When the Dallas Cowboys made Brian Schottenheimer the 10th head coach in franchise history after showing Mike McCarthy the door after five seasons, there were naturally some concerns from fans of America's Team.
First and foremost, of course, there's the matter of Schottenheimer never having been a head coach at any level. And truth be told, up until his hiring, there was really never any chatter about him being considered for that role, whether that be in the NFL, the collegiate level, or anywhere else.
But inexperience as the top guy aside, one major knock on Schottenheimer has been that he's far too soft on players, as he's never been seen as the most intense guy and has typically been viewed as a player-friendly kind of a coach, effectively the complete opposite of his famous father, Marty Schottenheimer. And that's fine at times, but for a franchise that hasn't won a Super Bowl in three decades, that might not be the kind of guy you want.
Through the first couple of days of Dallas training camp, however, Schottenheimer has flipped the script on his critics, breaking up fights, yanking players from practice, and simply showcasing some intensity that this team sorely needs from its leader.
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer is not afraid to reprimand his players
During the Cowboys' first official practice, fourth-year defensive end Sam Williams, who missed all of last season after tearing an ACL during training camp, apparently got a little too physical. According to ESPN's Todd Archer, Williams "hit RB Phil Mafah hard and blew up TE Tyler Neville on a block in back-to-back plays."
Schottenheimer has preached physicality, but he saw Williams taking things too far for the first day, and, according to Archer, yanked him from drills immediately. Nobody wants to see an injury occur, which Williams should obviously understand, and Schottenheimer simply shut it down.
On Wednesday, things got even more intense, as safety Markquese Bell got into a scuffle with undrafted rookie tight end Tyler Neville. Things escalated when cornerback Troy Pride got involved, as Bell allegedly punched Pride in the neck, knocking him to a knee.
Not long after, there was reportedly another incident involving offensive tackle Tyler Guyton. And while nothing much came of that, Schottenheimer had clearly had enough.
At the end of the fight Brian Schottenheimer brought the troops over. Markquese Bell threw a punch during the fractious event and punched Troy Pride in the neck. Pride was on a knee for a few moments. Everything is good now. pic.twitter.com/jlClk8gqnc
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) July 23, 2025
The 51-year-old stopped drills, gathered the team together, and issued a stern warning that any player who threw another punch would instantly be removed from practice.
Again, getting physical is one thing, and Schottenheimer is all for it. But he's made it clear that reckless and unnecessary aggression will not be tolerated. It's been only a couple of days, but it's been great to watch the intensity and leadership Schottenheimer has shown thus far.
One can't help but think that his dad would be proud.