Brian Schottenheimer: A Leader By Example | Dallas Cowboys 2025

Brian Schottenheimer: A Leader By Example | Dallas Cowboys 2025

[Music] Clarence is back from Texas, huh? Clarence hasn’t made it back yet. Turned around, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Heck yeah. You get approval. Yeah. Yeah. I need to Yeah, that’s good call. Hey, it’s a trend. If it was a visor, it’d be perfect. Get somebody. Let’s talk about that. Piss more people off than that. Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News. Looks as if you secured Don Bland for four years. How How important is that to get this done right now? Well, I think number one, I’m so happy for him and uh just, you know, the way he’s worked and, you know, shot onto the scene a couple years ago and just kind of came in and made an immediate impact as a rookie playing nickel and doing things like that. And then to see him a couple years after that with all the pick sixes and just uh I’m so happy for him and his family. He’s a dad now, which I think is great. and uh I talked to him about it and just uh you know he’s such a humble young man but so welld deserved and uh again just one of those guys that you love him as a teammate, you love him as a competitor. Doesn’t say much uh but man he gives you everything he’s got and uh I’m thrilled for him and his family and uh just very welld deserved. You say he’s a very quiet guy and you’ve always said you’re relationship guy. So how did you kind of get him to open up more and more to you especially at a time like this? Yeah, it was one of the dinners in the in the spring that I did. you know, he was part of a group of about five or six guys and I actually remember kind of the way it started was, you know, he was kind of sitting across from me and I don’t remember exactly who was all in there, but um as dinner went, you know, just hearing him open up a little bit more and um you know, so bright, so intelligent, but just uh a man of few words, but uh just, you know, and then obviously throughout the pregnancy and they had and uh it’s just uh it’s cool to watch these these young men grow up and uh he’s certainly a guy that uh uh is a huge huge piece for us and like I said I’m thrilled for him. Brian Todd Archer with ESPN. Um are ball school balls skills something that he has that can’t be taught a little bit with some guys? Yeah. Yeah, he does have incredible ball skills, but I also think Todd he’s got incredible instincts, you know. Um his ability to study the game and his knowledge of the game for a young player, relatively young are uncanny. like his ability to read splits and anticipate routes and things like that. That usually happens when you’re older. I always think of Stefan Gilmore, right? Like um you know those guys as they get older and they maybe loses a little bit of a step or something, they have to learn how to you know read read splits and things like that. But Don’s just always had the ability to process things very quickly and then he’s certainly got elite change of direction and ball skills which is why um you know the interceptions and the pick sixes per se have happened. But another guy fits perfect in our defense. No house gas. He’s got flexibility. He can play nickel. He can play the boundary corner. Um because he’s so physical against the run. And um key key piece for for the Dallas Cowboys. You you resigned Jake. You’ve now signed him and Tyler is in discussions as well. What’s the importance of keeping these guys? Well, again, we’re a draft and develop team. You know, we want to draft guys. We want to develop them. Um, we’ve shown that we, you know, have a great history here long before I got here of drafting players and developing them. And I think the cool thing when you look at the guys that you do that with is um, usually they don’t change. You know, Fergie hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still the enforcer that he likes to be and uh, half bit crazy all the time, which is awesome. I love being around him. Uh, and Don’s not going to change, you know. So, uh, I think anytime you can draft these guys, develop them, and then, you know, get them into a second contract, it’s, uh, it’s it’s good to see and you’re thrilled for them and their family. John Mod with the Athletic, uh, just on the cornerback position in general, how you feeling about it right now, obviously knowing that you’re getting digs back at sometime in the near future and then obviously Kevin Durant. Yeah, I mean, feel feel good. We’ve talked about there’s help on the way and I think, you know, Trayvon got through the day the other day awesome. He’s been working his ass off getting um you know ready to go for this game. We’ll see how he does today. But um you know I I feel good about it. I think you know we’ve got some flexibility. Kaire’s playing well getting Don back. Certainly we made some moves at you know final cut down you know with Triquz and um you know