Brian Schottenheimer turning around the visor and the Dallas Cowboys

WHITTS END: 8.1.25 Whether youre at the end of your coffee, your day, your week, your month or even your rope, welcome to Whitts End ...

*Then: classy fedora.

Now: clumsy visor.

New Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has incessantly preached from introductory press conference to OTAs and now into training camp about transforming the culture of Americas Team.

The Cowboys could go 0-17, but if that was Schottenheimers No.

1 goal then his rookie season is already a smashing success.

The franchise once led by Tom Landrys Hall-of-Fame haberdashery is now coached by a man who often wears his hat with a hole in the top and a bill in the back.

The headwear, however, is merely a symptom of the seismic shift.

Landrys Cowboys were cool, calm, calculating.

Schottys vibe in Oxnard is, well, frat party.

In camps first week, players spontaneously grabbed a 4-year-old boy seeking autographs out of the crowd and lifted him up like Simba from The Lion King .

Assistant coaches playfully surfed atop medical backboards during warm-ups.

And there was Schottenheimer, bouncing around drills in his backward visor..

(And to think, Roger Staubach once referred to Landry as "the man in the funny hat.") These scenes, on the heels of his offseason tweaks intended to inject more fun into the football at The Star in Frisco.

Re-arranging player addresses in the locker room.

Installing a ping-pong table.

Basketball free-throw contests.

Surprising the entire office with Whataburger, and the team with a paintball excursion.

Even taking quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Joe Milton to a class for Greek dancing.

The 2025 Cowboys are not your fathers fashion.

Or his fun.

The juxtaposition: After his iconic, 29-yard sack of Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI, Cowboys defensive tackle Bob Lilly casually jogged off the field by himself until finally getting a couple of pats on the butt from teammates on the sideline.

After a one-handed catch in a non-padded workout at training camp, Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb went into a spinning, jumping celebration that quickly escalated into jubilant teammates surrounding him and turning the play into a mosh-pit frenzy.

MORE: CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens' NBA-inspired TD celly may get fined, but they don't care Landrys Cowboys turned mountains into molehills.

Schottys team celebrates the simple.

We want our guys to play with juice, Schottenheimer said in Oxnard.

This is a game.

A kids game.

If were not having good energy then Im not doing my job.

Were gonna have fun, and were gonna work.

You can do both.

Maybe in 1985 people thought you couldnt.

But were going to.

Youre gonna see that when we win a lot of football games.

Culture changes, of course, are nothing new in sports, or for the Cowboys.

Bill Parcells tried to re-route the wiring by having long, deep-dive talks with his players and bringing in a decidedly New York Giants flavor.

Dave Campo instituted a rule in which players wore hard hats and punched a time clock at training camp.

Those tricks lost their testosterone when the coaches trotted out quarterbacks such as Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.

If Schottenheimer wins, it will be more because of Prescott than any fabricated pep-rally atmosphere.

Despite their heady differences, there is one stark similarity between Landry and Schotty.

Both men of deep faith, Landry devoted time to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes while Schottenheimer is ending practices with prayer circles .

Call it a tip of the ol cap.

*The Cowboys have long been synonymous with training-camp contract disputes.

Among the stars to show up disgruntled.

or not show up at all: Bob Hayes (1970).

Duane Thomas (1971).

Bob Lilly (1973).

Ed Too Tall Jones (1979).

Tony Dorsett (1985).

Michael Irvin (1992).

Emmitt Smith (1993).

Ezekiel Elliott (2019).

CeeDee Lamb (2024).

Thomas was traded and Too Tall retired, but the others were in uniform for Week 1.

This summers saga involves Micah Parsons , but we already know how it ends: hell sign a new contract the week before the Sept.

4 opener at the Philadelphia Eagles and be on the field for the NFL prime-time kickoff.

Jerry Jones sounded optimistic about getting a new deal done at the owners' meetings in March, but since then ...

crickets.

No new offers.

No nothing.

Because Parsons is under contract, Dallas has all the leverage.

