A more comfortable, in-control Brian Schottenheimer enters his second season as an NFL head coach.
There's reason to believe Brian Schottenheimer can improve the Dallas Cowboys from their 7-9-1 campaign a year ago. With an elite offense returning and invaluable additions (on paper) joining the defense, it's not a far cry to say that the Cowboys can contend for a division title in 2026.
Because of this, players are recognizing an uptick in optimism from Schottenheimer in Year 2 as a head coach.
"He feels more dangerous," said tight end Jake Ferguson at OTAs this week. "I feel more of a dangerous sense from him, like he's in his bag, you could say. I don't want to say comfortable is the right thing because we're never comfortable here. We're comfortable being uncomfortable. You can see it [from him], and you can feel the energy. It's there."
Maybe having a new voice in the office helps. Arguably Dallas biggest offseason move wasn't in adding to the roster, but to the coaching staff in 34-year-old defensive coordinator Christian Parker. With complete continuity on offense, Schottenheimer can devote some extra attention to the Cowboys' defensive that ranked at the bottom of the NFL last year.
"Being really the head coach and in charge of all three phases and having a handle of that," Schottenheimer said of juggling responsibilities in his role. "I think the personnel side of it has been good for me to dive back into the 3-4 [defense] world and then, shoot, practice schedules, meetings."
But ultimately, Schottenheimer dictates the success of his sophomore season as a head coach by one metric: wins.
"I mean, it's obviously going to start with more wins," Schottenheimer said. "Getting the culture to continue to grow. Like I said, I think one of the deals this year [is] the culture has been really fun to create because you've got a lot of new faces. We certainly weren't expecting as many changes on the defensive staff that we ended up making, but excited about the culture.
"But at the end of the day, it's going to come down to wins and losses. I feel much more comfortable in Year 2. I think I've got my hands around more of the things that I want to, and I've also been able to really do an after-action report on myself and making little tweaks throughout. Just much more comfortable."
Helping those tensions in Frisco is star wide receiver George Pickens electing to participate in mandatory minicamp. Obviously, that's expected and implied, but with Pickens entering a one-year guaranteed contract on the franchise tag, there was a potential threat of a holdout.
Pickens, regardless of his contract future, is expected to shine once again with the Cowboys in 2026.
"He's in a really good spot," Schotty said. "His smile is infectious. When he's around, it's great for us. I say it all the time, the influence that he has - I don't even think he has the understanding of how powerful it is."
On the defensive side, promising pieces like linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. will start the season healthy and provide a spark, in addition to the newcomers.
Overall, the players are bought into life with an enthusiastic Schottenheimer guiding the way.
"Every team meeting you dang near want to shed a tear," Overshown said. "You're ready to run through a wall. When he communicates like that with the players, you know you got something with your coach."
