Brian Schottenheimer is the Dallas Cowboys head coach and training camp starts in three weeks. That sentence still feels strange to write. It should feel even stranger to Jerry Jones, who hired his own offensive coordinator to replace Mike McCarthy because he wanted a fresh voice while somehow also wanting familiarity.
Schottenheimer got a four-year deal. He inherits a roster that finished 7-10 last season, a quarterback still adjusting to a post-trade version of the Cowboys, and an offense that lost Micah Parsons and never really replaced him defensively. His first task is to figure out how a first-time head coach actually runs a football team.
Everything about this hire raised eyebrows. Schottenheimer had been Dallas’ offensive coordinator for two years. Jerry Jones interviewed multiple external candidates including Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier. Then he settled on the guy who was already in the building. In a fascinating detail, Schottenheimer revealed after his hire that he had an agreement with the Jones family to return as offensive coordinator if he did not get the head coaching job. That is not a normal contract structure.
The football question is whether Schottenheimer can actually run this team. His resume as an offensive coordinator across multiple teams is mixed. He has produced top-10 offenses in stretches and bottom-10 offenses in stretches. His Cowboys offense last year was middle-of-the-pack in every metric. That is not a resume that screams head coaching material.
What Schottenheimer does have is a reputation as a communicator. Players trust him. Coordinators respect his preparation. Jerry Jones likes him personally. In the modern NFL, being a head coach is 30 percent Xs and Os and 70 percent managing personalities, and Schottenheimer is a genuinely well-liked figure in the building.
The Dak Prescott situation is the biggest test. Prescott is 32 years old, coming off a major hamstring injury, and playing for the Cowboys is more scrutiny than any player in the league. If Schottenheimer can build an offense that plays to Prescott’s actual current strengths, protects him from injury, and does not force him into obvious passing downs on 3rd-and-long, this team can actually compete.
The defensive picture is much murkier. Losing Parsons was a franchise-altering event that nobody has adequately replaced. Dan Quinn is not walking back through that door. Whoever Schottenheimer hires as defensive coordinator will inherit a unit with real talent at cornerback but limited pass rush and questionable linebacker depth.
The NFC East is winnable. The Eagles are aging at key spots. The Commanders are still building around Jayden Daniels. The Giants are a mess. If the Cowboys can just be consistently competent, they might steal 10 wins and a wild card spot.
That is a lot of ifs, though. Ifs are what fills training camp headlines in Dallas every August. Then the season starts and Dallas either lives up to the offseason optimism or falls flat on its face by Thanksgiving. The over-under on how long Schottenheimer’s coaching honeymoon lasts is essentially the length of the Cowboys’ first losing streak of the season.
Whatever happens, this is Brian Schottenheimer’s job. He asked for it. He got it. Now he has to prove he can do it in the most impossible coaching job in the NFL.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
