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Otito Ogbonnia had praise for Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer

He was not among the Dallas Cowboys‘ big-name acquisitions this offseason, but defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia does figure to play a consistent and important role along the team’s defensive front alongside stars Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams. He could, in the end, be a key and underrated acquisition as the team reconfigures its defense around the vision of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.

Coming from the Chargers, where he played four seasons including the last two for well-known players’ coach Jim Harbaugh, Ogbonnia appreciates a coach who allows players a certain level of say-so in how things go with the team. And he has been seeing much of that thus far with Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer.

The Cowboys have not yet had organized team activities–they are on the late side this year, beginning on June 1–but in team meetings and early voluntary workouts, Ogbonnia has gotten a sense of how Schottenheimer runs his team.

Cowboys Rallied Around Brian Schottenheimer in 2025

In an extensive and detailed conversation at Blogging the Boys (do check it out), Ogbonnia talked about Schottenheimer’s personality, which was on display in his first season as he guided the Cowboys through a difficult year on the field (7-9-1) and off it, as he helped the team through the difficult and tragic loss of Marshawn Kneeland to suicide.

Ogbinna said: “I would say in meetings and just the overall vibe with the staff and players is just, they’re definitely building a sense of of camaraderie. Obviously, Schotty, you know is newer, one of the things he’s really been emphasizing is the brotherhood and competition, and being your brothers keeper – and you can feel it throughout the building.”

Brian Schottenheimer ‘Very Team First, Team Oriented’

That started before the death of Kneeland, but certainly, Schottenheimer’s leadership was tested in the wake of that event. Schottenheimer gave the Cowboys free rein to talk out the loss of their teammate while returning the focus to football when it was appropriate. Multiple veterans, including Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, praised his handling of the situation.

That respect for Schottenheimer has been contagious. Ogbonnia said he can feel it with other coaches at The Star, too.

He said: “You can tell with Schotty, with how he operates is very team first, team oriented. Very player led type of space for him, and the players react very well to that. We react very well to those types of coaches and you can feel it with everyone. You feel it from the special teams, you feel it from (Nick) Sorenson, you feel it from CP, you feel it from Schotty. It’s one of those things that makes you feel like you want to be apart of it. It makes you feel happy to be here.”

Cowboys OTAs Set

Ogbonnia and the Cowboys will be at The Star a lot more often starting next week when the team’s OTAs finally get underway.

The schedule for the Cowboys:

• June 1-2. First OTAs
• June 4: Second OTAs.
• June 8-9. Third OTAs.
• June 11: Fourth OTAs.
• June 16-18: Mandatory minicamp