Brian Schottenheimer is entering his second season as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach, and the expectations are already much higher. Dallas went 7-9-1 last season and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, leaving plenty to fix heading into 2026.

The Cowboys coach's biggest focus at the moment is what happens once the season begins. Dallas opens Week 1 against the New York Giants on prime time, and Schottenheimer is looking forward to seeing his team finally take the field.

“We have big goals. We have high expectations. Uh, but I'm excited to watch these guys go play football in front of the nation,” Brian Schottenheimer said during a press conference on September 12.

Notably, Schottenheimer’s confidence also comes at a time when NFL executives are starting to view him as a potential Coach of the Year candidate. Naturally, the coach is looking forward to seeing the team kick off the season with a bang.

“That's where the culture comes in. That's where the brotherhood comes in. But I'm just really excited, and it's Week 1 of the National Football League, and we're playing the Giants on prime time. You know, it's an exciting time,” Brian Schottenheimer said, according to the Dallas Cowboys' official YouTube channel on September 12.

Dallas has kept much of its offensive core together around Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens.

The franchise also spent much of the offseason working on their defense, adding players such as Rashan Gary, Otito Ogbonnia, Dee Winters, Jalen Thompson, and Cobie Durant.

They also used their first-round pick on Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs, according to NFL.com.

With most of the offense returning, Schottenheimer knows the team has a chance to take a different step this season.

With Week 1 finally here, the Cowboys have also cleared up an important question surrounding their revamped defense.

Cowboys settle major defensive question before Giants season opener

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that fourth-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown will handle most of the responsibility, although other players could take over in certain packages.

“It’s a process. Will there be multiple guys doing it? Overshown’s going to be doing it quite a bit. With our different packages going into this game, we do have different guys that can do it. But D-Mo will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting,” Schottenheimer said during a radio call-in on 105.3 The Fan on September 11.

The role comes after a difficult start to Overshown’s NFL career. He missed his entire rookie season after suffering an ACL injury in the 2023 preseason and then missed 14 games across the next two seasons because of another knee injury.

Now healthy, Overshown already has some experience with the job. During training camp, Parker tested him by cutting off communication in his helmet, and Overshown still got the defense into the correct call, according to Cowboys Wire.

He will now take that responsibility into Sunday night’s season opener against the Giants.

Written by

Debanjali Rakshit