Pay him his $24 million salary this season, then use the franchise tag for around $30 million in 2026 and control a superstar pass-rusher for two years and only $54 million.

MORE: Micah Parsons, Cowboys contract talks now personal, 'further away' than before Thats an unequivocal bargain, considering the NFL market is paying similar stars T.J.

Watt ($41 million), Myles Garrett ($40M), Maxx Crosby ($35M), and Nick Bosa ($34M) per season.

Its a stand-off.

Theres no sign of a solution.

Its also, more importantly, still five weeks until Philly.

*Because sellers with optimism become buyers , the Texas Rangers made two aggressive deals for three new arms before Thursday's baseball trade deadline.

An 11-2 stretch since early July has them back in the race for the AL West and in the thick of the Wild Card hunt.

In moves to bolster an already strong pitching staff with the second-best ERA in the league, they acquired starter Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks and two more bullpen arms in lefty Danny Coulombe from the Minnesota Twins and right-hander Phil Maton from the St.

Louis Cardinals.

If Jerry owned the Rangers, he'd be cooing that his team was "all in." *Tuned in to NBA Summer League this week to get a glimpse of new Dallas Mavericks supposed star Cooper Flagg.

Color me unimpressed.

Watched him several times in college, but against better competition he initially looks like a guy who does everything good but nothing great.

MORE: Cowboys pen welcome note for new Dallas sports star Cooper Flagg And ESPN analyst Tim Legler pointed out something pretty disturbing.

On long-range jumpers, Flaggs ball has side-spin.

Not good.

Its a flaw hes got to fix, said Legler, who played two seasons for the Mavs in the early 1990s and won the 1996 NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest.

Too much pinky.

Cant see him shooting the three anywhere near 40 percent with that kind of release and rotation.

* Local sports talk radio ratings are out for the second quarter of 2025, and the beat goes on: The Fan has more listeners in DFW; The Ticket's loyal base listens more.

In ratings for Men 25-54 covering April-May-June, The Fan won the battle for middays but The Ticket is still winning the war.

The latest scoreboard: Morning : Ticket 13.7; Fan 5.9 Midday : Fan 6.1; Ticket 5.9 Afternoon : Ticket 10.3; Fan 5.8 Overall : Ticket 8.2; Fan 6.2 * Did the Cowboys dodge a bullet with offensive lineman Tyler Guyton only suffering a broken bone instead of a torn ACL in this weeks injury? Yep.

Will backups-turned-starter Asim Richards and Hakeem Adeniji make us forget Guyton for six weeks? Nope.

(Before the ink was dry on that sentence, Adeniji suffered a concussion .) * Ive known Mary Collings for 30+ years.

Quietly until now, that is shes been the official chiropractor of the Mavs and Dallas Stars for two decades.

In an era of #metoo and controversial gender identity, Dr.

Collings has succeeded as a girl in the boys room.

Kudos.

Not bad for someone sold at birth for $10,000.

* Bull hockey! Some fans were intoxicated by the Stars recent run to the NHL Western Conference Finals.

Zzzzzzz.

I covered the 1999 Stanley Cup and came away underwhelmed.

Hockey is the least skillful of the major sports.

Fighting is considered strategy; luck is way too important.

Goals are scored off skates and legs and backs, etc.

NBA playoff games are never decided by a shot that bounces off a defenders head and into the hoop.

Super Bowls arent won by a touchdown pass that caroms off a safetys knee.

Give me lacrosse over hockey.

* Cowboys will unveil their version of a Tush Push this season, unless Im misinterpreting Schottenheimers offensive mindset.

Dallas opens the season against two of the NFLs biggest, best defensive lines in the Eagles and New York Giants.

Asked his plan to combat those units Schotty offered, The best thing you can do for any offensive line, any team offense when youre playing elite defensive linemen is pound the freaking football.

Just to shove it up their (bleep) .

No, I think I got it right.

* American Airlines taketh away, but then giveth back.

