FRISCO, Texas 鈥 Brian Schottenheimer has waited for more than three decades to run a team his way as a head coach.
Now that he has the chance to do that with the Cowboys, his philosophy on various aspects of the game is slowly but surely coming to the forefront.
The most recent example to study is Schottenheimer's decision of who does and doesn't play in the preseason. In their first preseason game, 39 players did not participate at all, and the number cut down to 28 on Saturday against the Ravens. The preseason finale will not feature some starters like Dak Prescott, who still hasn't played in the preseason since 2019.
"I think we've got all of the offseason program to look at, OTAs, you've got all the training camp practices to look at, and again, it's a philosophy," Schottenheimer said. "You can agree or disagree鈥 our philosophy is let's see these guys compete, let's see these guys do simple, better, and we haven't done it well enough, and that's okay. And I'll stand up here and own it. I've never said, 'Oh yeah, we're in a great spot,' but I'm also not concerned."
Following Saturday's game against the Ravens, Schottenheimer said that he was aiming to play younger and newer players about 10-15 snaps. That was the case for Kaiir Elam, who the Cowboys traded for earlier in the offseason, and Jack Sanborn, who Schottenheimer considers a young player.
With one final game setting coming up before the regular season begins on September 4, the team's two final training camp practices and Tuesday and Wednesday will serve as a barometer for if the snap counts of some players go up or down.
"This game will be a little bit different," Schottenheimer said. "We haven't finalized the play time yet, I want to get through these next couple of practices鈥 the numbers are always flexible, and if we get the right work in then you might see a little less guys playing. If we don't get the right work in, then you'll probably see a few more guys play."
A week from now, Schottenheimer and his staff will have to narrow down the roster to 53 players. He's also begun to reveal his philosophy behind how he and his staff approach the balancing act of the numbers game at each position.
"It's definitely year by year," Schottenheimer said. "You've got general numbers when you're looking at things. Is it five, is it six receivers, is it five linebackers, how many defensive linemen combined鈥 those conversations have really been ongoing throughout the entire training camp process."
Schottenheimer had the team's scouting department out in Oxnard for the entirety of training camp, and held meetings with scouts, the coaching staff and the front office to discuss the roster and likely get a feel for the general direction the team is headed.
Still, Friday's game against the Falcons still serves as a setting where guys can play their way into a roster spot.
"It's too early to tell because there's going to be some guys that in this game show that they deserve a spot on this team, and then you have to find a way to make that happen." Schottenheimer said.
