Dallas Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer reveals what was behind Donovan Ezeiruaku being kicked out of practice
The Dallas Cowboys’ second-year edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku made a bad mistake in practice. That’s okay, but not before a long talk with head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer knows his team led the NFL in penalties against in 2025. So it’s not surprising to see him take every chance he can get to send a message. On Tuesday, that involved kicking out projected starting edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku after he threw a punch.
On Thursday, Schottenheimer offered a view behind the scenes of how he handled the unfortunate situation. And based on his comments, it should pay off down the road.
Cowboys practice led to ‘long talk’ with Ezeiruaku
“He and I had a long talk,” Schottenheimer revealed. “I just talked to him about how we’re playing [practice] the way you would play a game.”
“I said ‘for an incredible player, you run hot,’ that’s part of his edge,” Schottenheimer explained. “He’s an incredible play style guy, he plays the game the right way but at the same time we have to have a plan. When he gets hot and when he feels his temperature rising, what is the plan?”
Schottenheimer added they discussed options for such scenarios.
“I don’t want to take away that edge that he plays on, but you throw a punch and you’ve gone over the edge, therefore you’re going to get ejected,” Schottenheimer added. “And he saw it, the officials threw the flag and they were literally simulating that they were throwing him out of the game.”
Schottenheimer said Ezeiruaku’s reaction was great. He clarified he wasn’t mad at the second-year edge rusher, but knew it was an opportunity for him to learn. After all, he expects Ezeiruaku to be on the field often, and he knows worse than yardage, a heat-of-the-moment decision like Tuesday’s can leave the Cowboys without a key defender.
“It’s disciplined to be pissed off but not go above the line and do something that penalizes the team,” Schottenheimer said. “Not only in yardage but you throw an elite edge rusher out of the game.”
Ezeiruaku and the Cowboys are back on the practice field on Thursday. Hopefully, the edge rusher can put the incident behind him and mostly, avoid a repeat during the regular season.
