FRISCO, Texas — When the Dallas Cowboys host the New York Giants for their division matchup in Week 2 at AT&T Stadium, there will be a good bit of familiarity staring from each opposing sideline, and the two headlining that storyline are Brian Schottenheimer and Russell Wilson — both in very different places than they were years ago.
For three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, it was Schottenheimer coordinating the offense led by Wilson but, in 2025, the former is beginning his era as head coach of the Cowboys while the latter suits up for a bitter NFC East rival in Big Blue.
With that much familiarity comes two sides of the same coin: one being the benefit of Schottenheimer knowing everything about Wilson's style of play and weaknesses, but also Wilson knowing Schottenheimer's tendencies and likes/dislikes as a playcaller.
"Yeah, I think that's the fun part of the chess match that we love so much as coaches and players, and why you look forward to playing against your friends," Schottenheimer said after Wednesday's fully padded practice.
That familiarity doesn't stop at Schottenheimer and Wilson though, and not by a long shot, with the Cowboys employing an extra bishop in the matchup.
Also employed by the Cowboys is Andre Curtis, the team's defensive passing game coordinator whose tenure with the Seahawks preceded that of Schottenheimer and lasted one year longer, specifically ending at the same time as Wilson's. Curtis signed on with Seattle in Wilson's fourth season, spending seven seasons helping to design and ultimately coordinate a defense that practiced against the 10-time Pro Bowler.
That said, one could argue he knows Wilson far better than does Schottenheimer who himself knows Wilson exceedingly well.
"I'm not the only one that knows Russ," said Schottenheimer. "[In the defensive room] there's Andre Curtis. He was with Russ for a long time, and actually longer than I was."
Going a bit deeper into this pool, you'll find Brian Daboll, head coach of the Giants, spent two seasons under Schottenheimer when the two worked on the offensive staff for the New York Jets.
"Really, it's more on the coaches to come up with the game plan," Schottenheimer added. "I've spoken a lot about my respect for Brian Daboll. He was a quarterback coach for us with the Jets, when I was the coordinator, and I think he's an awesome coach. It should be a fun chess match to watch Sunday afternoon."
Circling back to the original duality of the point, however, reminds all involved that familiarity often goes in both directions and, as such, can work as leverage for either party, and that's why Schottenheimer continues to prepare for the Wilson he and Curtis have known, and not necessarily the one that's struggled at times in recent years.
Wilson, a Super Bowl champ, still has the ability to make plays at the NFL level.
"You know his strengths, you know his weaknesses, but I also know what an incredibly hard worker Russ is," said Schottenheimer. "I'm not fooled for one second that he's not working on certain things that he knows I know, and that Andre knows, and stuff like that. He's going to go out and play. … One of the greatest deep ball throwers I've ever been around. This guy's ability to just drop the ball in the bucket, put the perfect amount of air to the receiver that it was intended to."
"Tyler Lockett was a 4.25 [second] guy, so he would put a little bit more air up underneath it and let Tyler go track it. Whereas D.K. [Metcalf], he would throw it a little bit flatter, but it didn't matter who he was throwing it to, he just was probably one of the best deep ball throwers I've ever been around. The ability to extend plays when I was with him was incredible, because he's a great improviser."
The improvisation skills might be on full display come Sunday, given the Giants' struggles in protecting Wilson, and that means the Cowboys' defense will need to be disciplined in their keys and assignments to avoid giving up chunk plays, and especially downfield to a player like Malik Nabers — a former eight-overall pick who earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie receiver in 2024.
And given this is a week-to-week league, what the Giants were unable to do against the Washington Commanders has no bearing on the moves they'll attempt to make on the board when they face the Cowboys several days later.
Keeping that in mind will give Schottenheimer, Curtis and the Cowboys a great chance for a checkmate over two friends who'll turn foes on Sunday afternoon.
