Brian Schottenheimer: Working With Intention | Dallas Cowboys 2025

when in other places you’ve been ongoing. It It never stops. Uh I’ve had young starters and veteran backups. I’ve had veteran starters and young backups. Um I think the quarterback position is the position that it gets so much scrutiny that you’re always trying to place an emphasis on are they getting better, are they being consistent, are they doing the things that they need to do. Um, but it really is you try to piece that room together. Maybe maybe a little different than other rooms because like for example, we had Mark Sanchez who most of you guys know in New York. Um, we felt like we had to get a veteran to kind of help him understand the game and kind of what goes into it. And uh, we went out and got Mark Brunell who was surrounded by someone I know very well, Drew Brees, and was, you know, instrumental in Drew’s growth in New Orleans. And so I think it is um not a pairing, but it it is something you do talk about the mix and the match and how it looks and I’ve been around other uh or heard other stories where some rooms didn’t get along great and that’s never a good thing. But uh we don’t have that here. We uh have a great room and with Dak Joe and uh and Will, it’s been awesome. Milton, is he more in the because he he just got in league last year, he more in the developmental phase in terms of how you’re trying to get him to grow? I think they all are. I mean, I think Dak is in the developmental phase, and that sounds crazy for a guy that’s played that much, but like there’s things that we’re tweaking with Dak, you know, so I don’t think it’s just for Joe. Joe is a guy that we obviously know all about the talent, but, you know, the the system that he came from in Tennessee, you know, created some challenges in terms of just what he has to learn and things like that. But, um, the minute these quarterbacks think that they figured it all out, that’s when it’s probably time for them to think about doing something different because, uh, the way defenses attack in this league, it makes it, um, almost impossible to ever relax. Clerfield DLLs Cowboys. Um, got a couple. Wow. Uh, got a couple questions. Piggy back in on the on the tweaking things with Dak. Can you is the cadence the same still doing? Here we go. What are you changing with the offense in that respect? Uh I’m not going to tell you about the cadence. Um but uh uh we um the the biggest thing with the cadence I will tell you is getting a guy like Joe and now you got new lineman, you got Booker, you got you know Rob Jones, you got guys like that is getting all the quarterbacks to kind of sound the same. And that sounds like, oh, that’s pretty obvious. That’s pretty simple. But it’s the it’s the guys that are the backups that have to learn to make their cadence sound like Dax. So, that’s kind of one of the things that you do work on um in terms of the cadence and uh what we say and things like that. Uh maybe you guys will hear it today, maybe you won’t. I don’t know. So, we’re not doing Here we go. Uh secondly, is Micah here? I know he was here Monday last week and then wasn’t here Tuesday. And what’s been his involvement with the the OT’s? Have you he ramped up to on the field work? And is he just doing meetings on the field? What’s that? Yeah, again, like I said, voluntary right now the camp. Um he was here last week, had lunch with him. Uh actually bumped into him in the airport. Uh he was going to do some traveling. So, I have not seen him yet this week, but uh again, uh my big thing with all the guys, whether they’re here or not, is uh you can get great work in and you can get ready and you can be mentally prepared, but um you know, whether you’re Micah who’s not here here in and out, whether you’re Dak, doesn’t really matter. You know, it’s just uh put your work in, get ready. There’s a lot of ways to get ready and prepared. And uh I think the league’s made it very clear that, you know, um it’s all voluntary. Todd, before you go, can we adjust the lighting? Do I look better now? Hey, you Hey, you guys are scary. It’s a big group today, man. Dang. I didn’t think it was this crowded today. White sheet of paper real quick. This is high-tech stuff, huh? Right balance. Good. Thanks. There we go. You guys want to start over? There we go. There we go. Mike is not here today. I know he’s traveling somewhere. The cadence may or may not be the same. We’re off to hell of a start. Here we go. This is going to be I like this one. Uh Todd Archer of the HBN. Uh fans ask us questions about things that we don’t truly know the answer to. And you and the visor. What is the visor? And is it like a ode to Spurer or what’s the what’s the deal with the visor? It actually is a little bit of a ode to coach Spurer. So for you guys that don’t know, um 96 national champs, Florida Gators. Uh when I went down there, I transferred from the University of Kansas. And the reason I went to Florida was I wanted to kind of learn about offense. And at the time, he had just started the fun and gun. He’d come from Duke to to Florida. And uh so I wanted to get down there and kind of learn from him. Um he was great. He actually gave me the opportunity to wear a headset on game days. I had to sit out for a year uh with the old transfer rules. Uh but he told me that if I if I went there that he’d let me wear a headset and be involved and be the signal caller, which was great. Uh what I didn’t realize was that what that also entailed was anytime he threw his visor, which was probably five to seven times a game, uh I was responsible for picking it up. And I can truly, this is this is a true story. So we’re playing a game. I’m signaling the plays and something happens. He’s mad. He’s pissed off at Danny. throws his visor and for some reason I was caught up and saw I didn’t go pick it up and he literally looks at me he’s like I was like oh So