"My dad taught me as a young coach, coaches don't wear sunglasses."

While a lot about football will never change - like the importance of the fundamentals behind blocking, tackling, and ball security -  there are also areas of the game that are a distant memory (remember those Bike coaching shorts?).

Then there are little things that get passed on from one generation of coaches to the next.

One of those types of lessons was on full display at the recent NFL head coach and GM meetings, when second-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was on set with ESPN.

After being complimented by Laura Rutledge on being one of the few head coaches in attendance to come to the ESPN outdoor set without shades on, Brian shared a lesson he learned from his father, the legendary late Marty Schottenheimer who passed away back in 2021 after a long career in the NFL that included stints leading the Browns, Chiefs, Redskins and Chargers to go along with defensive coordinator stops with the Giants and Browns and a number of assistant coaching stops as well.

"This is a true story, my father taught me as a young coach that coaches do not wear sunglasses. But we're in San Diego at the time, and it's bright out, but my dad was like, 'The players have to see your eyes when you are coaching them.'"

Bewildered host Peter Schrager then chimes in with, "So [LaDanian] Tomlinson could wear the tinted visor, but you can't wear sunglasses?"

"Hey man, that was Marty Schottenheimer for ya," Brian quipped back. "But it made sense to me. Because when you're correcting, or criticizing they want to see your eyes."

Brian goes on to share that as a head coach himself now, he allows his assistants to wear sunglasses, but it's something he will never change.

Hear the full exchange in the clip.