- 15 hours ago
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer addresses the media to kick off mandatory minicamp! Schotty dives deep into the return of key players to the facility, defensive leadership, injury updates, and more.
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00:00Jeez, Louise, thank you.
00:03All righty, Calvin.
00:05Let it rip.
00:06Let it rip.
00:08Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News.
00:12Is the plan for George to still be brought along slowly?
00:16Yeah, yeah, really great visits with George.
00:19Fired up to have him back.
00:21He's fired up to be here.
00:23He'll do all the mock, he'll do all the individual,
00:25and we'll just keep him out of team, just let him watch,
00:28and he'll be coach pickings today during the team period.
00:31Last week you said you had hoped and expected him to be here,
00:34but now that he's here, did you really,
00:36was there any doubt in your mind that he was actually going to come?
00:39No.
00:40I know how he feels about this football team, this locker room,
00:42what we're building here, and so I'm not surprised to see him.
00:46And I'm, you know, thrilled he's here.
00:50Clarence Hill, DL, this Cowboys.
00:51What does it mean for him to be here from the on-the-field standpoint,
00:55off-the-field standpoint, locker room standpoint?
00:57Yeah, well, I think, number one, say it again,
00:59I think what he feels about his brothers in the locker room,
01:02the guys, how much he cares about Dak and CD and Quinnen and Kenny Clark
01:06and guys like that, I think that's the first part.
01:09As you guys know, the OTAs and off-season program is voluntary,
01:14and this is the one part of it that's mandatory.
01:17And he's not the only player that hasn't been at camps around the league,
01:22but I think it just shows his commitment to the guys in that locker room
01:25and helping us win a Super Bowl.
01:27What does it seem like, him coming in yesterday and just you guys greeting him
01:31and the player greeting him, what was that like?
01:33Just happy.
01:34You know, it's like not seeing a brother for, you know, a couple months.
01:39And, again, a lot of these guys, they hang out outside of the building,
01:42and, you know, they game together and they go different places together
01:45and they travel together.
01:47So, it was very normal.
01:49It wasn't anything unusual.
01:51And it's a storyline, and I understand it's a storyline,
01:53but at the same time, you know, it's part of the National Football League,
01:57and when you deal with pro sports, it's part of what we deal with.
02:02I'm Brian Totarch with ESPN.
02:06What were your conversations with him?
02:08Was it more about ball or just like, hey, what have you been doing?
02:11More about life, you know, just what he's been up to and some of the things.
02:15You know, he's obviously getting settled here in his house and things like that,
02:18which is awesome.
02:19And some of the trips he's taken, some of his, you know, activities that he's taken.
02:24He's gotten into golf, which is cool.
02:27I love to play golf, so might have to go take his money on the golf course a little bit.
02:32But, no, we just chopped it up about life.
02:34And, again, great to catch up.
02:37And he's in a really good spot, which, you know, again, his smile is infectious.
02:42And when he's around, it's great for us.
02:45I say it all the time, the influence that he has.
02:47I don't even think he has the understanding of how powerful it is
02:51because he loves playing the game so much,
02:53and he loves playing the game specifically here with his teammates.
02:56And when you guys get to Oxnard,
02:58obviously you've got a little bit of a break after minicamp.
03:01Is that something that he'll have to be worked in maybe a little differently
03:05than some of the other guys because he's not been in the offseason program?
03:07No.
03:08I mean, this is, you know, he and I did talk about that a little bit.
03:10I mean, he's going to be ready to go.
03:12You know, he understands what's coming.
03:14And, you know, again, if we needed him to practice today, he could.
03:18He's going to do some things.
03:20But just as we close out the minicamp, you know,
03:23and the offseason program, there's no need for him to have to do the team stuff.
03:26He's going to get plenty of stuff with individual and the mock stuff.
03:30And then one more.
03:31Marshawn Nealon's girlfriend had their baby.
03:34I was wondering how do you keep in touch with the family and what they're doing
03:39and how do you keep Marshawn's memory alive with the Cowboys?
03:42Yeah, I appreciate you asking.
