Tuesday was… tiring. The two-hour joint practice session had the Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore barking orders at their players, but it may have all fallen on deaf ears.

At one point, things got so out of hand that both coaches considered ending the session early simply because the brawls wouldn’t end. And now, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has something to say about his team’s discipline… or the lack of it.

Speaking specifically about linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku’s presence in the fights, Jones said on Thursday, as per Jon Machota: “I think that you have to have consequences, and that needs to register. Whether you’re playing a game or out here in society, if you aren’t sensitive about the consequences of your behavior, then you’ll get brought to your knees pretty quick. I think he has the capability of being sensitive to consequences.

“I haven’t confirmed it [fining Ezeiruaku] where he is in the situation, but the players that are involved and the kind of infractions they are fining the club for will certainly receive fines.”

Here’s what happened: the joint practice quickly turned into a brawl, with eight fights breaking out, and Donovan Ezeiruaku was caught in the middle of one. It all began when the Cowboys player clashed with a couple of Saints players and was soon surrounded. As Dallas teammates tried to reach him, Saints center Erik McCoy launched a Cowboys helmet high into the air.

The chaos escalated. Ezeiruaku and McCoy eventually exchanged blows.

Ezeiruaku wasn’t allowed to finish practice after that. However, it was déjà vu for the player. Ezeiruaku was also ejected earlier in training camp for punching Dallas right tackle Terence Steele.

Last season, he also found himself on the bench during the season after getting into a fight with New York Giants’ Greg Van Roten. No wonder Jones considered disciplining his team.

“Without any humor at all, this is a serious matter,” Jones told the media about these fights. “And it needs to be taken that way. Everybody associated at the club level and right up through the top.”

While Jones and the Cowboys’ leadership will make attempts to discipline their players, the NFL is already on to it.

The league has officially handed down $500,000 penalties to both the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints following their chaotic joint practice brawl. It goes without saying that Schottenheimer and Moore were put in a tough spot.

Both coaches were fed up with all the fighting

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer wasn’t happy with the incident, calling it a “sloppy” day overall.

“Donovan is a very bright young man,” the coach said after the incident. “He understands that he can’t hurt the football team. Unfortunately for him, there are two officiating crews that know he lost his composure.

“But it’s part of a growth mindset for him. We’ve got to get him better, and we’ve got the right type of leaders on this football team, myself included, Christian Parker, Quinnen Williams, guys like that, that will help him do that.”

Then, there was Saints head coach Kellen Moore, who mentioned:

“Not the way we like to do business. We got to be better, but I got to look at the film. We’re certainly not going to take s— from anybody. It was chippy on both sides. I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge. One guy sounds like he might have thrown a punch, and that’s why he left practice.”

In a separate incident, Cowboys’ Caelen Carson grabbed Saints’ Brock Rechsteiner by the facemask and nearly took him to the ground. Rechsteiner fired back just moments later, body-slamming Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson while the latter wasn’t wearing his helmet. So, there was quite a bit of tension brewing in Oxnard, California.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys plan to appeal the league-issued fine. Jones described the penalty as “pretty stiff” but also acknowledged that it made a point.

For Jones, the problem started with all levels of the club. The fine is simply a way for the league to try to control the situation from the very top. 

For now, the owner is making sure that message resonates across the locker room. The Cowboys hope to stamp out reckless penalties before the season begins to count in the win-loss column. And it starts by holding Ezeiraku and others financially accountable.