Patriots OC Bill O’Brien reacts to Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer comments

Don’t worry too much about subterfuge, Cowboys coaches. Bill O’Brien, the Patriots offensive coordinator, says quizzing players about their old teams happens every week.

So the Patriots won’t be going to great lengths to shake down the likes of Ezekiel Elliott and Will Grier, two former Cowboys who now are earning a pay check with New England.

Dallas offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said he was concerned about it, maybe to the point of changing hand signs. O’Brien slapped back at the language, scoffing at the idea that anyone is getting quizzed in Foxboro.

“Interrogating?” O’Brien asked the reporters. “Schotty is a good guy. I’ve known Schotty for a long time. I think that’s the way it is every week in this league, every year in this league. There’s gonna be guys that come into your organization off teams that you’re about to play, and it goes both ways.

“It’s always going to happen. At the end of the day, you’ve got to study film,” O’Brien said. “Everybody’s going to be on the same page with what we’re doing. I’ve never thought in my years in the league that any of that was a real overriding factor in a win or a loss. It comes down to the players on the field and the coaches putting the players in the right positions to make plays, and that’s what we’re trying to do. I don’t think we’re trying to hold a light over anybody and say, ‘Tell me what you did on July 20 of 2023.’ We’re not doing that. We’re not interrogating anybody. (And) we’re just trying to put together the best game plan we possibly can.”