Rei. But uh I feel I feel good. Uh and uh again I’m I’m excited about that group because again we’re getting healthy at the right time and I think that that matters. And then what are your expectations today for Kenny Clark? Yeah, again Kenny was through the walkthrough, did all the things we’re doing in the walkthrough. I think again he’s been practicing. It’s not like he hasn’t been practicing, so he’s in great shape. Uh he’s ready to go. His body feels good and um it it’s going to be fun to see him out there in pads. Nick Harris, Fourstar Telegram. Uh what would you say is Don Glenn’s leadership style since he is more of the quiet guy? Is it by example? Does he have guys that listen to him? Yeah, I think, you know, he’s definitely a leader by example, but you know, I see him teaching guys. I see him grabbing guys. I mean, he um he just does it his own way, but he’s definitely a leader by example. I mean, the way he works, the way he practices, the way he runs the ball, the way he, you know, you know, attacks meetings and things like that, he he totally is a leader by example. And that’s what I love about leadership. There’s all different kinds of ways to do it, right? And I think, you know, that’s why I think what we’re trying to build here is so special because you’ve got different personalities. is you’ve got guys that are quiet leaders. You got guys that are leading by example. You know, uh I’ll transition a little bit and you know, talk about we just uh named our captains this morning. Um I was planning on having four. That was kind of the goal, but uh the guys clearly spoke and so we will have six captains in 2025. On defense, we’ll have OSA uh and Donovan Wilson. On offense, we’ll have Dak Prescott, CD. Special teams, we’ll have uh Aubrey and CJ. and they’ll still be a uh captain of the week. Not this week, not this first week, but they’ll still be a captain of the week. But like you look at those guys and their leadership comes in all different, you know, uh forms and that’s what I like. But again, like I said, I was blown away. People ask me about the leadership of this football team. Um the guys made it very clear, a shotty four is not enough. And so, uh the way the voting came in, it was it was really close. And uh it’ll be cool for those guys to have the C’s on their jersey. And then um you have the big trade on Thursday, but you have to quickly roll into week one. How have you kind of seen the team take the next step and move on and really put all the focus on building? Yeah, you know, bonus Monday was good for us the other day, whatever the heck day that was. Uh just to get them in and get them moving again after three days off and they came in today, he had great juice, great energy in the meeting and uh excited about our our Wednesday prep. This is what we call competition Wednesday. And you know, they’ll be a winner and a loser and everything that we compete at and bags and practice and competitive. We got a red zone period that we’ll do competitively and um but uh yeah, the guys were dialed in and excited to go and ready to kick off the season. Tommy, Dallas.com with Don. How valuable is the ability to for him to play outside and in especially you know considering how much the nickel corner spots kind of changed over the years. Yeah, it’s huge. I think, you know, number one, it gives us the versatility and the multiplicity that we want where we can change up different personnel groupings. And from a play caller, that can be really hard because there’s certain times you’re like, well, where is he? You know, like teams have done that for a long time with Jaylen Ramsey. He’s outside, he’s inside, he travels, he doesn’t travel. So, I think that that’s um, you know, so powerful for us. But it’s not even that. It’s like he’s good at both, you know, which is really cool. Sometimes guys are Yeah, they’re really good outside corners. They’re okay. Nicholls, he’s not. He’s really good inside. He proved that as a rookie. He’s proved that this year. Uh and he’s also really good on the outside covering guys. So, I think that that’s just a huge huge benefit for us. And he’s a good blitzer. He’s a good tackler. The coverage skills speak for themselves. And uh like I said, it’s invaluable. Joe White, Dallas Morning News. Obviously, you have long-term ambitions here. As a coach, what does it do for you when you’re able to lock up a guy long term and you find that out that this guy is in in your team’s plans for a while? Yeah, you know, again, I think, you know, this team’s going to be defined by more than just one person. You know, we talked about that the other day. It’s going to take the whole team and all 53 plus 69 total. And um but again, I’m just happy for Don. I just think, you know, it’s uh you know, a guy that’s worked incredibly hard and you know, here he is what, fourth, fifth round draft pick? Fourth or fifth round draft? Fifth. Thank you. um and to come in and to shoot