I went I picked it up and he’s like so um honestly that that’s where I first noticed it. Um I think I look better in a visor than a hat. I mean you know just I’m losing my hair a little bit at least up front but uh it does go back to Florida. And then uh another one I talked to a couple first year head coaches in the last few years and they said the people they rely on most are game management type guys to really help them understand situations and things and I’m wondering how much you will lean on Ryan Feeder uh as you go through your That’s a great question and the answer is absolutely. Um you know feeds is just a trusted adviser. I think he does it as well as anybody in the business. you know, you need on game day, you need one voice that you’re hearing, you know, because obviously these things happen um at critical intense moments and things like that. And so to have that one voice be someone that you have complete confidence in and complete trust in um really does matter. He and I spend, you know, hours just talking about different situations. It’s been cool having Foo here because that’s another perspective of a guy that’s been a head coach and um it’s been kind of fun for us as we start the process of game management to just talk about the different ways you look at situations and we actually just had our first component of it in the team meeting today. John Mich athletic with George Pickkins. Has there been any moments out on the field where maybe there’s something that he did that stood out to you where you’re like, damn, like maybe one hit catch something like that? I think number one, he’s doing an incredible job picking up the system. Uh I talked about his intentionality last week, I believe, just how hard he’s working, but there was a play. Uh and it really wasn’t anything George did. Uh but, uh we’re in the red zone and we’re in kind of a spread formation and we hit him for a touchdown. Uh Joe did on a little uh uh a bender like a little skinny post down in the low red zone and Sidi was on the other side and uh when Sidi broke out and he looked back to see where the ball went and he saw George in the end zone, he kind of dragged his toes up. Cidi was like, “Yes.” So I think his excitement for knowing that uh we’ve added some pieces which will add to the competition. It was cool to see a guy like Sidi be excited and those two guys relationship is awesome. I’m sure you guys have probably done stories on it, but they’re spending a lot of time together. I think it’s great for CD to have someone like George. Not that George is a young player, but um someone that GP really looks up to in CD. They obviously have trained some together, but that relationship is really cool and I’m enjoying kind of just sitting back and watching it develop and the two of them getting together and spending time with Junior Adams and it’s u it’s been really cool and fun for me to watch just how it all is beginning to fit together. And obviously George and Dak haven’t played together yet, but in your experience as a player and then as a coach, um, how is that relationship between a quarterback and wide receiver? Can it be natural or is it all about you just got to get the reps in? No, it’s more than that. It’s the reps are important, but there’s got to be conversation. You know, I I I simplify it. And probably going back to my years in New York, you know, there’s a thing called the me to you factor. It’s basically if I if you if you’re a receiver and I’m a quarterback, you know, I need to have the ability where I trust you to be where you’re supposed to be. So, it’s my job to throw you the ball. And if we’re not on the same page, then you have to talk about it and have conversations and figure out why. And maybe I saw it this way and you saw it that way, but get on the same page the next time it happens, what are we going to do? Well, hey, I I want it this way. And so, uh, it it’s it’s it’s over time. And it’s not just time on the field. It’s not just extra reps. It’s important, but it’s time away from the field. It’s time in the film room. It’s time at dinner. I think you guys think all we do around here is eat because all we do is we go to dinner and and we have connection. But like I think that’s real. And so the more that there’s trust, remember when quarterbacks are playing, they get glimpses of what’s happening down the field. Like they don’t have a clear window like what I’m looking at right here. Like there’s there’s big trees in front of them that they can’t see. So you’re really throwing to spots and you’re trusting people to be there and that’s where that meu factor takes time to develop and I think that’s where we’re in the process and that’s the best part of phase three OTAAS is you can work on some of those things now and get ready to go because when you get to training camp then we got to be at full speed. We got to be ready to roll and so you work through those kinks now. Nick, Nick Harris, Fourstar Telegram. In constructing this new offense, how much input have you taken from not only Dak I’d like to hear your perspective on that, but other offensive pieces, whether it be CD, George, Javvante, and Center. Yeah, I I I’ll listen to anybody. I mean, this is not just a oneman show. I mean, this is, you know, having been here for a couple years helps. I think um as we put it together, the players definitely have feedback and again, they’re the ones that bring it to life, you know. Um, when you talk about some of the things that we’ll implement, whether it’s cut splits or shifts in motions, things like that, those are kind of philosophical beliefs that that that things I like and believe in. And so, we’ll probably do them. Uh, but at the end of the day, I’m always going to listen to uh a player’s opinion. I might not do it, but I’m going to listen. No different than I’m going to listen to Clayton Adams or or Luna Wells. Um, you