In a move that balanced my scales of international travel, this week on the way home from a two-week European vacation my flight was overbooked.

Seeking to pry open a couple seats, AA offered an incentive package to fly from Barcelona to DFW 24 hours later: $1,200.

Hotel.

Lunch.

Dinner.

Breakfast.

Transportation.

Done! I paid for my next international flight simply by delaying my current one by a day.

Before I wrench my sciatica patting AA on the back, however, there was a yang before this yin.

On a flight from DFW to London in May my seat was dark.

No, I mean completely dark.

No power to plug in a phone or a laptop.

No overhead light to read a book.

No entertainment center to pass the nine, l-o-n-g hours.

Not even any overhead air.

For the entire flight I was forced to live off the grid, inside of an airplane.

Call it even? * The Trey Lance who looked so miserable last season with the Cowboys looked like a different, better player in Thursday night's NFL preseason opener with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Admittedly, the bar was set irrationally low after he threw five interceptions in his final preseason audition in Dallas last summer.

WATCH: Former Dallas Cowboys QB throws first touchdown of the 2025 NFL preseason In the Hall of Fame game Lance started for L.A., completed nine of 12 passes and threw two first-half touchdowns.

He showed glimpses of being a serviceable NFL backup, something he never did with the Cowboys.

And to think, Dallas gave up a third-round draft pick to acquire him in August 2023.

He made one start in Dallas.

* Hot .

* Not .

* The Bad Boys of Summer are at it again .

Fights in practice.

Fabricated spirit.

Chants of Pay Micah! And, set your clock by it, a Jerry quote to snatch the NFLs headlines.

Michael Parson is as savvy and knowledgeable, Jerry said, we think about Micah Parsons, as any player as Ive ever been around.

From Clint Longleys fists to Irvins scissors to Quincy Carter's addictions to Mike McCarthys fiery speeches to Jerrys malaprops, the lead-up to the Cowboys season is always a riveting event.

Theres a reason why the Cowboys will make an NFL-leading six prime-time TV appearances this season.

Same reason why 17 NFL teams have never been featured on HBOs Hard Knocks while the Cowboys have already enjoyed three seasons in the spotlight.

They may not have won a Super Bowl in 29.5 years, but they are the unofficial champions of training camp.

For better or for worse, theirs is always entertaining and news-making.

Buckle up, as we embark on training camp No.

66 by reflecting on the Top 20 highlights of the previous 65.

20.

QB Competition, 1969 When Don Meredith surprisingly retired early in camp, the job was suddenly a battle between veteran Craig Morton and a former Navy pilot named Roger Staubach.

19.

Asthma Field, 1989 This would rank much higher, but it was technically minicamp.

It previewed Jimmy Johnsons pre-season iron fist on his team.

When free-agent kicker Massimo Manca arrived at Valley Ranch out of shape and blamed his asthma on failure to complete conditioning drills, the coach gave his legendary directive while pointing to the parking lot, the asthma field is over there! 18.

Charlie F-ckaround, 2021 On the premiere of Hard Knocks , McCarthy gathered his team for a speech that morphed into an unforgettable rallying cry .

Said the coach, F-ck last year.

Charlie F-ckaround? He doesn't work here.

High School Harry? Get his ass out the f-cking door.

This is about winning a world championship.

Nothing else.

Winning season? Not good enough.

Playoffs? Not good enough.

Getting to the conference championship game? Not good enough.

This is about winning the Super Bowl.

Period.

Spoiler alert: McCarthy and his team did not meet his lofty expectations.

17.

Switzer vs.

Hansen, 1994 Not too many times has an NFL head coach playfully punched a member on the media on live TV, but so it was on a clownish August night with Barry Switzer and former Channel 8 sports anchor Dale Hansen.

Switzer accused Hansen of fabricating stories, to which Hansen stood by his account of a power struggle on the coachs staff.

To punctuate his points, Switzer aggressively slapped Hansens left arm three times and outright punched it once.

You dont know what youre talking about! Switzer screamed.

