2020 state title game.

3. Kevin Jennings, SMU QB

High school: South Oak Cliff

The Mustangs’ quarterback is quite the story.

He came out of SOC as a 3-star recruit with SMU being the only major program to extend an official offer. He was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 95 quarterback in the class.

Fast forward to 2024, when Jennings took the Mustangs’ starting QB job from Preston Stone and hasn’t looked back.

Jennings has passed for over 3,000 yards in 2024 with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. And he’s done it all while playing injured.

Jennings earned All-ACC third-team honors in his first season as SMU’s starter, and will lead the Mustangs into Happy Valley in the first round vs. Penn State.

4. Anthony Hill, Texas LB

High school: Denton Ryan

Unlike the previous entrant, Hill was anything but an under-the-radar recruit.

Named as The Dallas Morning News No. 1 area player in 2022, Hill was a unanimous 5-star prospect who was sought after by virtually every blue-chip program in the country.

And he’s lived up to the hype for the Horns.

It’s early, but the sophomore linebacker looks the part of a 2026 NFL first-round pick. He’s compiled 90 tackles and 7.5 sacks for Texas, the third-ranked defense in the country by yards allowed per game. He’s forced four fumbles, recovered one, and picked off a pass for good measure.

5. Colin Simmons, Texas LB

High school: Duncanville

Hill, and Simmons, too. An embarrassment of riches for the Longhorns’ young defense.

Simmons was DMN’s Defensive Player of the Year his junior season after an incredible stat line of 22.5 sacks, 33 tackles for loss and 45 QB hurries. He helped lead Duncanville to back-to-back state championships.

Now a freshman for Texas, Simmons picked up where he left off. He’s totaled eight sacks and three forced fumbles for the Longhorns’ formidable defense, which has a pass rush anchored on both sides by future stars Simmons and Hill.

5. Roderick Daniels, SMU WR

High school: Duncanville

Another former Duncanville star who was committed to Baylor at one point, Daniels has been a Swiss army knife for Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs. He’s played a role as both wide receiver and running back as well as on special teams.

He’s caught 38 passes for 599 yards this season, both of which lead the team, and he’s added another 163 yards on the ground. He’s totaled six touchdowns.

“He’s just a winner, man, and that’s what he’s been these last three years here for us,” Lashlee said of his versatile receiver.

7. Isaiah Nwokobia, SMU safety

High school: Skyline

Once one of the highest-rated recruits ever landed by SMU, the Skyline grad led the Mustangs in interceptions his freshman season and has helped anchor the SMU defensive backfield since.

His merits don’t stop inside the lines, though. Nwokobia is said to be one of the team’s leaders who helps “hold guys to a standard.” That’s why he’s been honored with jersey No. 23 each of the past two seasons. It’s the number given each year to the SMU player that best exemplifies the leadership and courage displayed by Jerry LeVias, the first Black football player at SMU.

8. Bryant Wesco Jr., Clemson WR

High school: Midlothian

SMU fans may already know all about Mr. Wesco.

The true freshman has already starred for the Tigers in his debut season, including in Clemson’s ACC Championship win over the Mustangs. Wesco caught eight passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, all career-highs.

The 6-2, 180-pound receiver was a star at Midlothian as well, the top WR recruit among 5A teams who picked Clemson over offers from Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.

9. Andrej Karic, Tennessee OL

High school: Southlake Carroll

Karic, a native of Southlake, spent the first three seasons of his college career with Texas before transferring to Tennessee. After struggling to get on the field for the Horns (he was mostly used as a blocking tight end in his final season in Austin) he appears to have made a good decision by swapping to the Vols.

The senior has started all 12 games for Tennessee in 2024, and he’s allowed just two sacks in 699 offensive snaps, according to ProFootballFocus. Scouts project the 6-6, 314-pound Karic as a mid-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

10. Nicolas Radicic, Indiana K

High school: Coppell

Originally born in Croatia before moving to the U.S. in 2016, Radicic landed at Coppell where he’d become one of the best high school kicking recruits in the country. He signed with Indiana as the No. 5 kicking recruit in his class.

The true freshman has been more than solid for the Hoosiers during their historic run to the Playoff, Radicic missing only one kick all season. He’s 9-of-10 from field goal range in 2024 and has hit 69 of 69 extra points attempted.

More DFW players to keep an eye on in the CFP…

Quintrevion Wisner, Texas RB — DeSoto

Malik Muhammad, Texas DB — South Oak Cliff

Bert Auburn, Texas K — Flower Mound

Jordan Hudson, SMU WR — Garland

Savion Byrd, SMU OL — Duncanville

Keith Abney, Arizona State CB — Waxahachie

Myles Price, Indiana WR — The Colony

R.J. Mickens, Clemson safety — Southlake Carroll

Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon DB — DeSoto

Jordan Crook, Arizona State LB — Duncanville

Prince Dorbah, Arizona State DL — Highland Park

Payton Pierce, Ohio State LB — Lovejoy

Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Ohio State CB — Waxahachie

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here. Find more Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.