playESPNMultiple AuthorsOct 15, 2026, 08:34 AM ETOpen Extended ReactionsThe players-only meeting recently held by the Dallas Cowboys defense has become such a talking point around the NFL that even Mike Tomlin weighed in with a concerned response.But Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is not pushing the panic button, saying the meeting doesn’t bother him and that it “means everyone’s rowing in the same direction.”Cowboys star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown revealed Monday that the defensive players held the meeting after last week’s home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Overshown said the players “went by bullet point, bullet point,” discussing whether they were meeting the team’s various standards.Tomlin, the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach who is in his first season as an analyst with NBC, was asked what he thought about players-only meetings during a recent appearance on the “New Heights Podcast.””I think you’re dead,” Tomlin responded. “If it did occur, I’d like to not hear about it. The fact that you hear about it is what makes it B.S.”Schottenheimer, however, praised his players for having the initiative to meet among themselves and said he was told the meeting was “productive.””I love it,” Schottenheimer told reporters Wednesday.
“I’ve said from the very beginning, the best teams I’ve ever been around are led by the locker room. And my information that I received from some of those guys that called that meeting, it was very productive. It was very open and honest.”After finishing with the NFL’s 30th-ranked defense and allowing the most points in the league last season, Dallas has attempted to overhaul that side of the ball with multiple high-profile additions over the past 14 months.But the Cowboys, under first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker, enter Week 6 with the 31st-ranked defense after allowing 395.4 yards per game.Pass rusher Rashan Gary, a 2024 Pro Bowler and one of the new additions to the defense, said one of the goals of the meeting was to make sure “everybody’s on the same page and going throughout the week, making sure we create the right habits.”Schottenheimer acknowledged that the Cowboys will make some adjustments to their defensive approach, including moving Parker into the booth for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers and giving more playing time to rookie linebacker Malachi Lawrence.But Schottenheimer also stressed that he is confident in his players and that the meeting is a positive sign for the defense.”The pride of that unit is strong,” he said. “There’s some really, really prideful men in that room, and we’re going to get it fixed.
I have no question about that. But it doesn’t bother me at all. It means everyone’s rowing in the same direction trying to get this thing fixed.”
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