Retorted a semi-serious Hansen, This is starting to hurt a little bit.

16.

Toodles, Too Tall, 1979 The Cowboys hit Thousand Oaks determined to avenge a heartbreaking loss in Super Bowl XIII, but were immediately blindsided by news of stalwart defensive end Ed Too Tall Jones retirement.

It is my intention, Jones said in a stunning statement, to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

15.

TMZ Photos, 2014 After a week of ominous silence in the wake of photos being released of him canoodling with women not named Gene Jones, Jerry finally addressed the situation by saying hed been aware of the photos for five years and calling their release an extortion plot.

14.

Lillys Unretirement, 1973 After grousing about being underpaid to play the grueling sport of football for six months per year, Bob Lilly told the team he was retiring and a press conference was scheduled at 9 a.m.

But at 4 a.m., Mr.

Cowboy had a change of heart and returned to camp.

13.

Another Bullet, 1970 Speedy receiver Bob Hayes held out of camp, telling the team to pay me or trade me.

Hayes demands? $40,000 per year.

The Cowboys response: They signed Canadian Football League speedster Margene Adkins and branded him another Bob Hayes before realizing the original was, in fact, impossible to duplicate.

12.

Family Feud, 2012 After an altercation in which he was arrested by Desoto police for assaulting his mother, Angela, receiver Dez Bryant showed up to camp with his lawyer.

Did a family disagreement occur? Yes, the attorney said during a press conference.

Did Dez Bryant commit family violence against his mother? No.

11.

Six-Pac(man), 2008 Head coach Wade Phillips was continually astonished by Pacman Jones uncanny ability to catch and then hold six punted footballs.

10.

No Nnamdi, 2011 A lockout led to a bizarre training camps in which teams conducted free agency.

At a practice in San Antonios Alamodome, Jerry and son Stephen interrupted defensive coordinator Rob Ryans drills to fist-bump him and tell him theyd landed coveted cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Minutes later during a live radio interview conducted by yours truly news broke of Asomugha signing with the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

9.

T.O.

vs.

Tuna, 2006 Throughout his tenure, Bill Parcells wouldnt refer to receiver Terrell Owens by his name, instead only calling him the player.

He also rolled his eyes at camp when Owens sore hamstrings relegated him to riding a stationary bike.

The receiver poked fun at himself by one day showing up in a Lance Armstrong-replica yellow Tour de France jersey.

The coach, as predicted, was not amused.

8.

Bad News Boys, 1997 After a camp in which Nate Newton was accused of sexual assault, Erik Williams was served with a paternity suit and Leon Lett was suspended 13 games for failing a drug test, the Cowboys literally burned the house down on their way out of St.

Edwards University in Austin.

They left dorm rooms with extensive damage water damage, a busted security camera, kicked-in air vents and a hallway that reportedly smelled of urine.

Next summer, camp moved to Wichita Falls.

7.

Annulled Divorce, 1971 Duane Thomas won Rookie of the Year in 1970 and helped lead the Cowboys to Super Bowl VI.

By training camp a year later, however, he no-showed and demanded a new contract.

General manager Tex Schramm responded by trading him to the New England Patriots, who promptly sent him back and voided the trade when they got a load of his attitude.

Disgruntled, Thomas took a vow of silence throughout the season but nonetheless led the NFL with 11 rushing touchdowns.

6.

Defiant Dez, 2010 Though a rookie, Bryant brought a hefty diva attitude to San Antonio and immediately refused to take part in the rookie ritual of carrying veterans pads.

Im not doing it, Bryant said.

I was drafted to play football, not carry another players pads.

Said veteran receiver Roy Williams, Hell learn the hard way.

5.

MIA MVP, 1993 The Cowboys were preparing to defend their Super Bowl XXVII title when Emmitt Smith decided to play hardball.

The two-time rushing champ missed all of training camp, threatening to retire, enrolling in classes at the University of Florida and even requesting a trade.

