Hiring Brian Schottenheimer doesn’t really feel like maximizing the possibility to win with Dak Prescott

The Dallas Cowboys will introduce their tenth head coach in franchise historical past on Monday, and the actual fact will probably be a promotion for offensive coordinator and lifelong assistant Brian Schottenheimer nonetheless feels surreal. A lot about how the Cowboys arrived on the determination to make Schottenheimer a first-time head coach has been used as fodder by followers to substantiate their worst suspicions about what precisely is holding this group again from competing on the highest degree.

Most of this dialogue occurred earlier than the Eagles and Commanders and Chiefs and Payments performed on Sunday to resolve which groups will go to New Orleans for Tremendous Bowl LIX, which solely added extra apparent factors of comparability from the profitable groups wanting a lot extra dynamic than the Cowboys at any level of their 7-10 season. “Dynamic” and “Brian Schottenheimer’ don’t precisely really feel like phrases that will likely be put collectively a lot transferring ahead both, that means the Cowboys already-maligned entrance workplace will face one in every of their hardest promote jobs but convincing followers the group goes in the appropriate path below his new steerage.

Schottenheimer will start in 2025 within the first yr of a four-year deal, realizing each of his previous successors had been capable of play out their full contracts as head coach of America’s Crew. This contract additionally aligns completely with the remaining years on franchise quarterback Dak Prescott’s deal. Dallas fell hours wanting maintaining a full reset throughout the believable penalties of a poor 2024 season by having each HC Mike McCarthy and Prescott on expiring offers, however prolonged Prescott whereas letting McCarthy coach out his deal. In an sadly very restricted pattern dimension, the Cowboys didn’t get to see McCarthy name performs for Prescott previous week 9. Profitable three of his eight begins earlier than being misplaced for the season in a street recreation on the Atlanta Falcons, Prescott threw eight interceptions, only one off the tempo of his 9 interceptions in 17 begins from 2023.

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Turnovers remained a continuing breaking level that zapped any distant probabilities this poorly constructed group had of repeating as NFC East champions. McCarthy made it a close to weekly level to emphasize the significance of getting this cleaned up, now not having the Dan Quinn protection on the opposite facet of issues to rack up turnovers of their very own, however neither his nor OC Schottenheimer’s teaching might obtain this.

Even so, there have been sturdy indications on this teaching cycle that the Cowboys truly needed McCarthy again on a brand new deal. Hiring Schottenheimer to be one of many few carryovers from McCarthy’s employees, within the largest potential chair, seemingly within the title of maintaining continuity for Prescott on offense can plausibly be seen as additional proof the Cowboys did, actually, need to proceed on with McCarthy.

In a roundabout way, that is additionally an admittance that an offense which made a residing out of forcing their QB to play hero ball and overcome unimaginative route ideas plus the shortage of a secondary receiver past CeeDee Lamb is suitable. Of all of the areas the Jones’ are accused of overstepping their attain on the precise soccer operations facet of issues, the design of the offense is the commonest factor introduced up, and the priority degree that this will escalate even additional below Schottenheimer has been expressed loudly by followers.

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The Cowboys additionally took extra time to interview Schottenheimer, by a large margin, than another candidate on their woefully brief record – most notably together with their homegrown prodigy Kellen Moore. Someplace alongside the best way, let’s assume for only a second that Schottenheimer truly did promote the Jones’ on being not only a McCarthy alternative for the sake of continuity, however that there’s something, something in any respect that he feels he can truly enhance on from earlier management to get this group again to a profitable report. Let’s be loopy sufficient to imagine profitable video games is of excessive sufficient precedence nonetheless.

If limiting turnovers and reinvigorating the run recreation had been two of this stuff, the Cowboys already dabbled in each and have no one accountable however themselves for falling brief on these objectives in 2024. Absolutely the predominant story of the NFL playoffs which have solid on with out the Cowboys even being a thought for the primary time in three years has been turnovers, with each profitable group besides the Chiefs within the AFC Championship profitable the margin right here.

The rival Commanders, with former DC Quinn as their head coach, scored the upset of your complete playoffs thus far by beating the Lions in Detroit due to 4 turnovers, two of which they scored touchdowns off of to win by 14. As an alternative of truly backing up their discuss on the sphere, the Cowboys are showing content material with merely speaking an enormous recreation about how turnovers plagued them, whereas losing one more season (albeit a partial one) of Prescott setting him as much as fail with an inexperienced offensive line, insufficient receivers, and regressed play-calling. Doing so in simply the primary season the place Prescott was the best paid QB within the league, and now aligning the remainder of his contract with the OC that was part of the final two seasons, makes it an understandably exhausting promote that this group goes to be in actual competition anytime quickly.

The opposite aspect which will probably make Schottenheimer a perceived improve to McCarthy is his want to ascertain a robust operating recreation. Identical to turnovers although, this was one more space the Cowboys already talked an enormous recreation however did so after digging their very own gap. Dallas notoriously handed on even courting Derick Henry to affix a backfield that was barren after Tony Pollard left, and went into the season with solely Ezekiel Elliott as a contemporary face alongside Rico Dowdle.

McCarthy performed the playing cards he was dealt and tried to ascertain each Elliott and Dowdle at instances early within the season, hardly discovering any artistic methods to get both the ball. Issues solely improved as soon as Dowdle was named the lead again and allowed to do what he does finest operating between the tackles persistently. If the Cowboys need to promote that Schottenheimer will assist transfer the run recreation ahead, with the group in tantalizing place to probably use one other high decide on Boise State operating again phenom Ashton Jeanty, they’ll first need to admit to all of the methods they handed on doing this very factor in yr one of many “all in” strategy after Prescott was paid.

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The Philadelphia Eagles, the group that can symbolize the division within the Tremendous Bowl after blowing out the Commanders 55-23 within the NFC Championship recreation, tied the NFL report for speeding touchdowns in a playoff recreation with seven. Prized free agent addition Saquon Barkley accounted for 3 of them.

The Eagles scored extra speeding touchdowns within the NFC Championship Recreation (7) than the Cowboys scored in your complete 2024 common season (6) and Zeke scored half of these 6.

— KristiCowboySideline (@KristiCowboy) January 27, 2025

At each flip, the remainder of the league is proving with painful obviousness how behind the Cowboys are and the way their ongoing choices aren’t conducive to profitable. They’re both a step behind or too far forward of themselves continuously, one thing additionally highlighted by the best way quarterbacks making performs with their legs this postseason has been a revelation that feels very very like a factor of the previous for Prescott.

Any true Cowboys followers rooting towards Brian Schottenheimer to, at this second early in his first offseason, not defy the percentages and assist this group win video games can hardly name themselves a fan. As unpopular as the choice has been, the Cowboys nonetheless have a core of proficient gamers, lots of which being straightforward personalities to root for, that deserve help of their finest efforts to resolve video games on the sphere no matter how the teaching employees or entrance workplace has ready them. There’s nonetheless a protracted offseason filled with necessary choices to be made although, and every of them gives a chance for the Cowboys to confess that going 7-10 and lacking the playoffs this previous season was a failure they plan to study from. The most well-liked notion for now’s that they’ve already began 0-1 on this column by selecting Brian Schottenheimer to guide the group for probably the rest of the Dak Prescott period.