onto the scene and play the way he did and um you know the uh you don’t you don’t announce it to the guys until it’s signed and so we’ll they’ll all know but we’ll make a big deal about it tomorrow just like we did with Ferg. And then Tyler Smith um that’s a guy who’s obviously progressed pretty well in his career so far. What have you seen from him just from a day-to-day basis and what are your ambitions for him going into this year specifically? Yeah, well again I think the guy’s all pro guard. You know, I think he’s incredible talent. Uh, another one of those guys, draft and develop. Here’s a guy played tackle at Tulsa, comes in here, you know, he’s a tackle, then, okay, let’s move you to guard and, uh, the power uh, that he possesses is crazy. What I love about Tyler is he hasn’t checked up one day. He’s probably one of our hardest practice players that we have. Um, and he’s not missed a beat, not said a word. Um, I think that’s one of the things that you respect about him is just a competitor. And uh but yeah, what a what a talent, you know, and so hopefully he’s the next one that uh is able to get done. So obviously the athletic Brian, obviously Micah was a unique talent with a special special abilities. He was thrust into becoming an edge after circumstances kind of warranted that. Do you see Dear Olshone when he comes back having any of those same traits or abilities as an athlete to maybe rush the passer more and change from the linebacker to that? Well, you know, obviously, you know, Demo, there’s not many things Deemo can’t do. Uh, he’s he’s really good at a lot of different things. Um, you know, he’s very good blitzer. Now, playing on the edge is different side. I mean, it is a little bit different. You’re blocking going up against bigger men. You know, tackles are bigger, longer, uh, stronger than sometimes getting matched up on backs, but I wouldn’t bet against um, Demo. I’ll, you know, reiterate what I said the other day. I think, you know, pass rush for us is one of our deepest positions that we have. You know, you look at Sam and Donovan and Dante and Marshon and James Houston. I mean, we’re we’re deep at that spot, but Demo can pretty much do anything. And and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, you know, my heart goes out to Leroy Jordan’s family. Um, you know, I’m a football junkie. I’m a football nerd. And I grew up with a dad that, you know, played kind of in that era. And, uh, you know, member of the Doomsday defense. just uh my heart goes out to his family. Garrett Garrett Odell, CBS Sports. Brian, you know, when we see these contracts for quarterbacks, typically outside corners typically get paid a little more now that Don is paid. Do you feel like, you know, that maybe helps the ability to communicate to him and say, “Hey, we might need you to be inside because Kyrie might be a little better outside or whatever.” You feel like this contract kind of helps you be more versatile with him now going forward this Well, we were going to be versatile with him no matter what because that’s the type of competitor that Don is. Dur’s never said, “Hey, I’m not going to play Nickel or I’m not going to do this.” He sees himself as an elite cover corner. I do too. He’s freaking amazing. But again, we’re going to move him around. It’s got nothing to do with the contract. I mean, if the contract wasn’t done, we would have moved him around as well. Um he’s just a stud of a young man and a damn good football player that again I am so happy for. Um of your captains, Donovan Wilson seems to be similar to Blair, a very quiet guy. Just that did that surprise you or that tell you a little bit about what Donovan does behind the scenes a little bit? Well, I think they look at his play style. There’s an intensity with Donno. Um I love the guy. I love the guy. Like when I go around and I talked to the guys before practice, you know, Calvin, it’s like, you know, the the handshake, the embrace, but the eye contact like is just different. I mean, the guy just loves football. And so that’s why you let the players vote. You know, I I think the players got it right. There were more guys that were also deserving, but you’re allowed sixish. And so, um, the numbers were a little bit separated, but again, it speaks to the leadership of our football team. And it’s not just going to be those six guys that lead us. You know, Tyler Smith’s a leader on this football team. He wasn’t named captain. He had a lot of votes, but he just came up a little short of those other guys. And Malik Hooker, I mean, I go on. Brian Anger, um, you know, I can go on and on and on um about the leadership of this football team. And we’re going to need that. There’s going to be adversity this season. No one’s standing up here saying there’s not going to be adversity. So, when you have strong chemistry and connection, but also leadership, that’s a huge advantage for a football team. Scott Skyler Dixon with the