His absence dominated camp, and after an 0-2 start without him the Cowboys made him the NFLs highest-paid running back.

4.

Dubious Double-Entendre, 2012 Lamenting his teams prolonged lack of success, Jerry kicked off his Oxnard state-of-the-union address by proclaiming I want me some glory hole! Cowboys public relations czar Rich Dalrymple attempted to explain to the snickering media that Jones was referring to a term used in the oil and gas business.

To which Jones deadpanned, Thats news to me.

3.

Player Cuts, 1998 Offensive lineman Everett McIver had the audacity to jump in front of Irvin to get a camp haircut and it cost him getting his throat cut.

The Cowboys initially described the injury a result of horseplay.

But when McIver wouldnt leave the barbers chair in Wichita Falls, Irvin escalated the altercation and slashed his teammate with a pair of scissors, leaving an 18-stitch wound.

2.

Punching His Ticket, 1976 You dont tug on Supermans cape, spit into the wind or, above all else, sucker-punch Captain America.

But in Thousand Oaks, disillusioned backup quarterback Clint Longley thought he should be No.

1 over Staubach.

During a practice, Longley cussed Drew Pearson for running the wrong route.

Staubach calmly informed Longley that, no, it was the quarterbacks mistake for overthrowing the pass.

In the locker room that afternoon, Longley sucker-punched Staubach in the face.

He was an ex-Cowboy by sundown, traded to the San Diego Chargers.

1.

Sayonara, Starter, 2004 In 2003, quarterback Quincy Carter led the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.

But before Parcells could further elevate his game, his career and his attendance evaporated.

Carter left Oxnard in the middle of the night, cut by the Cowboys because of a stubborn substance-abuse problem that led to another failed drug test.

He was immediately replaced by Vinny Testaverde, and played seven games for the New York Jets that season before ending his football career.

The Cowboys also cut their starting quarterback in mid-camp in 2001, but that was for Tony Banks inept performance.

*The Rangers finally won a World Series and in the last month theyre playing better baseball, but they smugly remain one of the most intolerant, least inclusive franchises in all of professional sports.

Another June came and went without a nod to their LGBTQ fans, continuing their sad streak as the only team in Major League Baseball to never host a game specifically welcoming the gay community during Pride Month.

While the rest of the world embraces progressive practices, the Rangers continue to deny diversity.

Shame.

*Flagg is wearing No.

32 with the Mavs.

To be the best to ever do so, hell have to top the careers of Detlef Schrempf and Jamal Mashburn.

Detlef was the franchises best German import until a dude named Dirk Nowiski arrived.

Mashburn scored 50 points in a game during the brief Three Js renaissance with Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson and is 20th on the teams all-time scoring list.

So far, however, Flaggs skill set looks closer to another former Mav No.

32: Christian Laettner.

* As a kid raised strict Southern Baptist, I took many a church mission trip to south Texas during my summers.

Before we left, all the parents circled around the bus in the church parking lot and prayed for our safety.

During our camp, we prayed nightly for protection in order to be able to learn and spread the gospel.

In religious terms, we were prayed up.

Bubble-wrapped by The Bible.

So, too, were the children attending the Christian Camp Mystic in Kerrville on July 4.

But during torrential flooding of the Guadalupe River in the middle of the night, 27 campers and staff were swept away by raging waters and drowned to death.

In the wake of the tragedy, Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott called for a Day of Prayer.

Now, as the investigation continues, its becoming more apparent that Kerrville and Kerr County officials were asleep at the wheel of their emergency preparation operations.

And they werent alone.

*Substance over style, please.

All of Schottenheimers parlor tricks and psychological ploys wont mean diddly squat unless he can 1.

Keep Prescott upright; 2.

Drastically improve the offense.

The Cowboys 7-10 2024 season can be summed up by its dreadful offensive position rankings (according to Pro Football Focus ).

QB 30th.

RB 24th.

WR 18th .

TE 27th.

OL 22nd.

Blueprint for failure.

* Give me one reason why you dont use your cars blinker when changing lanes, making a turn, etc.

