On Father’s Day in 2025, Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer will have a bittersweet feeling permeating throughout his household.
As a father to a son and a daughter, both in their teenage years, Schottenheimer will be celebrated. At the same time, he will also mourn.
In Februrary 2021, Marty Schottenheimer, Brian’s father and longtime NFL head coach, passed away at the age of 77 after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. As someone who grew up idolozing his father and eventually following in his footsteps, the Cowboys head coach couldn’t help but let a few tears fall when discussing the impact his father had on his career and life.
“I know he’s proud,” Schottenheimer said on Thursday as the team closed mandatory minicamp. “I miss him. I would tell him that I used all of the life lessons that he taught me, not just about football but about life. Being a good man, a good husband, a good father. I know he’s proud, I miss him like crazy, but I actually lean on some of his friends now, guys like Bill Cowher.“
Thursday wasn’t the first time Schottenheimer has mentioned his father since taking over as head coach in February. On multiple occasions, he has made references to his father’s personality and coaching style as he embarks on his first head coaching opportunity himself.
“I was really nervous going into the [first] press conference,” he said. “A big moment you’ve been waiting for your whole life. I came out, Jerry and Stephen [Jones] walked me down, and I saw my family. But when I turned the corner, I saw all of the players. He would know the fact that all of those players showed up means I’m doing things the right way. That actually calmed me down.”
Constant reminders keep his father in mind from the little nuances of the job to running into former players and coaches that worked alongside him. For Brian, it’s a comforting reminder of the impact he left in the NFL, something he hopes to emulate in the coming years.
“To this day, I go out on the field for a game and I’ll have two or three different individuals come up to me and say, ‘Excuse me, coach. Do you have a second?’ And I know exactly where they’re going,” Schottenheimer said. “I drop what I’m doing, because I want to hear it. They say, ‘Your father changed my life.’ And it’s his former players. He never won a Super Bowl. He won over 200 games in the NFL, but I would put his legacy up with anyone that’s ever coached the game.”
As many people across the world miss their late fathers a little bit more on Father’s Day Sunday, Brian Schottenheimer will be right with them. But even as tears slid down his face as he remembered his father on Thursday, it came with a smile as well.
“Father’s Day is a special day. I’m a father of two amazing kids. I’ll talk to my mom and I know he’s looking down on me.”