03:42We actually showed a picture of Makai today.
03:45So, congrats to Catalina.
03:46I actually saw her a couple weeks ago at Dimo's wedding.
03:49She was there.
03:50And everybody's doing great.
03:52So, the guys were fired up and excited.
03:54And, you know, again, we've got, you know, different things.
03:58We've got, you know, a marker down in the players' lounge supporting.
04:00And it says, one love, big, you know, bright star,
04:04because that was one of Marshawn's sayings.
04:06And when you're part of our family, you're family for life.
04:09And so, we want to make sure we do a great job of looking out for her and baby Makai.
04:14John, Michelle with The Athletic,
04:16what would you say is the biggest thing you're trying to get accomplished this week?
04:19Finish the installs.
04:21You know, doing the eight-week, you know, offseason program
04:23where you normally do nine installs and you get a couple review days.
04:27I gave up those review days because I wanted –
04:30I thought it was more important, John,
04:33to get the rookies on the field at the same time for phase two with the vets.
04:37So, get all the installations through is one.
04:41Two is, you know, this will be the last chance for the connection piece
04:44and the brotherhood piece that we're working on.
04:47There will be officials here for the next couple days.
04:50Ron Tolbert's crew is here.
04:52And then we're actually knocking out some league-mandated meetings that we have to do
05:00to lessen the blow when we get out to training camp
05:02just because those first couple days, the first day specifically of meetings is really long.
05:07And so, we're going to knock out a few of those mandatory meetings that we have to have.
05:12Is that the stuff with the officials or –
05:13No, different things, gambling, things like that, you know,
05:16different things that go on to play.
05:18And so, you know, domestic violence, gambling, things like that.
05:22And so, I just use it to try to get ahead of it and check a couple of those things
05:27off
05:28so when we get out to training camp, it's – you still have a handful of things to do
05:31but move more to football.
05:33One of the biggest stories in sports right now with Brandon Sorsby.
05:36Yep.
05:37Entering the supplemental draft, or at least expected to.
05:40Would you guys have any interest in him?
05:42Yeah, honestly, I know it's a big storyline.
05:44I haven't followed it much.
05:46I'm aware just enough to be dangerous, so I really don't have any honest opinions.
05:51If we get to the point where we're interested, then certainly I'll have an opinion.
05:54But as of now, it doesn't affect my life, and I'm focused on the 90 guys we've got here.
05:59Nick Harris, Fuller Star Telegram, kind of a follow-up to that.
06:01What does the scouting process look like for a supplemental draft guy?
06:06Wherever you were in 19, Jalen Thompson, how did that work for him?
06:09Is it something you refer back to for agency for Jalen Thompson?
06:12Like, how does it compare that?
06:13Well, I can go way back, Nick, if you want to.
06:15I mean, I'm going back to Bernie Kosar, 1984.
06:17I think I was in, like, eighth grade, seventh grade, man.
06:21It's just unique.
06:22It's different.
06:23I honestly don't even know exactly how it plays out, to be quite blunt with you.
06:29But, again, at some point we'll get more involved in when that is and how it goes.
06:34And, you know, but at the end of the day, you know, my focus right now is having three really
06:42good days in minicamp
06:43and finishing off what I think has been an awesome, awesome offseason.
06:46A big topic with the players right now is the grass being used at all these World Cup venues.
06:50What's kind of your take on the situation, and do you just kind of leave that to whatever happens?
06:55Yeah, no, I mean, you know, I get it.
06:57I'm a big, actually, World Cup guy.
06:59I watch a lot of the games.
07:01It's been cool for me.
07:02I've been out by the star watching the watch parties and stuff that people have had, and I think it's
07:09really cool.
07:09I'm going to the game next Monday.
07:10And so, you know, again, I think that at the end of the day, FIFA has their rules,
07:16and the soccer players have their rules, and our rules are a little bit different.
07:21And we feel like, you know, AT&T gives us a great home field advantage,
07:24and the turf is what it is, and we feel like it's one of the best turf surfaces in the
07:30league.
07:30And so, but I am looking forward to going.
07:33I hope Messi plays.