know, Floose on defense. Uh, I’m gonna always take everybody’s input and at the end of the day make the decisions based on what’s best for helping us win a Super Bowl. And now that the ideas have shifted onto the grass and you’ve seen it in action a few times, what would you say the building identity is of of your offense so far? It’s hard because the first thing I would say is, you know, we want to be physical. We’re going to be a physical football team. We will be a physical football team, but uh the league has it set to where it’s hard to practice that. So, what I would think that you guys will see today is um when you’re watching practice is with we’re going to be an attacking unit. I think the thing I’m most proud of over the first couple the first week I would say of um phase three and being on the grass and able to run plays against one another because in phase two you can’t right you’re on separate fields doing separate things is watch the effort and the intensity of everybody when the ball is thrown from the quarterback or the runner breaks free the not only the speed that these guys are running with but we call it the transition. So when a ball is thrown, watching the defensive lineman transition and go running, watching the skilled players cover down, watching the offensive line, like that transition um is different and it’s unique and we’re we’re proud of it. I told the players today, that’s the standard and the standard is the standard and we’re going to uphold that standard and um they’ve really been working their asses off. Tommy, Tommy, Dallas Cowboys.com. We saw Tyler Booker taking some first team reps. How have you seen him kind of early on mesh with the guys in that group? He’s doing great. Again, we’re creating competition. He’s not taking all the ones. Uh we’re rolling different guys in there. Rob Jones, we’re moving Brock around a lot, moving BB around some, but um you know, he’s he’s picked it up really really well. The intensity that you guys saw in the in the introductory press conference and um that that is what we see. But the best time to watch Tyler Booker is probably an individual because if whoever he’s working with holding the the bags and the pads uh aren’t doing it the right way, they get a little bit of an earful. It’s kind of fun to watch. Uh so he understands that there’s a mindset and a makeup that make great offensive linemen. I think uh along with some of the other leaders up front, uh I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Tyler Gayton. He’s having a terrific offseason. He’s working his ass off. He looks great. Um, but Tyler Booker fits in great with what we’re trying to build. Sad the athletic. Brian, we’ve heard the word intentionality from you quite a few times and even in the locker room from the players. Why is that is that a message that you’re conveying to the players and why is that such an important trait? Uh, I think it’s important because it takes planning to be intentional about something. You have to be you have to sit and think and you have to say, “Okay, I’m going out to practice today. Today could be for some people around the league a meaningless practice. It’s OTAA 4, I guess. So, okay, let’s get through OTAA 4, see what shy and the guys have for us. But the guys that truly get it, the guys that want to be great, the teams that want to be great, they have a plan of, okay, when I go out to individual today, what fundamental, what skill do I really want to work on? What is one of my weaknesses that I want to improve? And not everybody does that, but when you talk about it and and we do, you know, in the stretch line, some we’ll be, you know, we’re not just talking about the music that’s playing. We’re talking about, hey, what are you working on today? You know, because if they haven’t thought about it, then they’re going to miss an opportunity to either get better or just stay the same. And so it’s something that I believe makes the difference between some really very talented players that are good players and talented players that become great and elite players because if they’re focusing and working with intention on hey this is a weakness of mine I got to clean up or get better at and this is what the coaches have helped me kind of identify then to me we’re wasting time certainly in the individual periods. And as you’ve kind of gotten going in this offseason program, have you talked to other mentors, head coaches throughout this, or are you trying to take an organic approach and just figure things out as as they go? No, I mean, you you talk to people all the time. Uh, you know, I’ve been thinking about this really my whole life, uh, as a professional, what I wanted to do, but there’s things that come up every day I’m kind of like, okay, I wish my dad was still here. I’ I’d reach out to him. But, you know, the coaches around the league, you know, spending time with those guys at the league meetings, they were great. Uh, they’ve all been a firsttime head coach. Uh, I think that one of the things that happens is when you build relationships like I’ve built over my career and tried to do things the right way that these guys are open and willing to help and and that’s great. Um, there’s guys like Bill Cower that, you know, is a is a close, you know, family friend, was, you know, huge associate of my dad’s. there’s guys like that that I can talk to, but uh at the end of the day, we’ve got some incredible people in this building that that I’ll lean on as well, you know, starting with Jerry and Stephen and Will and um but yeah, I I I talked to other head coaches uh quite a bit. Uh Joe, Joe White, DLS Sports. Um Mike Zimmer near the end of last year talked about how he wish he would have really put in his full system from the beginning rather than trying to merge with what Dan Quinn had kind of had. Obviously, you’ve been here before, but how do you kind of balance