AB. Last year you all kind of had the automatic third quarterback with the way the roster was set up with Trey. This year it’s a little different sort of decisions you’ll have to make along those lines. How do you view that emergency quarterback when from my point of view it kind of looks like a free roster spot on game day, but how do you see it? Yeah. Well, again, it’s it’s a tool that some people use. We obviously have a few guys. I’m not going to share with you right now who those guys would be in an emergency situation. and you have guys that are prepared to play quarterback if uh it gets to that point. But um yeah, I mean it does um have its benefits and I think at the end of the day, you know, I think this is nothing new. Most teams get into a situation where they have to have somebody that’s ready to do it. It’s been different places. It was a it was our punter for us in Jacksonville. Um uh it wasn’t McAfee, I don’t think. I don’t think we trusted Pat. Sorry, Pat. I know you’re probably watching this. Um but uh yeah, it just it’s different guys and so we have a few guys and again the menu uh will be a little smaller than what the call sheet would normally look like, but uh we have guys that we feel like could go out there and at least execute some of the things we’re trying to do with reps so important for starting quarterbacks. How do you kind of see third quarterbacks and beyond in terms of quarterback development? What’s your kind of overall view of quarterback development in the NFL? Yeah, it’s it’s it’s hard. Um, I’m going to go back, Skyler, just to because I think I’ve talked about this before. When you have three, it’s hard. Your starter needs a lot, and even Dak wants a lot, especially when you’re doing early looks early in the week like a day like today. Uh, he he he’s going to want most of those, if not all of those, and we’ll get those. Um, but you got to try to get the other two some reps. But Rich Ganon was a guy that I remember he was kind of the backup. He didn’t need a lot of reps, but he always wanted those third down blitz reps because that was the closest thing that he could get to game reps, the feel of third down blitzes and guys coming from, you know, the post and off the edges and corners and hot responsibilities and things like that. So, um, you’ll watch Joe and those guys and Will when they’re not in there, they’re kind of behind shadowing and that’s a big part of it. And then as soon as practice ends, Steve Shimco will take uh Will and those guys and they’ll go and basically any ball that Dak throws, they’ll call the play and they’ll spot throw that. And so they can get through. We started it 2004 or five, I guess, with Philip Rivers is when we first started doing it. So you can get they call the play and then you’re ripping uh throws. So if he throws the comeback over here, he throws the comeback. Then he threw a slant over here, he throws a slant. So they’re getting their throws, they’re getting their footwork. It’s not perfect, but they are getting the work and the throws that they need. What are your expectations for captains? Yeah. Uh be the guys to the forefront that lead us. Be the guys that are communicating. Uh be authentic. I think that’s a huge thing for me, you know, be authentic, you know, lead the way you want to lead. Um but again, they they will, you know, certainly my door is always open for anybody. You don’t just have to be a captain, but I would hope that if there was a issue that maybe didn’t make it to me, uh that one of those six guys would certainly bring it to me. Hey, we’re having a little issue here that you probably need to address, that would be expected of them. And uh for the most part, it’s just help help with the the connection and the chemistry that we’re working with. And then Calvin kind of mentioned it with with Wilson CD as well. You’ve talked about his growth. Can you revisit that? like when you first were around him as your consultant year, did you ever think, “Oh, yeah. I can see him being a captain one day?” I I really could. Uh just because of his love for the game, you know, the passion and the way he plays the game. I think Todd is is incredible. Uh but CD’s been different. I think, you know, back this year, it started not just with the GP thing, but again, I think, you know, last year missing training camp, you know, reminded him how much he loves football. I was actually not surprised by that one. I was actually not surprised at all that Cidi got as many votes as he did because he’s a great player, but he’s one of our best practice players. And again, you see him doing a much uh being much more intentional, I would say, uh in terms of leadership, talking to younger guys and things like that. And um for me, it’s just been fun to watch him him grow into that. And um I think he’s truly just getting started. Brad Brad Shampoos radio 105 through the pan because you make such a point of knowing your players as