Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer wants to change the culture at The Star, and to do that, he has to do things differently.
While he’s only been at his new post for a few months, Schottenheimer is already making big changes to how the Cowboys do things both on and off the field.
One such thing that the first-time head coach has done was to incorporate a Cowboys “Legends Day” as OTAs got underway at The Star.
Several former players, including Tony Casillas and Michael Irvin, were glowing in what they saw in the meeting rooms and on the practice field from both Schotty and his playing group.
And COO Stephen Jones thinks it should be a regular thing the franchise does.
“I thought it was outstanding,” Jones said. “Our guys really embraced it, it’s great to see them, and a lot of those guys have had a lot of success wearing the Cowboy Star. I think they really enjoyed what Coach Schottenheimer is doing with these players, and really thought it was a great event, and we’re going to do it again.
“I think everybody loved it and the guys who missed it, like Troy [Aikman] he called up and said if I weren’t in Europe I’d have been there and hopefully next time we’ll have even more. We love having those guys back.”
It might seem like a trivial thing to do, but Schottenheimer getting the players of today mixing with the players of yesterday to help build that connection, because as the head coach stated, they are a part of the Cowboys family.
Times are well and truly changing at The Star, and it appears to be for the better right now. Granted, that doesn’t mean it will translate into wins, but the vibe and energy at practice and in the meeting rooms are noticeably different from previous years.
Schotty wants to build the best culture in professional sports, and while that’s quite the lofty goal, he’s off to a good start with “Legends Day,” showing that not only is he talking the talk with his desire to establish a new culture, but he’s walking the walk, too.
And Stephen Jones approves.