07:34It would be cool to see him, Argentina.
07:38But, yeah, that's kind of my thoughts.
07:39And then, you know, it sounds like they had the blinders up, you know, the shades.
07:44So it's not as majestic as it is when we're playing our games, you know.
07:49So the grass and the shade, I mean, it's just it's not as majestic.
07:52They're going to miss the experience.
07:57They're going to miss the sun, huh?
07:58They're going to miss the experience.
08:00I'd like to sneak in a quick one on Ryan Flannoy,
08:01just his development going into what he had last year going into that year.
08:07What I would say, just doing incredible.
08:11You guys saw it last year, I think, 200-yard games.
08:14You saw him really, you know, just do it on a consistent basis.
08:18It's not surprising.
08:19He'll be the first one on the practice field.
08:21He'll be the last one to leave.
08:23Anytime Dak wants to throw, he'll be out there, you know, making himself available.
08:28I think that's huge.
08:29I think that's part of that me-to-you factor that's so important
08:31when you're talking about quarterback-receiver timing and discipline and things like that.
08:38But just, you know, he earned it the right way.
08:41He earned it through special teams.
08:43He earned it by doing the run blocking, doing the things in the run game,
08:45the dirty work, if you will.
08:46So, and now he's one of those guys that just, you know, because he does everything right,
08:51you know, Dak doesn't hesitate when he looks at him.
08:55He just turns it loose, throws it to a spot,
08:56and he's rewarded us with very, very big-time performances.
09:03Tommy Arsh, DallasCowboys.com.
09:05In this next month or so until you go to training camp,
09:08how do you and your staff make sure that your players keep on the playbook and the install
09:12so that when you get to Oxnard you don't have to reteach some things
09:16that you've been through this week or the last couple weeks?
09:18Yeah, I mean, it's part of the deal.
09:19Number one, we want these guys to get away a little bit,
09:21and we think that's important.
09:22You've got to recharge.
09:23It's a long season.
09:24I think that's good for all of us.
09:26You know, the iPads that they have have all that information on it.
09:29You know, these guys have a really good plan.
09:31They understand, Tommy, that they're going to hear the same install, you know,
09:34of training camp day one, of OTA day one, and so on and so on.
09:38I think that's important.
09:39But more than anything, it's the coaches just checking in on these guys throughout the deal.
09:43Why?
09:44Because we're not checking in on them.
09:45We care about them.
09:46We love them.
09:46We want to see, you know, where they are.
09:48Are they having fun?
09:49What are they doing?
09:49How's their family?
09:50How are their wives, girlfriends, kids?
09:53But they're pros, and they know the importance of the FIB, you know, football intelligence.
10:00And, you know, I think that these guys are pros,
10:03and they're not going to need a lot of reminding.
10:05They know how important it is to get ready for training camp, both physically but also mentally as well.
10:09I know what the defensive personnel turnover you've had over the years,
10:12or this year specifically, because you've gotten to see these guys the last couple weeks.
10:15Who stood out to you in a leadership role on defense?
10:21There's a lot of them.
10:23You know, if I started up front, you know, Kenny Clark and Quinnen, obviously, Rashawn Gary, Donovan as a rock,
10:30who's got natural leadership ability from the linebackers, you know, Demo certainly, D Winters has leadership ability.
10:39Shamar's got great control of what we're doing in the secondary.
10:43Jalen Thompson, P.J. Locke, Malik Hooker's done a great job from a communication standpoint.
10:48Caleb Downs has natural leadership ability.
10:51You don't hear the corners quite as much, you know, on the outside, but a guy like Kobe Durant, you
10:55know,
10:55he's got natural alpha, you know, leadership to him.
10:58And I know I ripped off half the roster, but I think that's a good thing.
11:06Joe White, Dallas Warren News.
11:08Brian, you kind of talked about the communication aspect there.
11:10Christian Parker was mic'd up and was kind of emphasizing the overcommunication aspect of things.
11:15With that being such an issue last season, how have you just kind of seen that transpire under Christian Parker
11:20just even in this early part of practice?