people. What do you suppose you would do if this vote came back and they’d elected a captain about whom you thought, “Oh, no way.” Well, I would have named him captain. The players speak. I mean, like I said, I wanted four. They said when you looked at the numbers, Brad, they said, “No, it’s not four. It’s six.” um they see something. They might have seen something different than I did, but I trust the guys and I know them and I know that they’re going to vote with their hearts. They’re going to vote for truly who they believe will lead us and um be resilient and be disciplined to work every day and do the things they’re supposed to do. So, um you saw me, I didn’t bat an eye. I’ I’d name him. Yeah. Uh when Don Bland was coming out, I’m not sure how much you were part of those uh draft day conversations, but do you remember anything about that? And if not, okay, then uh I don’t. Um, when was the first time you saw the dog and then the intention of him to where he could be thrown into a starting role here and then first team off road? He inter I was up in the box with DQ. I can’t remember. I think we’re playing the Giants I think and he was playing nickel and they ran a little little stop route kind of in between the hash with the tight end and he was playing like a a cover two look and he read the quarterback’s eyes and he squeezed the tight end on the hook just inside the deal and picked it off. It’s incredible play because it was a bang bang play. And I remember just up in the box watching and seeing the the quick twitch and the ability to close a seam like he did, but also it was a contested co like the tight end was reaching like this and he came in and scooped it and stole it from him. And I remember going, “Damn, that was a hell of a play.” And um he did it a lot in practice as well. But that was the first time I think it was the Giants. It was an interception that that he came away with. I think it might have been his first one of his career. Um, but uh it was it was kind of a wild play. We know how you feel about Dak as a leader and everything else. How does the Mic trade change how you lean on him for messaging and everything else to sort of push this team forward? Yeah, I don’t, you know, nothing changes. I think, you know, Dak doesn’t need to be the only leader we have. The guys have just, you know, identified a bunch of other guys. Dak needs to play quarterback and Dak needs to try to lead the league in wins. You know, that’s what we’re trying to do. if we can lead the league in wins, um, you know, the leadership ability is there, you know, for sure. But, um, again, we’re strongest when we have all of our guys. I think Kenny Clark’s going to be a leader at some point. He’s just a new face, you know, and, um, again, the more I get to know him and the more the guys get to know him, I think, you know, he’s going to be seen as a leader. I think you know Jake Ferguson’s another guy got a bunch of votes you know but uh when it’s spread out the way it is it makes you go yes like you know we have the right type of guys and they will pull on you and it’s going to take different guys to speak up because there’s going to be some days when the offense plays well and the defense the others there’s going to be other days where the defense is amazing and we the bed and um it’s going to take guys willing to step up be accountable say hey we need to be better because at the end of the day this is the ultimate team game and uh I’m thrilled to have the type of leaders that we have in that locker room. Got um we know this is a business obviously. Um do you think fans maybe even less in the media forget about when you mentioned CD how much they especially in his case how much he missed the game because he he wanted to play but the business kind of got in the way of that. Yeah. I think you know this is this is the greatest game in the world. You start playing this game when you’re 6 7 8 9 years old. I mean, I used to play literally flag football and backyard, you know, football and you just love it and you don’t care. You don’t care who you play with, where you are we playing in the street, we playing in the field, we playing uh at the park, where we playing, but you just love the game. And these guys, they don’t feel different. They still love stepping out between the white lines. They still love going into that huddle and sometimes laughing and making jokes and sometimes screaming at each other. Um, but the game is such a pure thing, man. And they just love it. And when it’s taken away from you from time to time for different reasons, you mentioned business. Um, it reminds you of how blessed we are to be able to do what we do. Thank you. Thanks, guys.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer speaks with the media about CB DaRon Bland’s contract extension, reveals the Cowboys’ 2025 Team Captains voted on by the players, and more.

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