Brian Schottenheimer proves he’s got the players’ backs after fight-filled Cowboys-Saints joint practice
The Dallas Cowboys head coach is big on culture. That requires holding his players accountable but also being fair to them. He proved he’s just that on Tuesday when talking to the media.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is big on culture. As you might expect, that means there’s no tolerance for the constant fighting that happened between his team and the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday.
But Schottenheimer is proving to his players he has a trait every good leader must possess: he’s fair.
After the heated practice, Schottenheimer talked to reporters about the six to eight fights from the joint practice but suggested he wants his players to stand up for themselves.
Schottenheimer is being fair to his team
“A little chippy,” said Schottenheimer. “Not the way we like to do business, we have to be better. But I have to look at the film. We certainly are not going to take any (expletive) from anybody.”
The Cowboys head coach was asked specifically if he thought his players were bothered by Saints players knocking them to the ground (rules set for practice indicated that wasn’t the plan).
“Yeah, yeah, at the end of the day, there’s too many guys on the ground,” Schottenheimer added. “The answer is yes. We have a way we practice, they have a way they practice, and at the end of the day this isn’t real football.”
Schottenheimer’s comments, video footage (showing late shoves and punches and even a WWE-like body slam), and the opinion of reporters with boots on the ground all indicate to the Saints being the ones more often initiating the skirmishes. Cowboys insider Patrik Walker posted on social media: “Saints didn’t come to practice, they came to throw hands.”
Keep in mind, the Cowboys held a pretty smooth joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams a week earlier.
I can guarantee you the Cowboys locker room, which is already said to be very close, appreciates its head coach standing up for them if they know the Saints were instigating most of the scuffles. That’s the kind of thing that builds the culture Schottenheimer wants.
With all that being said, Schottenheimer isn’t exonerating his team of any blame.
Cowboys share part of the blame
After practice, Schottenheimer addressed his team for a little longer than usual.
“I’ll keep [the discussion] between me and the team,” Schottenheimer said. “It was more about mindset, mentality, ability to refocus when bad stuff happens. And again, we’re going to play on the edge, and we’re not going to take, I’ll say the word again, (expletive= from anybody. But at the same time, I don’t think that they were the only ones stirring up the (expletive). I think we might have been stirring it up as well. But it was a sloppy practice all in all, and it’s got to get better.”
Indeed, it has to get better before it costs the Cowboys in the regular season. Just ask second-year outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was kicked out of his second training camp practice for throwing punches again (which he did multiple times and with time to cool down).
Dallas is betting on Ezeiruaku, a former second-round pick, to start in 2026. They can’t have him go over the edge on gameday and lose a starting pass rusher.
“Donovan is a very bright young man and again, he understands that he can’t hurt the football team,” Schottenheimer said. “And unfortunately for him, there’s two officiating crews that know that he lost his composure.”
For now, the Cowboys have to shake the fights off before Saturday’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. And most importantly, they must completely forget about it by the time the preseason finale versus the Saints comes around. It should provide a good litmus test for whether or not the team can stay cool.
