The Cowboys will trim their roster in a big way, and Schottenheimer has detailed how he'll go through that process.
We are at perhaps the most brutal time of the year for NFL players, as roster cuts are about to happen, and the Dallas Cowboys will have some tough choices to make.
Who stays and who gets moved on is a tough thing to decide, but coach Brian Schottenheimer and his staff will be working through the day - up to the 5 p.m. deadline on Sunday - trying to figure out who deserves to be on the 53-man roster.
Preseason has seen several lesser-known players stand out, like Jonathan Mingo, Camden Brown, Julius Wood, and Tommy Dunn, just to name a few.
But the harsh reality is that some players who are favorites on the roster will get the tap on the shoulder saying they are no longer a Dallas Cowboy.
And for Schottenheimer, for all of his years in football, its just as tough as ever.
"It's never easy," Schottenheimer said of roster cuts. "It was never easy when you were a quarterback coach, offensive coordinator, quality control because you get to know these guys, and you know them on a deeper level."
But for Schottenheimer, who we know is all about relationships and learning what makes his players tick, it is even tougher because you develop friendships with these players, and then to tell them that they aren't good enough is a tough pill to swallow.
However, Schotty has a philosophy when it comes to roster cutdown day, which he thinks might make it a little easier on the players who are moved on.
"My opinion is when you make these moves, you got to be honest with these guys," he added. "You leave them with the positive things that you love about them and what you think they have that makes them special as a player and a person.
"You also give them a little bit of feedback in terms of whatever team you land next, maybe think about this or that, maybe it's a role on special teams, maybe it's a little bit better coverage skills. That's our philosophy here with the Cowboys."
So the NFL's toughest day is nearly here, and for a lot of these players, it could very well be the last time they are on an NFL team.
From Schottenheimer's perspective, it is a situation that has to be carefully managed, as months and months of work for these players still means, as harsh as it sounds, that they aren't good enough right now.
