Cowboys owner Jerry Jones named Brian Schottenheimer as the franchise’s 10th head coach on January 24, 2025. Coming off a 7-10 record, Jones and Mike McCarthy parted ways after the coach’s contract expired, and the Cowboys promoted Schottenheimer instead. The decision was to bring a a cultural change to the organization while addressing its defensive issues.
The Cowboys ended the 2025 season with a 7-9-1 record. While the defensive issues persisted, as the team allowed 511 points during the entire season, the team has emphasized a cultural shift since Schottenheimer took over. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb were both subject to Schottenheimer’s strict policies.
Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Schottenheimer reportedly decided to bench both Pickens and Lamb for disciplinary reasons at the start of the Cowboys’ 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11 of 2025 NFL season. This decision reinforced the idea that disciplinary rules applied equally to everyone, something that had been perceived as missing from previous Cowboys teams.
However, another incident that took place during the Cowboys-Saints joint practice, in which Donovan Ezeiruaku lost his cool and threw a punch at a Saints player during a massive brawl. The Cowboys outside linebacker was eventually ejected from practice.
Schottenheimer, after the incident, revealed that the next step would be to have a a sit-down meeting with the young pass rusher. The Cowboys head coach, while addressing the brawl, said, “Donovan’s a very bright young man, and he understands that he can’t hurt the football team. It’s part of a growth mindset for him.”
“We’re certainly not going to take s*** from anybody, but again, it was chippy on both sides. I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge,” he added.
The Dallas Cowboys play their next preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on August 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
