RIO DE JANEIRO — The Dallas Cowboys expect to play in Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium, coach Brian Schottenheimer told Brazilian reporters Friday. He said that expectation is one the organization puts on itself.
Schottenheimer was asked about the pressure of coaching the Cowboys. In his view, fans of every NFL team and every major soccer club have the right to criticize, and Dallas owns that while working toward the goal one day at a time.
“There’s certainly pressures that goes through every team in the National Football League, every professional soccer team,” Schottenheimer said. “The world watches what we do. It looks at us, it is able to critique and criticize, and as they should. Fans that love and care about their team should be able to do that.”
“But it’s something that we own,” Schottenheimer continued. “And we, quite honestly, we like to put the mark on ourselves at times because we talk about wanting to win a world’s championship and expecting to be in Los Angeles on February 14, 2027. So we don’t shy away from that, but we also go through the process daily to win each day to help us do that.”
Brian Schottenheimer Recalls Cowboys T-Shirt In Greece
Schottenheimer is in his fifth year with Dallas and his second as head coach. He came in as a consultant in 2022. That summer, a white T-shirt with the star on it started conversations with strangers on a family trip to Greece, and that is when he understood how far the fan base reaches.
“I’ve been here five years now. This is my second year as the head coach. I came here actually as a consultant,” Schottenheimer explained. “And that year I was a consultant, I was doing some traveling with my family over the break. We always get a break between middle of June to the end of July, and went over to Greece, and I simply had on a simple, very simple white T-shirt with the star on it, and it was amazing the conversations that were started around the world in different spots.”
“And I think that’s when it became very evident to me how many people know the Cowboys, love the Cowboys,” Schottenheimer added. “And I think we all take great pride in that. And that’s why we want to bring a Super Bowl home, back home to Dallas.”
Schottenheimer follows international soccer and called it “very cool” that AT&T Stadium hosted World Cup matches this summer.
Dak Prescott Plays For Fans Seeing Cowboys For The First Time
Dak Prescott said a big Brazilian fan base makes his first international game better. He thinks every week about who might be watching him for the first time.
“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s awesome. It makes it that much better, right?” Prescott said. “To be here in Brazil where there’s a big fan group, a big fan base and support, hopefully allow a lot of people to see me play and this team play for the first time in person. It’s something that I think about each and every game is who’s watching for the first time or who’s trying to pick up this game and how can I inspire them.”
“And it just allows me to not take any play for granted, to be right where my feet are,” Prescott continued. “And that’s what I’m doing this whole trip. Whether it’s just engaging with fans from one place to another or when I take that field, I’m just excited, blessed and excited to share the opportunity and what it looks like when I play this game with new fans.”
Prescott also sees flag football, which joins the Olympic program at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, as the sport’s path into new countries.
“Flag football is going to be the way that we expand this game, and then we can get into tackle after that,” Prescott explained. “But just seeing where flag football has already taken, being an Olympic game, all the different countries getting involved, embracing the game of football, men and women, I think it’s exciting. I think it’s inclusive for everybody, and it’s beautiful for the game.”
Dallas is the designated home team for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, one of its nine home games. Kickoff at Maracanã Stadium is 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
