Brian Schottenheimer Brings Energy to Cowboys as Head Coach

Brian Schottenheimer was all smiles last Saturday. Just over three months after being named the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he finally got to step onto the practice field at The Star for rookie minicamp.

Wearing his visor backward, Schottenheimer went from player to player—talking with everyone from first-round pick Tyler Booker to undrafted rookies. He wasn’t just observing. He was fully involved.

“For me, I love being on the grass,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s where, as a coach, you get lost. You get lost in the moment. You get lost in the chance to connect, when you put hands on and get involved in the drills.”

A Culture Built on Energy and Connection

Since taking over as the 10th head coach in Cowboys history, Schottenheimer has focused on building strong relationships. He wants his team to care about each other, and he wants his coaching staff to be close to the players. Energy and communication are key parts of his style.

Seventh-round pick Phil Mafah noticed it right away.

“My first impression, honestly, is their energy,” Mafah said. “The coaches have so much energy on this staff, and it just allows the players to be themselves and feed into it, and you just feed off each other. So I feel like talking to the coaches never gets dull because they always have something real to say or bring real energy.”

During even the early warmups, coaches were actively chatting with players. Offensive line coach Conor Riley spoke with cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., while quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko reconnected with defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, a player he once recruited to Boston College.

When drills began, the offensive and defensive coaches split up across the field, but the high energy stayed. Music played throughout the session—not just during stretches like in past years under Mike McCarthy.

“I’m a very on-the-go coach. I think you will see that with our staff. They’re very on-the-go, and great energy, great juice,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s what it’s about.”

Matching the Players’ Vibe

Fifth-round running back Jaydon Blue said Schottenheimer’s vibe is contagious.

“I love his energy. I mean he matches our energy. He comes in the meeting room with juice, and he likes to have fun,” Blue said. “I mean that’s what I like as a coach. When you have a coach that you can relate to and that will have fun with you and know how to turn [it] off when it’s time to coach.”

Only 19 players participated in the rookie camp—nine draft picks, nine undrafted rookies, and one tryout—but Schottenheimer made his presence felt all over the field. It reminded some of how Jason Garrett used to float between position groups. The difference? Garrett wasn’t the play-caller. Schottenheimer will be.

He plans to stay involved with every part of practice—even while calling plays. He’ll work closely with quarterback Dak Prescott, just like McCarthy did, but he’s carefully scripted practices to ensure he can check in on every position.

“It’s my job as a head coach to know exactly what’s going on in every room and every drill,” Schottenheimer said. “Practice phases, it’s very detailed out, so I can look and say, ‘The second five minutes of individual [drills], I want to go watch the DBs do this or the linebackers do a pattern-match drill’ …

“It’s so clearly scripted out … it makes it easy for me to kind of say, ‘OK, this is a period I want to check on the defense.”

Changes Off the Field, Too

Schottenheimer is also making changes off the field. During his first team meeting with veterans, players sat in their usual seats. But then he had them stand up and switch.

“I let them sit down, and then I had them stand up and I had them move seats. Why? It’s a new year,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s 2025. We’ll do that in 2026 and 2027 and beyond. I think when you start a new year, do something different.”

He also rearranged the locker room. Prescott still sits in the center, but now star linebacker Micah Parsons is next to him.

“Two of our best players, put them together,” Schottenheimer explained. “There’s also other things we’re doing in there where guys are competing every day in different things that we’ve kind of put in there, but just they can challenge each other in a good way.”

Just like previous coaches, he’s been thoughtful about locker room placement. When tight end Jason Witten retired, Zack Martin took his corner spot. Now it belongs to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Other leadership spots went to players like Terence Steele, C.J. Goodwin, and Osa Odighizuwa. New running back Miles Sanders now sits where backup QB Cooper Rush used to.

“There’s a method to the madness,” Schottenheimer said.

After 24 years as an assistant, this is Schottenheimer’s first chance to run his own team. And he’s not changing who he is.

“I’ve always been someone that believes in connections, getting to know these guys,” he said. “I’ve always been someone who’s been able to be demanding, and I’m pretty good at disciplining guys. I promised myself when I got this opportunity that I wouldn’t change, because I think I’ve seen too many people change.

“The guys I’ve seen change — I’m not going to name them — they weren’t very successful. And I plan on being really successful. The reason I think I’ll do that is because of my values and my beliefs and how hard I work, but also because I’m going to be me and I’m not going to change that for anything.”

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This report used information from ESPN.