kind of trying to maybe bridge some stuff from last season while also putting your own spin in at this point right now? You talking offensively? Are you talking about as a as a team? There were things the bones of it is is still very similar. You know, there’s there’s going to be changes. That’s part of football. That’s whether there’s a coaching change or not. There’s always going to be changes because you use the time to look at the cutups and say, “Hey, where do we got to go? What are the trends? Hey, what fits our our system. You know, we’re going to be multiple. Uh the system is going to be built on what we do. Well, um you know, I I had to do it when I went to Seattle. You know, I I understand what Zim’s saying. I went to Seattle and the system I was running out there in Seattle, you know, I kept it in place and I probably changed 30% of it. Why? Well, they had a veteran quarterback by the name of Russell Wilson. Uh the staff stayed for the most part pretty in sync. It was myself and a line coach and a QC that were new. So I was like, “Hey, look, I’ll learn the things I need to learn.” And you’re always going to protect the language that the quarterbacks use, if that makes sense. So the way you solve problems at the line of scrimmage, whether that’s your checks and things like that, you’re always going to protect that. But um I think it’s a little bit where if you have to have your system then I think to me just my opinion not disagreeing with Zoom to me your system should be flexible enough to where you adjust some things but you keep some things in place because it’s our job as coaches to we spend more time on it than the players do. And then you talk about culture all the time. What are your culture inspirations? Uh very easy. I want to be the greatest uh culture in professional sports. Uh, and that’s saying a lot. I get that. But, um, you know, it’s no different than sitting up here and talking about winning Super Bowls. You know, I mean, there’s a standard. The standard is we want to be the best. And will we be the best culture? I don’t know. Uh, we’re going to try. And will we make mistakes along the way? Absolutely. We’ll make mistakes and then we’ll fix things. And, um, but, you know, like, you know, you guys asked me a couple weeks ago about GP coming in here, like, you know, how does he fit the culture? Well, the culture is more than just one person, you know, and so, um, the big thing that goes into culture, too, I think, is being authentic. You know, I will always be authentic. I’m never going to stand up here and and pretend to be something I’m not. I think that that’s a recipe for disaster in this business. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it fail. I think I shared with you, my dad said, “Hey, if you ever get a shot to be a head coach, one thing you should never do is change. Be yourself.” And um so the culture that we’re building here is is something that I truly believe in and that most of these players that we have, they believe in it or if they don’t believe in it yet, hopefully them seeing my conviction makes them uh buy in. Newie Scrugs at NBC5. Um you were obviously here with Tyron Smith was was at left tackle uh last year. A little bit of change here. what is your comfort level with your left tackle position and also can you talk about the progress for a guy like Gton what you’ve seen from his rookie year to now and also Austin Richards yeah um again I’ll I’ll repeat it again do I mean like Tyler’s having a great offseason talk about Tyler Gayton I have to always specify that because there’s so many Tylers now but um you know TG he he’s having a great offseason I think the the some of the new things that Clayton and Connor Riley have brought from a fundamental standpoint really fits him I think you’re talking about I’ll go back for for Tyler a little bit like you know he hasn’t played offensive line a whole lot then he played right tackle at Oklahoma then we moved him to left tackle and it’s obviously premier position and then he missed quite a bit of time last year in training camp he has not missed a day he was one of the first guys back in the building it reminds me a ton of Jaylen Tolbert if I’m being honest with you Jaylen Tolbert year one you guys were all here right you know up and down hey here’s a high draft pick you know and you know didn’t have a great first year JT was one of the first guys back in the building well Tyler Gayton was one of the first guys back in the building. He understands how important that that that this year is for him, not just for him, but for our football team. And so, uh, he looks great and he’s playing at a high level right now going against some good speed rushers. Uh, Awesome is that guy that, you know, he doesn’t say much, but when he’s out there, we have complete confidence that he’s, you know, going to play at a high level. Uh, he’s got good flexibility. We are having a chance to move him around some, which is good because we’re moving all of our pieces around. But I would say that I feel really good right now about our tackle position. Again, I say that with a slight pause because what it’s May, you know, and we’re not in full pads and we can’t do some of the things that we’re going to do in training camp, but I would say the arrow on on all those guys is is is trending up. Okay, we’re going to have to roll. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer met with the media prior to Thursday’s OTA practice to discuss the relationship of the QB room, his time with Coach Steve Spurrier at Florida, teaching the guys to work with intention and more.

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11 comments

  8. I don't want to hear Micah talk about being a leader of the defense anymore. Leaders show up for their teamates on the practice field even when its not mandatory.

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