To help your fellow drivers, you literally only have to move your left index about two inches.

I dont get it.

Are you seriously that selfish and narcissistic? I must be missing something, because I signal 100 percent of the time, but every day I encounter drivers who dont.

*The award for the least surprising development of the NBA offseason goes to Luka Doncic, his new muscles and a long-awaited commitment to fitness .

Thanks again, Nico Harrison.

* During a busy offseason I was lucky enough to travel to The Bahamas, New Orleans, London, Orlando, Italy, France and Spain.

Thumbnail sketches: Bahamas = an almost uncomfortable mix of opulent wealth with destitute poverty.

New Orleans = voodoo oozing from every corner.

London = smug, but somehow charming.

Orlando = multiple tattoos, on everyone.

Italy (Palermo) = old and broken with oppressive heat, but they eat ice cream for breakfast so theres that.

France (Cap dAgde) = picturesque with a side of free-spiritedness.

Spain (Barcelona) = mountains meeting oceans, sign me up.

In Europe its minimalist existence.

Small apartments.

Tiny cars.

Neighborhood shops.

No tipping.

Back in the U.S.

it hits you that we are a gluttonous nation of indulgence.

McMansions.

Lifted F-750 pickups.

Biggie-sized meals.

Costco shopping.

Sorry, but bigger aint always better.

*Attention every single sports announcer in every single sport: Unless its snow skiing, a marathon, a golfers putt or the Tour de France, there is no such thing as downhill.

Heard NBA Playoffs and NFL training camp analysts use the illogical term to describe players they are simply trying to say are fast and/or strong.

Fields and courts and stadiums are flat.

Analysts are copy-cat lazy.

MAGA: Make America Grammar Again.

* Ride em ...

Cowboy ? The teams high-tech headquarters at The Star is all glass and steel and striking architecture.

The complex is nestled amongst high-rise buildings 20 minutes north of downtown Dallas, and sits at the intersection of two concrete superhighways that connect hundreds of thousands of cars per day to a sprawling Metroplex of seven million people.

Their AT&T Stadium home field is situated in Arlington halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, along an interstate that runs the length of the United States, and within an entertainment complex that includes a baseball stadium, concert venue, eSports stadium, amusement parks and countless restaurants.

Why then given the obvious, numerous signs of a modern, progressive civilization do TV sports networks love to portray Dallas as still living in the Old West of the 1800s with tumbleweeds blowing across dirt roads and citizens riding horses to work? Answer: Because we let them.

Strangely, Dallas leans into the stupid stereotype.

Recently we got more tastes of how the world perceives DFW, and how DFW allows the perception to fester.

After she was drafted No.

1 overall, new Dallas Wings' star Paige Bueckers donned a big, dumb cowboy hat and held up a pair of boots at her introductory press conference.

And when he won the Byron Nelson golf tournament in nearby McKinney, Scottie Scheffler raised the trophy while you guessed it wearing a 10-gallon Stetson more suitable for the Back Forty than the back nine.

Bueckers is from Hopkins, Minnesota.

Scheffler lives in the ritzy Dallas neighborhood of Devonshire, home to a zillion Jaguar cars but zero Mustang horses.

That said, this happens way more often than I care to admit when traveling through Europe.

Youre from Texas?! Do you know J.R.

Ewing? Ugh.

*Sometimes the end sparks a familiar beginning.

Ive been writing a form of Whitts End since 1982 when it debuted in my Duncanville High School student newspaper, Panther Prints .

Over the last 43 years its been published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , Dallas Observer , CBS, NBC, DFWSportatorium , PressBoxDFW, Sports Illustrated Fan Nation, Athlon Sports and now, starting today, back at ON SI .

Thanks for your loyal support during my wild, winding adventure.

* This weekend? Saturday a little tennis, followed by lunch with my Big Brothers Big Sisters mentee, Ja.

Sunday a trip to see dear ol Mom for birthday No.

84.

As always, dont be a stranger.

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