After Jerry Jones cancer revelation, Dallas Cowboys head coach reveals own fight
On the final day of training camp in Southern California, headlines are typically swarming with 53-man roster projections, decisive position battles and — in the event of the Dallas Cowboys, as it seems every year — contract extension talks.
But on Wednesday, before the Cowboys’ final full practice in Oxnard before departing home for Frisco, a much heavier topic weighed in the brisk Ventura County morning air after a report revealed that team owner and general manager Jerry Jones overcame a 10-year battle fighting stage 4 cancer from 2010 to 2020.
It is a topic revealed in episode five of the upcoming Netflix docuseries, “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”
When asked about the topic to begin Wednesday’s press conference, head coach Brian Schottenheimer opened up about his own cancer battle that he fought at the age of 28 in 2002.
“Me and him shared that,” Schottenheimer said. “Mine was certainly less serious. Nothing like Jerry or what other people have to go through. You hear that word ‘cancer,’ and it scares the hell out of you.”
Going into his second year in the NFL, Schottenheimer was preparing to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the San Diego Chargers when he went in for a medical evaluation on his throat in the summer of 2002. He had been dealing with some discomfort, but it was initially not thought to be anything serious.
“Basically, found out early August,” he said. “I knew there was a lump in my throat, something that was bothering me. When the doctor did the needle aspiration, they didn’t think it was anything.”
A few days later, he got a phone call from his doctor while on the field for a training camp practice. He knew it wasn’t good.
“It was thyroid cancer,” he said. “I get the word, and I find my dad and he was coaching the defensive guys, watching some film. I called him out of the room and I told him, ‘Hey, I have cancer.’ I broke down, of course. I lost it.”
Washington owner Dan Snyder helped
His late father, Marty, was in his first year as head coach of the Chargers after being fired following just one season in Washington.
“He said, ‘Hey, we’ll figure this out. We’ll get you the best help we can get.’ He picked up the phone and called [former Washington owner] Dan Snyder, a guy who a year before had fired him.”
Snyder, who the younger Schottenheimer would be the first to admit did not see eye-to-eye with his father at that time, battled thyroid cancer of his own just a few years prior. Despite the tension, Snyder put everything aside to lend a hand.
The phone call between Marty Schottenheimer and Snyder was quick, as the former owner said he’d call him back in five minutes. In that span, Snyder got Brian set up at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to immediately have his procedure.
“It was within 24 to 36 hours that I was on the operating table,” Schottenheimer said. “It just shows you when you’re dealing with things like that, everything competitively stops. Dan and Marty disagreed, decided to go in a different direction. But when he picked up the phone, Dan [helped].”
While thyroid cancer is one of the least fatal forms of the disease, according to a study from the Cleveland Clinic, Schottenheimer was “terrified” at the possibility of losing his voice in the procedure. Furthermore, his wife was four months pregnant with their first child.
“I was more concerned after having the surgery if I would lose my ability to speak, to coach,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s around your vocal chords. [With] your inner circle of people, your family, your loved ones, it kind of reminds you what truly matters.”
After having his thyroid and 17 lymph nodes removed, Schottenheimer was out of surgery with no complications. He was able to return to coaching in no time, but with a renewed perspective on the life ahead of him.
“I was very blessed to be in the position I was in the National Football League,” he said. “We are very blessed to have some of the connections we have. If it wasn’t for Dan Snyder, if it wasn’t for the National Football League, then maybe my story is different.”
A scar at the bottom of his neck reminds him of that traumatic experience 23 years ago. Today, he hopes his story and Jerry Jones’ story can inspire people who are going through those battles.
“I was one of the lucky ones,” he said. “I look at the scar, and I’m reminded of how lucky I am.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 7:35 PM.
