FRISCO — The final conversation Lou Esposito had with Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was a happy one, as heartbreaking as it is for Esposito to think of now.
Esposito, now the defensive line coach at the University of Michigan, coached Kneeland at Western Michigan. He witnessed Kneeland — a “dream to coach,” he said — go from a two-star recruit, to eventually a second-round NFL draft pick in last year’s draft. On Monday, in front of a national audience, Esposito saw the newest apex in Kneeland’s football rise: He scored his first NFL touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
Esposito congratulated Kneeland afterward, just days before Kneeland died.
“My heart aches as that will be the last conversation that we have together,” Esposito said in a statement shared through Michigan. “It’s hard to put into words how much Marshawn means to me and my family. He was family to us and we have so many fond memories of our times together.”
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There are still unknowns when it comes to the death of Kneeland, who was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound by Frisco police early Thursday morning. A police chase, after an attempt to pull Kneeland over for a traffic violation, preceded Kneeland’s death. So did a welfare check at his Plano residence. Police dispatch audio, obtained by The Dallas Morning News, revealed that his girlfriend, unidentified by police, called police to tell them Kneeland was armed, had a history of mental illness and that he was ready to “end it all.”
Kneeland was 24.
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“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Marshawn,” former Western Michigan coach Tim Lester, now the offensive coordinator at Iowa, said in a statement. “He was a great teammate and a joy to coach. His smile, work ethic, and heart touched so many.”
The latter part of Lester’s statement was something shared by many on Thursday. If Kneeland’s on-field trademark was his work ethic, then his off-field one was his smile. It was infectious. It was energetic.
“The first thing you think of when we first got him in the ‘24 draft, at rookie minicamp, he was immediately just a fantastic energy,” said former Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel, who spent last year with Kneeland. “You could tell there was great leadership qualities. And these aren’t things you just say after someone passes. These are things that are real and I would say about him right now if he just had a great game and was still around. He was magnetic with his personality, where he was hard-working and tough, and it was just a fantastic combination of all the right things. Which makes this honestly even more tragic, just because of the person that he was.”
Western Michigan defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Darron Cummings / AP
Kneeland also dealt with tragedy of his own. It wasn’t easy to go from a small college recruit to a highly touted NFL prospect.
“I watched him fight his way from a hopeful kid at Western Michigan with a dream to being a respected professional for the Dallas Cowboys. Marshawn poured his heart into every snap, every practice, and every moment on the field,” his agent, Jonathan Perzley, wrote. “To lose someone with his talent, spirit, and goodness is a pain I can hardly put into words.”
While training for the draft, however, Kneeland unexpectedly lost his mother, Wendy. Kneeland kept her ashes in a two-inch urn around his neck. It was her dream to see her son make the NFL, and even though she couldn’t see it for herself, Kneeland carried her memory with him to the league.
There were signs that she was on his mind recently. He posted a screenshot of a character from an anime show on Instagram.
“Look, Mom,” the screenshot said on it. “I’m here, very top of Arasaka Tower.”
Kneeland admitted it was hard when his mother passed away. He had to mourn her while preparing for the NFL draft. He eventually was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round.
“I had a week to prepare [for the scouting combine] and try to breathe and let all of it out as much as possible with the situation,” Kneeland told The News last year. “But I had to lock in.”
Kneeland also kept smiling.
That’s part of the reason Thursday’s news was so shocking to those who knew Kneeland.
“I know he loved the game, man,” former Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, now in Seattle, told reporters. “He loved to smile.”
Fassel remembers that about Kneeland, too. And though Fassel, now with the Tennessee Titans, is no longer a coach for the Cowboys there is something that will always stick with him about Kneeland.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94) congratulates his teammate Earnest Brown IV (51) on his ball recovery during a training camp practice in Oxnard, California, July 26, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Fassel, the son of a former NFL head coach, has been coaching in the NFL for 20 years. Along the way, he’s seen multiple players pass away.
“It’s hard, man. It’s really hard,” Fassel said about losing a player. “Everyone judges us on wins and losses, but as a coach, being very honest, that’s not priority No. 1. At least it hasn’t been for me the past quite a few years. It’s players’ health, performance, safety. There’s a lot of guilt that I harbor with injuries and players that pass away for sure.
“It’s heartbreaking because I haven’t been able to be around him the last 7-8 months … there’s coaching guilt when you leave to go another place when you think, ‘I should’ve stayed in touch with this guy more and checked on him and what could I have done, even though I wasn’t there to help him out.’ ”
Esposito can relate to the pain of losing Kneeland. He said Kneeland, a Grand Rapids native, had plans to return to Michigan this week during the Cowboys’ bye week. Esposito had plans to see his former player.
“I am crushed at this moment and my heart and the hearts of Marshawn’s family, teammates and coaches are shattered,” Esposito wrote in a statement. “Marshawn Kneeland meant a great deal to me and I have so many fond memories of growing with him throughout my time as his coach.
“Today’s news is absolutely devastating.”
Twitter/X: @JoeJHoyt
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