What’s a big reason for their buy in? They can tell that everything Schottenheimer is doing is genuine and want to reciprocate the level of commitment that he’s showing the players.
“I love it, that’s his personality. I love that he is who he is, kind of has that swagger and just brings it to the table every day,” Liufau said. “You love that from a head coach, just showing you who they are and showing you that they’re ready to work and they’re going to show up to work and have that energy to get better.”
The other aspect of change for Liufau has come from defensive philosophy, with the Cowboys adding defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus over the offseason. Eberflus, who has a strong track record of developing linebackers, has already passed on plenty for Liufau to digest.
“Effort, running to the football, that just the standard of play is what I picked up first of all from coach Flus,” Liufau said. “And his philosophy as a defense before we even get into plays and things like that, just the way we play football.”
That philosophy is personified by an emphasis on taking the ball away, a calling card for Eberflus’ defenses when they’ve been playing at their best in the past. From Liufau’s perspective, their preparation to try and force more takeaways has been a clear difference in practice sessions this year.
“I feel like from the players standpoint at least, running to the ball, there’s a lot more energy, emphasis on running to the ball and getting to the football as a defense and attacking the ball, emphasizing takeaways.” Liufau said.
In the offseason, Liufau mentioned that he put a lot of his training stock into improving his speed, adding more sprints to his workouts which he hopes will pay off when running to the football like Matt Eberflus wants him to do, and lead to improvement in his second NFL season.