11:21Yeah, I mean, you know, day one.
11:23I mean, it really, it started day one, and I think you see it.
11:26It's verbal, it's nonverbal, but the emphasis when you sit in the meetings.
11:29It's like last year I felt like we didn't do a great job in meetings.
11:33Even talking, I know I talked about that, but it wasn't to the standard that I think it should be
11:38or that it is now.
11:39You walk into a meeting and you probably need earmuffs because, I mean, literally these guys are hollering calls,
11:45closed calls, rip lives, whatever the calls are.
11:47And when there's motions and change of strength, it flips a lot of things,
11:51and you hear them all talking and really at all three levels.
11:53I think the other thing I'll say is that our defensive line is communicating differently than most defenses I've been
12:00around
12:00with their anticipation of what runs are coming, protection are coming based on formation sets and things like that.
12:07And I think that's got to do with, number one, how it's emphasized in every room,
12:12not just with the linebackers or safeties, but also the experience that we have with our defensive line.
12:17And then this past season, there was 22 tight ends drafted the most in over 20 years.
12:21It seems like the league really wants to go to 13 personnel.
12:24Meanwhile, you guys thrived in 11 personnel last year.
12:26Why do you think the league is going to go into that?
12:28And I guess with you guys specifically and the receivers you have,
12:31is that something you want to get more into or is it just, hey, we've got to play our cards?
12:35No, I mean, I think we're always going to try to play our best players.
12:37I love our tight end room.
12:39I think the reason teams are doing it is it tries to simplify.
12:42If you talk to most defensive coaches, they don't have more than two or three calls
12:47that they probably use in 13 or 22 personnel.
12:50So it does simplify their hand more than maybe 12 and 11 and things like that.
12:55But it's also you can do so many things out of it because you can spread them out in 13
13:01against base defense
13:02and maybe find a matchup with a pass receiving tight end or a back or someone that can expose a
13:07matchup.
13:07But you also can get in close quarters and pound the football.
13:11And so we did a lot of that in the red zone last year, maybe not as much out in
13:16the field.
13:17But we also think that there's still a lot to getting our weapons and our speed on the field.
13:23But the more that Scooney and Brev and Jake and these guys continue to grow,
13:31and Hunter Lepke, I'd be remiss if I didn't say Hunter.
13:33I mean, we have those, but you have to decide who you want to put on the bench.
13:41Connor Dixon with the running back position, would you agree that it's kind of tilted sort of league-wide
13:48from running back back to many days, maybe a little bit back toward kind of a bell cow back?
13:54And how does the pass catching component of a bell cow back, how big is that maybe compared to how
14:00we all sort of think of bell cow from the old days?
14:02Yeah, you know, I think honestly, as I look around the league, I think it's different in different places.
14:08I think there's different philosophies for different coaches and different teams based on roster makeup.
14:12You know, there's nothing that would make me and the offensive staff more ecstatic than for Jaden to take the
14:19step that we hope he takes
14:20because of the one-two punch that he and Javante could potentially have and Jaden's ability to hurt you catching
14:26the football out of the backfield.
14:27I mean, that's a dimension that we not didn't have, but that we didn't use as much because we chose
14:32to throw the ball to CD and George and Fergie and guys like that.
14:35But I do think that it's different.
14:38When we were in, you know, Los Angeles or San Diego, now Los Angeles, you know, we had a pretty
14:45good running back by the name of LaDainian Tomlinson,
14:47who was the bell cow and could score catching, throwing, some throw touchdowns, running.
14:55But we also love Darren Sproles.
14:57And so it's like, again, if you have that guy that can do it all,
15:01but I do think that there's merit in having multiple people that can do different things.
15:05And because of the punishment that that position, you know, takes on.
15:10And so I think that that's where, you know, you're going to have to play a second and third running
15:15back throughout the course of the season.
15:16So it's nice to have some depth.
15:18And that's what we're trying to develop with Jaden and Phil and Malik Davis and guys like that.
15:25Real quick, just since Clarence didn't ask, I'll hit the injuries.
15:29I can't believe he didn't ask.
