DeMarvion Overshown gives injury update, outlook under Schottenheimer

It is unfortunately, as mentioned before, a long road he’s been forced to travel before, but there’s an odd sense of confidence that comes with knowing, this time around, what to expect and how to attack the rehab; two things that were foreign to him in 2023.

“The guys in the training room know exactly what they’re doing,” he explained. “So it’s easy for me to go in there and trust everything they’re doing — knowing that when I get a chance to step back onto that field, I’ll be ready. It couldn’t be better. Everyday, I push myself.

“[I’m] smart [about it], but I push myself. I just can’t wait to get back out there.”

When he does return at some point in 2025, things will look much different from a coaching perspective.

Mike McCarthy has departed as head coach and offensive play caller, with Brian Schottenheimer moving from offensive coordinator to the lead role — one change of many within the staff. The inaugural press conference to introduce Schottenheimer as head coach featured the entire strength and conditioning staff, several assistant coaches (despite remaining unsigned at the moment) and players such as Dak Prescott and, of course, Overshown.

It served as an early testament to the buy-in Schottenheimer already has within the locker room, evidenced further by Overshown taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) immediately following the press conference to post an image of a man running through a brick wall to put an image to how he feels about his new head coach.

“I can say that, when I first got here, there was a smile on his face and he was motivating [someone] — whether it’s defense, special teams, offense — he’s always the coach you can go to and get some type of motivation,” said Overshown. “… When you get a guy a team is gonna play hard for, all 11 guys on the field are gonna play hard every single snap for him, then you’ve got your coach. I feel like that’s what we’ve got in Schotty.

“He’s a guy that wants it as bad as we do — a family guy. Football is his passion. … I can just see it in his face how badly he wants it. … When a coach shows me that side of him, it makes me want to go out there and give 100 percent on every play.”

The additional changes to the staff come on the defensive side of the ball, as Mike Zimmer reportedly heads into retirement and a second reunion in as many years lands by way of Matt Eberflus returning to the organization as defensive coordinator.

Eberflus was previously a heralded linebackers coach for the Cowboys, a skillset that will likely serve Overshown and another young, high-ceiling talent in Marist Liufau, very well going forward.

It does mark the second defensive coordinator in only three NFL seasons for Overshown to acclimate to, however, but his experience with turnover in defensive leadership is something he became familiar with in his days as a star player for the Longhorns.

He will draw on that experience as Eberflus enters the building.

“I’ve always been able to adapt myself to any situation I’m in,” Overshown said. “I tell myself all the time it’s just different terminology. And learning all these different things from [when it happened] in college, I’m able to apply it when I get to a meeting room with another defensive coordinator. Most times, it’s the same, just different names.

“When you’re into the game as much as I am, a lot of that just comes back to me as soon as I step back on the field. It’s nothing brand new.”

That said, the first mission is exactly that: to step back onto the field. As he works toward achieving it, he’ll do so with a lot of excitement for what he believes will be a turnaround season for the Cowboys in 2025.