ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have introduced a leadership council ahead of the 2026 season, in which 11 players will meet throughout the year to discuss the team and bring feedback to second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Dallas’ council includes quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, offensive linemen Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker, tight end Jake Ferguson, running back Javonte Williams, punter Bryan Anger, safety Jalen Thompson, and a trio of defensive linemen: Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and Rashan Gary.
Dak Prescott Welcomes New Voices As Leaders
Prescott has been viewed as the Cowboys’ de facto leader since taking the starting quarterback job in 2016 and although he still maintains his voice, he appreciates being one of 11.
“That was purposeful. I couldn’t be the, whatever you want to call it, the chief leader there because I’m going to speak up. I’m going to talk,” Prescott said. “I know what I know, and I’m not going to be hesitant to say it, but we need other guys to take that lead.”
He continued, praising the way that Clark, Gary and Smith have stepped into leadership roles.
Clark and Gary are both fairly new to the team, with Clark entering his second year with Dallas and Gary his first. With them, they’ve brought a willingness to share their voices. Even Clark, who didn’t want to step on anyone’s role when he arrived with the Cowboys, has been more vocal after spending a season leading by example.
“Everybody’s embracing everybody,” Clark said. “I think it’s just how you go about your business every day, how you lead the team, doing what you’re doing.”
Schottenheimer certainly praised Clark, highlighting his quiet approach to leadership.
“Kenny Clark, he is a man of few words, but I would follow that guy anywhere. I really would,” Schottenheimer said. “And so Kenny’s got to be himself. If you look at our leadership council, I would say that a lot of the guys on the council aren’t jumping around going upbeat like I am. I mean, Quinnen’s not that way. (Smith) isn’t that way. But they’re all what? They’re all leading the way that they are.”
Different Personalities Mesh In Dallas’ Leadership Council
Different personality types like that of Clark and Schottenheimer were a part of the plan when creating the leadership council. Smith and Quinnen Williams are described as more reserved, the former learning from the stoic tutelage of former Dallas stars Zack Martin and Tyron Smith. Ferguson, on the other hand, is a more outgoing and vocal leader.
Booker, taken 12th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, has loads of leadership experience going into his second professional year despite his youth. He was a captain at IMG Academy, where he starred as a high schooler before becoming a captain again at the University of Alabama. In his first year with the Cowboys, Schottenheimer encouraged even more out of the 22-year-old.
“That means a lot, first and foremost, to be seen as a leader by so many great men on this team and all my coaches,” Booker said. “It really means a lot. It’s truly a blessing, and that’s something that I’m very proud of and I’m going to have to live up to the standard, too.”
Where The Cowboys’ Leadership Shows Up
That leadership has translated to the practice field, where Dallas is more willing than ever to embrace the mundane and tedious. After a two-hour August 11 joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams in Woodland Hills, California, the Cowboys lined up for sprints while Los Angeles trooped back to its locker room.
Those sprints weren’t coach-ordered, rather the suggestion of linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. Prescott was on board and the whole team followed suit. Overshown asking to run marked the second-straight practice that players requested extra conditioning.
Just two days earlier, on August 9, Dallas hosted Family Day, where spouses, girlfriends, children, and parents were invited to watch the team practice. Schottenheimer called off conditioning so the team could be with their families, but the players insisted on running the sprints just like any other practice.
What’s Next?
Dallas last won the NFC East in 2023, when the team went 12-5.
The Cowboys closed the preseason at 2-1 after Friday night’s 27-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. New Orleans won it on a 53-yard field goal with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter, and Dallas had erased a 24-9 deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and a two-point conversion before that. The Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-7 on August 15 and the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 on August 22.
Every team must be down to 53 players by 5 p.m. CT Sunday. The NFL moved the deadline up this year from the Tuesday following the final preseason weekend. Waiver claims are awarded at noon CT Monday, with claiming order set by the reverse of last season’s standings.
Dallas opens the regular season against the New York Giants at 7:20 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 13, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kickoff airs on NBC, with streaming on Peacock. It is the eighth time since 2012 the two teams have opened against each other and the fifth time in that span on Sunday night.
