The Dallas Cowboys’ first training camp practice is Wednesday, July 29 in Oxnard, CA.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer is trying to improve on his 7-9-1 record and take the Cowboys back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
“It’s our time now. And now what we do on the field is what matters. And so, we celebrate the tradition. We’re proud of what this team has done, winning the five Super Bowls. And we are in pursuit of that every day to get that sixth. And not just for any one of us, but for them, you know, for the guys that have put so much into this game that they love so much. So, it’s very easy. I mean, it’s a pride thing. And I talk to more people around the league, and there’s a lot of people that want to be a part of what we’re building because it’s special, but also because of the Cowboys,” Schottenheimer said.
One of the biggest coaching decisions Schottenheimer has to make this offseason is what to do with the offensive line. All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith could see time at left tackle in training camp, but Tyler Guyton is still expected to start at tackle despite struggling in his first two seasons.
“You know, we’re going to this deal where, you know, from left to right, Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terrence Steele. But we’re going to move guys around and piece around. And at the end of the day, we’ve been very open about the fact we’re going to play the five best guys. We’ll find time to move Terrence Steele around. We’ll find ways to move Tyler Smith around. But, you know, at the end of the day, the OTAs are good for teaching scheme and some skill development, but it’s not until we put the pads on for an offensive lineman that you can get the real, true evaluation of those guys. And we kind of have a timing period that we think we want to have that sorted out. But it’s a ways from now,” Schottenheimer said.
Schottenheimer said the rotation is about being ready for potential injuries along the line.
“(Tyler Smith)’s going to start at left guard. And we’re going to get him some reps to tackle. Why? Just because we’ve got to be ready. But that’s no different than Tyler Booker having to get some snaps at center. Because at the end of the day, we’re committed to winning and winning now. And we’re going to play the five best guys. But again, I’m really excited to see Tyler Guyton, Nate Thomas, Drew Shelton. You know those guys compete at tackle as well,” Schottenheimer said.
“I mean, we first started with the OTAs. I spent a lot more time on defense than I did last year. I think part of that is, again, excited to hear what Christian and the staff are doing. You know, him coming from the Fangio tree and the problems that it’s kind of given us over the past, you know, ten, 12 years of my time calling plays. But also, I think it’s a lot to do with my confidence in Clayton Adams and the job that he’s done. I mean, this guy is someone that I just think the world of, no different than what we did with Christian. We went through this process, Jerry, Steve, and myself last year when we found Clayton Adams. And so, we’ll have some really cool comp days at practice where I won’t call the plays, and I’ll let Clayton and Christian, you know, dial it up against each other. And, you know, I’m looking forward to that because, you know, we need to win as a football team, you know, and we didn’t do that enough last year. And that’s why we made some of the tough decisions that we made. And you make those decisions to make changes; you better get it right. And I think we did that,” Schottenheimer said.
The other big decision is improving last season’s franchise-worst defense. The team hired defensive coordinator Christian Parker from the Philadelphia Eagles and spent two first-round picks on defensive players, Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence.
Schottenheimer called Parker an “incredible communicator. I can’t say that enough. The way you know, he’s an elite coach, Tommy, is when you walk by his office and players- I mean, multiple players are in there wanting to listen and talk to him about scheme and things like that. but the organization, you know, the way he’s organized this camp on the defensive side of the ball, from the individual section to the tackling circuit, drills to the ball disruption drills, to, the install packages from first and second down fronts, pressures, coverages, things like that. he is a first time coordinator that doesn’t act like a first time coordinator.”
Parker has never called plays before, but he’s been a successful assistant in Denver and Philadelphia. Schottenheimer will try to bring along the first-year coordinator in his second season as head coach.
“I think if you’ve never thought about it in your, you know, years prior is really hard. But Christian’s been preparing for this for 4 or 5, six years. He’s known that this is where he wanted to be. And the defensive coordinator chair of an NFL football team. And, again, maybe the hardest-working coach I’ve ever been around. And that’s why we’re so excited about not just him, but the staff that we put together, the amount of hours that went into identifying the strengths of Christian Parker, Chad, Derek Ainsley, these guys. I mean, it was tireless. And so that’s why I laugh about it was a quiet offseason. It was on the outside maybe with storylines, but for us, we worked our asses off, and I’m excited to finally see it all come out into real football,” Schottenheimer said.
“You know, it’s a longer story than just one response. I mean, you learn things every day when you go through this process. I think, you know, there’s countless lessons that you learn, real big into doing after action reports on everything that we do, from the way we, you know, grade film, the way we throw a practice, the way we have a mock, the way we have a meeting, things like that. and I’m also real big on not rinsing and repeating. What I mean by that is I don’t like the first team meeting to feel like the same first team meeting that was last year, right? I think players in this era tune you out. So, but the big thing coming out here is I want us to practice, and I want us to have, you know, really physical practices. And, you know, we know how to practice the right way. We know how to protect one another. But, you know, we’re, we’re excited about getting out there on the grass and playing real football and, you know, but there’s a number of things I’m always learning, and I honestly, I lean on everybody. I lean on the players. I lean on Jerry and Stephen and Will, and, you know, the way I make decisions is by talking. And it helps me to think out loud like that,” Schottenheimer said.
Schottenheimer said he’s looking forward to putting the pads on and “really dive into the finer details of how you play certain coverages and the techniques, like, they spend, you know, at nauseum amounts of time talking about fundamentals over scheme. We all have the same scheme. It’s the way you teach the fundamentals that makes the difference. I thought Cobie Durant was an awesome pickup for us, you know, Derion Kendrick. It’s going to be a fun battle to watch, and they’re going to be able to go up against some of the most elite receivers in the league, which I think is important as well. But what I expect to see is the confidence of that group grow. And that starts by getting in these practices and getting into the one-on-one and some of the seven-on-sevens and team drills that we do. And watching those guys compete. And the thing that will be definitely different this year with CP (Christian Parker) is the trash talk. Because he’s pretty good at it.”
Click here to read more from Jerry and Stephen Jones’ portion of the press conference.
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