15:31He was caught up on GP.
15:33But so Malik Hooker is going to be limited day.
15:35He's got a tight back.
15:37Deron Bland is doing great.
15:38Jalen Thompson limited day, a little bit more individual with the pack.
15:42Azaraku is doing great.
15:43James Houston has got a back.
15:45And then Dak is going to be limited in team and just practice.
15:49He's got a sore knee.
15:51Nothing we're concerned about.
15:52But we're just going to be smart heading into these last couple days.
15:55So, really healthy as of now.
15:58Babe.
15:59Babe Lockhart, 105.3, the Fane Cowboys Radio Network.
16:02So, Brian, last week you talked about how you were going to be more involved in the defensive meetings and
16:08the special teams meetings.
16:09Coach Landry, you know, famously handled all three.
16:13But it's a different time.
16:15Sure.
16:16Have you thought about your, and obviously you're going to be the play caller, have you thought about your allocation
16:21of time?
16:22There's still only 24 hours in the day.
16:24Sure.
16:24Yeah.
16:25It's different.
16:26You know, like right now I'm spending, I would say, pretty balanced, babe, in terms of how much time with
16:32the offense, with the defense, with special teams.
16:35It's going to be different in training camp, you know.
16:37I might not be in all the meetings.
16:39I might be in the quarterback meetings more than I'm in the defensive meeting.
16:42But I'll probably go offset that by watching film with the defensive staff.
16:46So, now that we're getting into training camp a little bit more, longer days, more time.
16:51There's meetings.
16:52There's practice.
16:53There's walkthrough.
16:54There's practice film review.
16:56There's plenty of time to get it done.
16:58But at the end of the day, you know, the job of a head coach is to oversee everything and
17:05make decisions that help you win a championship.
17:07And kudos to all those guys that did that.
17:10I'm not sure how many guys still do that today.
17:14But my dad tried to do it, and I think he did it pretty well.
17:17But, yeah, I still get, there's a picture right outside my office of Tom Landry and Roger Stalbach on a
17:23chalkboard,
17:24which, again, takes you back to now everything's technologically, iPads and this and that, PowerPoints.
17:31And so, you still can get a great product by doing things a different way, but you have to adapt
17:36with the times.
17:38Scott.
17:39Scott, he's at the Athletic.
17:40Brian, going back to, like, the 13 personnel question, even the running back, the league always has different trends that
17:46come in and out.
17:47How much do you try to get ahead of the trend sometimes and not just fall in line with what
17:52the league might be doing scheme-wise,
17:54but trying to see if you can develop something that could become the trend that, you know, other teams are
18:00kind of looking at?
18:00Yeah, I think, you know, you want to be curious.
18:03You know, you want to see what other teams are doing because there's a lot of really smart coaches and
18:07great players in the league
18:08that you should be studying and looking at.
18:10I think we're a little bit different, though, is we don't just take someone's play or a concept or a
18:16coverage that someone ran
18:18and say, okay, we're just going to do it exactly that way.
18:20We're going to do it with what fits us.
18:22And, you know, I think, you know, at the end of the day, you know, there's always a cyclical thing
18:30about the scheme in the National Football League.
18:33I think a lot of the trends, sod, come from college.
18:35You know, you see them from high school to college.
18:37You know, we all sit around Saturday afternoons, watch a college game, and there's more space and things like that.
18:42But, you know, that's kind of a predictor of where some things are going to come from.
18:47But believe me, when we're watching film of other people, we're looking not just for trends, but for, okay,
18:55these are the schemes that we like that fit us.
18:57Because if you try to go steal something that doesn't fit you, like, more than likely it's not going to
19:01work.
19:01You know, and, again, we're not going to be a 50% 13 personnel team because we've got, you know,
19:07some receivers that if they're on the bench, they're going to be, you know, yelling at me and in my
19:11ear.
19:12And I think that we can still have the things that we need to keep the defense off balance.
19:18But at the end of the day, you have to have an identity.
19:20And I think that that's, you know, what we're curious what our identity is going to be exactly heading into
19:25this season.
19:25And what?
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