FRISCO, Texas -- There is a sign on the back of Brian Schottenheimer's desk that reads: "A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life."
Entering his first season as the Dallas Cowboys head coach, Schottenheimer is not just trying to live up to those words; he tries to lead the way his father, Marty, led four teams for 21 years as a head coach in the NFL.
Father's Day has always been special for Brian, not just because he has two children, but the bond he built with his father, who passed away in 2021 from Alzheimer's, unable to see one of his dreams come true when Marty was named the 10th coach in Cowboys history.
"I know he's proud," Schottenheimer said, pausing because of emotion. "I miss him ... I would tell him that I've used all the life lessons that he taught me, not just about football. But about life and being a good man and good husband and good father and that I think I'm doing OK for myself."
Schottenheimer has leaned into the connection between coaches and players in his first offseason with the Cowboys, trying to build a bond off the field that will hopefully impact the on-field productivity. He held a crawfish boil and paintball game on his first two days of the offseason program. There have been daily free throw shooting competitions -- pass rusher Sam Williams was named the offseason winner -- and putting competitions.
His theme is "Compete Every Day."
It's something he learned from his dad.
Asked if there was a moment in the offseason that would be the first story he would have told his father, Schottenheimer pointed to his introductory press conference. He was nervous and emotional, unaware it was going to be in the main atrium at The Star.
"When I turned the corner, I saw the players, all the players that were here, and he would know the fact that all those players showed up that I'm doing it the right way," Schottenheimer said. "I'm doing it through connection. I'm doing it through love. I'm doing it through juice and energy. And that actually calmed me down. It really did.
"I was nervous and excited at the same time. When I saw all those players waiting for me right around the corner, it totally put me at peace."
Schottenheimer said he now leans on some of his father's friends, like Bill Cowher, an assistant coach under Marty before becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach. Invariably, he will be stopped by people across the league before games with a story about his father.
"I'll have two or three different individuals come up to me and say, 'Excuse me, coach. Do you have a second?' And I know exactly where they're going," Schottenheimer said. "I drop what I'm doing, because I want to hear it. They say, 'Your father changed my life.' And it's his former players.
"He never won a Super Bowl. He won over 200 games in the NFL, but I would put his legacy up with anyone that's ever coached the game."
