FRISCO, Texas — There's no place like home. Dorothy said it best, and David Overstreet II couldn't agree more with the sentiment. For the Dallas native and son of David Overstreet I, a Texas native and former first-round pick in 1981 who unfortunately passed away in 1984, signing on to become the cornerbacks/secondary coach for the Cowboys marks a homecoming.
Overstreet never once dropped his ear-to-ear smile during his inaugural meeting with the media following the completion of Brian Schottenheimer’s staff, thrilled to be back in Texas after spending the last several seasons perfecting his craft for Matt Eberflus in Chicago.
"One, I love being in Texas," Overstreet said, beaming. "You know Texas has a lot of pride, so I love being here. And being back where everybody knows me, because all my family is here."
It helps that he'll go from coaching promising cornerback talent like Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson to that of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland and, possibly, Jourdan Lewis as well.
"I'm excited to coach these guys," Overstreet said. "I'll tell you that's one of the things that really attracted me here — there's some talent, and I'm excited to get a chance to be with those guys, and to get my hands on them. I've been having great conversations with them.
"I've met with a lot of them. I'm definitely excited to coach those guys."
Overstreet went on to mirror something of note from Eberflus' interview with media, in that this year's Cowboys' defense will key in on putting players in position to succeed based on where and how they shine best — not simply shoehorning them into a specific scheme.
"I tell guys the X's and O's are only gonna take you so far," said Overstreet. "At the end of the day, you've still got to play ball. And [as a coach], you've gotta be willing to allow yourself to adjust to the players you have. You can't try to get a player to conform to what you want to do.
"You've got to make the adjustments [as a coach]."
With a mission to stop the run and "attack" the opposing quarterback, as dictated by Eberflus and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, the goal of taking the ball away on the back end will be a top emphasis for Overstreet as he works to replace Al Harris, a position coach known for helping to drag the Cowboys' secondary out of the Dark Ages in that category.
Overstreet's message to the defensive backs in Dallas is as potent as it is motivational.
Bottom line? If the quarterback targets you, it's because you haven't made him respect you.
"I always tell the DBs, 'Hey, if the quarterback threw it, that means who didn't want it anymore. And if he threw it your way, that means he thinks his guy is better than you are and you should take offense to that. You should be extremely upset that the QB decided to say, 'The guy lined up across from you is better so I'm gonna throw it [in that direction].'"
That is sure to go over well with ballhawks like Diggs and Bland, to say the least, with Overstreet carrying a demeanor that feels as if he himself is still prepared to suit up at any given moment.
It could make for a seamless transition from Harris' teachings to that of Overstreet's.
"You threw it to me? No," he said of the mentality his cornerbacks are required to carry on a rep-to-rep basis. "You better throw it to somebody else, because no."
Because … no.
