Dallas, TX
FC Dallas Opens Preseason as Eric Quill Sets the Tone
FC Dallas officially opened preseason this week, with manager Eric Quill beginning his second full season in charge of the club. On Monday, players and coaches took to the training pitch at the Toyota Soccer Center for the first time in 2026 as preparations for the upcoming MLS season got underway.
“It feels like you’re a kid again. Even as I coach, I don’t touch the ball, but to be able to touch the grass and see the youthful exuberance, energy, and the guys getting back with their chemistry, it’s really fun,” said Quill. “It’s a lot of fun; the hour goes by fast. I’m just looking forward to the whole season.”
For players like forward Logan Farrington, there was a relief to be back on the pitch after a couple of months away from Frisco.
“The first day, I think everyone is happy to be out there on the grass with one another,” said Farrington. “The weather was great today, the ball was flying around. There were a couple of loose touches, but that was to be expected. It feels great to be back and have everyone around here.”
In 2025, the club struggled to find consistency in the opening months of the season before turning things around over the final two and a half months of the regular season en route to a playoff appearance. Quill is hoping to take those final two months and expand on that positive momentum into the new season.
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“Last year we were trying to set a foundation, which I think we did,” said Quill when comparing his first preseason last year to this year’s. “Now it is about how we evolve in year two. That is the goal, in the ways we need to evolve and execute that evolution every day.”
Dallas will train in Frisco this week ahead of a trip to Portugal next week, where the club will play a trio of matches before returning home for games against MLS opposition in February — a stretch Quill has emphasized as critical to building cohesion early.
“Every day matters,” stated Quill. “Every day that you walk through the building matters. Also, self-reflect and be your own worst critic, and how you want to get better and improve. How we grow these relationships with all of the new faces, you rely on a lot of leadership to connect the dots of that locker room tightness. As we grow in preseason, it is all about how fast we can become a team.”
For FC Dallas, the message from day one is clear: the work for 2026 has already started, and there’s no time to waste.
Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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