NEW ORLEANS – The road to the NFL has been all but orthodox for Brandon Aubrey. From time in the MLS, to coding, then the USFL, and now an All-Pro kicker for the Cowboys, it's been quite the journey.
"It's been a whirlwind, kind of a dream come true…" Aubrey said. "Feels like it's gone by incredibly fast, I'm just trying to hold onto it and sit back and enjoy the ride."
As he prepares for his third season in the NFL with the Cowboys, it'll be his first without John "Bones" Fassel beside him. Fassel was the Cowboys' special teams coordinator in Aubrey's first two seasons and discovered Aubrey from the USFL ranks, and is now in the same role for the Tennessee Titans.
"He's a good friend of mine, a mentor, someone who discovered me and started my NFL career off right…" Aubrey said.
"He's been somebody that has been incredible for my career, can't describe just how much he does for you mentally, building up your confidence, not messing with you on the sidelines when you miss one or trying to overcoach specialists."
Aubrey said he'll still check in with Fassel from time to time, but is fully focused on the new staff that Brain Schottenheimer has hired. That includes Nick Sorensen, who joins the Cowboys as their new special teams coordinator.
"We've got Nick Sorensen coming in, who I had a chance at the Pro Bowl to talk to two of his former specialists and they absolutely raved about him," Aubrey said. "So I'm excited to get to meet him and start working with him."
Regardless of coordinator, Aubrey's swing that has seen him make 24 50+ yard field goals in his career already will stay the same. He's worked on that outside of the building for his entire career and will continue to do so.
"For me, it's a separate kicking coach, and that's the way it works best," Aubrey said of his process. "I'm not sure how it works outside of Dallas, I know other coaches might have more of a hands on approach, but for me… I've got a coach I've worked with for five, six years now, he knows me as well as I know me."
Another guy who knows his players well is Schottenheimer, and although Aubrey hasn't spent as much time with him, he feels the energy from his teammates and is confident in what Schottenheimer can do as a first-time coach.
"He's done a great job communicating with all the players, I know the offensive guys that work directly with him absolutely love him, he's got a sharp mind, he knows football, he's been around it his entire life." Aubrey said.
"[He] never had an opportunity to be a head coach so obviously you can't judge anyone at a job until they get a chance to do it. I think we got to give him a chance and let him roll, I think he's going to surprise a lot of people."
Aubrey has one more year left on his contract, and getting an extension done with the Cowboys is something that could be on the docket for him in the offseason.
"Yeah, absolutely," Aubrey said when asked if getting an extension was something he'd like to get done this offseason. "It's up to my agent to go up to the Cowboys and see if there's any interest in signing it there early. If an extension comes an extension comes, if not, I'm still making ten times what I was making working code, so I'm pretty happy."
