A high-stakes free throw sparks early vacation in Frisco as the front office overhauls the roster with UFL standouts to fortify a new championship-minded locker room culture.
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer professed to be so pleased with the work accomplished in this "incredible'' offseason that he called off Thursday's Day 3 of mandatory minicamp here inside The Star ... leaving the team to turn the page toward highly positive "Super Bowl Culture'' talk as the ramp-up to their late-July start of training camp in Oxnard.
"I could not be more happy about how the offseason went." Schottenheimer said.
Fish's Five examines the top five stories from a very active "off-day'' in Frisco ...
1 - NO 'MOCK GAME' - As Cowboys fans know by now, in this team's parlance, "mock game'' means "walk-through.'' So it was going to be a low-demand day anyway ... and I would suggest the cancellation of Thursday work - which of course was surely met with rousing cheers from the 90-man (or-so) roster - was a set-up.
As the story goes, NFL security representative Rick Burkhead (the locally-based father of Super Bowl champion running back Rex Burkhead and a former FBI agent), was challenged to make a free throw in the Cowboys' team meeting room on Thursday.
Miss it, we practice.
Make it, vacation starts a day early.
Burkhead sank the shot.
But ...
How much you wanna bet that had he missed, Schotty would've rigged it into "best 2-out-of-3?
Yes, it's an old coach's trick. And it works every time.
2 - TRANSACTION THURSDAY - So while players headed home, the front office got to work. This week, 14 free agents - many of them from the UFL - earned tryouts inside The Star.
The result? Seven roster moves. They are ...
Out are Lineman Matt Hennessy (neck surgery and season-ending IR), cornerback Corey Ballentine and receiver Romello Brinson.
In are pass-rusher Charles Snowden, offensive lineman Chris Glaser, receiver Denzel Mims and cornerback Ameer Speed.
Snowden, 28, spent the last two years in Las Vegas, appearing in 31 games and starting 18. In 2025, Snowden set a career-high with three sacks.
Speed, 26, was once a Patriots sixth-round pick who has bounced around trying to catch on. He's 6-3 and 215 and runs a 4.35 40, so there could be special-teams chances there.
Mims, 28, is a Baylor product who has long been on Dallas' radar. He was a second-round pick by the Jets and has run a 4.38 40. Mims is 6-3 and 215 and joins an unusually tall receivers room here.
Consider that in recent weeks Dallas has signed ...
Mims, Marquez Valdes-Scantling (6-4, 206) Jaden Smith (6-6, 210) ... oh, and George Pickens (6-3, 200) of course.
3 - THE BROTHERHOOD - No matter what changes, one thing never does: Teams always herald their "brotherhood.''
At least until they start losing games.
Dallas is no different, and that was a major theme on Thursday.
From new defensive coordinator Christian Parker's infectious trash-talk to the calm confidence that comes with Pickens' drama-free re-joining with the team to Schottenheimer appointing an 11-man Leadership Committee, the Cowboys swear there is a new and better vibe around here.
Said Schotty: “The biggest thing that I'm excited about is the way the brotherhood and the culture is coming together.”
Added Dak Prescott: “I see it. I feel it. ... It's just exciting. ... You could feel the culture building.”
That really does sound grand. But at the risk of raining on this June parade: The Cowboys said the same thing entering 2024 and 2025, too.
And neither of those teams - overseen by different coaches - even made the playoffs.
4 - SUPER BOWL PLEDGE? It somehow came up that Quinnen Williams, the Pro Bowler and former Jets stud, has been in the NFL for seven years but has never made the playoffs.
And away we go ...
Said Dak on Quinnen: “I told him I’ll get you to the playoffs, but I need you to go help us win it.”
Said Schottenheimer on Quinnen: We are going to get him there.''
5 - THE FINAL WORD - "I love our roster," Schottenheimer said. "I love the changes that we've made on defense. ... My confidence is rooted in the people that we have, not just the type of player or coach they are, the talent level, but the way they are as human beings."
For now? Don't let my "same-ol'/same-ol' cynicism get in the way of your Cowboys hope during the June parade.
