Ken Dorsey’s position with Cowboys could also be extra essential than meets the attention

The Dallas Cowboys may have a brand new teaching workers in 2025, led by first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The previous offensive coordinator’s workers is now full, giving Dallas a transparent route heading into key participant acquisition phases just like the NFL draft and free company. These teaching adjustments have been the response to Dallas dropping from a constant 12-win group to 7-10 and out of the playoffs in 2024.

As optimistic as some Cowboys followers have been about totally different hires like Klayton Adams as OC, Matt Eberflus as DC, and even Conor Riley and Aaron Whitecotton as OL and DL coaches respectively, this can be a fanbase that ought to perceive that gamers and on-field expertise win video games greater than something. Two former Cowboys coaches squared off within the NFC Championship Recreation in Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore, doing so with divisional groups that drastically surpassed the Cowboys in expertise this 12 months. The Eagles gained and went on to win the Tremendous Bowl in dominant trend earlier than Moore accepted his personal first head teaching gig with the New Orleans Saints. Gamers matter.

With none indication but that the Cowboys plan on backing up their willingness to shake up the teaching workers with the identical depth in direction of the roster, these teaching strikes will nonetheless function the catalyst for discussing how this group might look totally different underneath Schottenheimer. One coach to strongly take note right here, though he gained’t function a coordinator or play-caller, is move sport specialist Ken Dorsey.

Dorsey’s 12 years of NFL expertise is the second most of any of the brand new offensive hires, solely behind tight ends coach Lunda Wells who was retained from Mike McCarthy’s workers and has been teaching in Dallas since 2020. On the time of his rent, the Cowboys had a emptiness at quarterback coach, which appeared like a pure match for Dorsey.

The previous 49ers and Browns quarterback acquired his begin in NFL teaching because the Carolina Panthers QB coach from 2013-17, after which held the identical position for the Buffalo Payments from 2019-21 earlier than being promoted to offensive coordinator. Most just lately, Dorsey served as offensive coordinator for the Browns in 2024.

Shortly after hiring Dorsey, the Cowboys determined to maintain their QB coach rent nearer to the vest and promoted in-house assistant Steve Shimko. Dallas favors familiarity and a good circle round Dak Prescott within the QB room, however Dorsey has been a really well-known title within the teaching circle for some time now and figures to play into the teaching of the Cowboys quarterbacks in Schottenheimer’s scheme in addition to the offense as a complete.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Photographs

Let’s simply get this out of the best way. There may be nothing anybody can do concerning the truth a big proportion of Cowboys followers won’t give this group any probability on Sundays going ahead due to the Schottenheimer rent alone. It doesn’t matter what they do beneath the first-time head coach however lifelong assistant, this rent is understandably nonetheless a wierd one and didn’t precisely rally the fanbase that issues are going to get a lot better anytime quickly. Placing that apart to take a more in-depth take a look at who Schottenheimer will really be working with on a workers he shortly and impressively pulled collectively, the Ken Dorsey rent needs to be close to the highest of the record of ones Schotty must get proper.

With no ton of related expertise in the case of what certified Schottenheimer to be the subsequent head coach of the Cowboys, the three years he was on workers beforehand might be checked out even nearer underneath the microscope. Schottenheimer was a non-play calling offensive coordinator the previous two seasons underneath Mike McCarthy. It is a distinctive position in at the moment’s sport, and Schottenheimer needed to rent for a similar position straight away as he’ll now function play-caller transferring ahead. The early opinions on Klayton Adams as OC level to Schottenheimer hitting a house run right here, significantly in the case of Dallas backing their speak of eager to be robust and athletic within the trenches with an environment friendly run sport.

In his one 12 months previous to being the Cowboys OC although, Schottenheimer was merely an assistant coach like Dorsey is now. If there’s a spot on Schottenheimer’s teaching workers that the majority intently resembles the place he began in to ultimately rise to go coach, it might be move sport specialist with Dorsey. Dorsey additionally served as a non-play calling OC in Cleveland final season, as HC Kevin Stefanski referred to as the offense.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Photographs

The Cowboys have a younger workers in place round Schottenheimer, which ought to assist create a tradition of competitiveness in alternative of a number of the complacency that’s plagued this group for too lengthy. The proof will likely be proper in entrance of those coaches day by day that good work even behind the scenes at The Star might be rewarding, with Schottenheimer now within the large chair for the primary time after beginning as a NFL coach in 1997. There’s an argument to be made that no coach will chase this worm on the tip of the road greater than Dorsey, who interviewed final offseason for the Panthers head coach opening.

Dorsey is a well-respected coach that’s labored with the likes of Sean McDermott and Kevin Stefanski, in addition to Joe Brady who was the Payments QB coach after Dorsey grew to become OC. It is a coach Schottenheimer might lean on greater than his title alone would counsel, and his monitor document of getting persistently good quarterback play in schemes much like what Schottenheimer is wanting additionally counsel that might be a great factor.

A lot of the Cowboys plans in direction of turning their fortunes round and contending inside their very own division once more hinge on the well being and play of Dak Prescott. He would be the straw that stirs this drink greater than any coach probably can, however surrounding him with coaches that may take a contemporary take a look at his ability set following the catastrophe that was the ultimate season of McCarthy’s scheme is an effective change till confirmed in any other case.

What the Cowboys had been doing on offense with Prescott a 12 months in the past, even in a really restricted pattern dimension, was merely not working. The actual fact they had been keen to confess that and revamp practically all the offensive teaching workers beginning with a brand new play-calling head coach could also be seen as a child step, however is also step one in direction of remembering Prescott performed at a MVP degree only one season prior in 2023.

BTB’s resident teaching skilled David Howman additionally sees how Dorsey might play an enormous position right here:

The Cowboys employed Klayton Adams as offensive coordinator, whose expertise in various run schemes hails from Stefanski and the Browns. They added Conor Riley as offensive line coach, whose prolonged expertise in faculty soccer brings contemporary views on blocking schemes. And so they additionally welcomed Junior Adams as huge receivers coach, who’s been round a number of the brightest offensive minds in faculty soccer over the previous decade.

Dorsey is actually the NFL equal of all of that. The Panthers had been a run-heavy group when he was there, mixing in a number of inventive quarterback run ideas to reap the benefits of Newton’s distinctive abilities. Dorsey sprinkled a few of that into the Payments offense, given Allen’s related profile, however Dorsey additionally made in depth use of RPO’s to unlock Allen as effectively.

Within the two seasons Dorsey referred to as the performs in Buffalo, the Payments had been prime 5 in RPO utilization, and so they led the league in yards off RPO performs in 2023. By comparability, the Cowboys had been outdoors the High 14 in every of the final two years in each utilization and yards.

Maybe most significantly, although, is Dorsey’s monitor document with quarterback improvement. Newton gained an MVP underneath his watch, and Allen grew to become a famous person underneath him as effectively.

Prescott’s success in 2025 and past will in the end come all the way down to the help the Cowboys entrance workplace offers him on the sphere, not simply having an assistant coach that labored intently with prime Cam Newton and present MVP Josh Allen. With Schottenheimer’s workers totally in place effectively earlier than the draft although, this group has each cause to assume they’ll get again to being a powerful drafting group and soar begin this “rebuild” with the gamers these new coaches need. Actually each single place round Prescott at QB might be seen as a necessity on offense, giving the Cowboys loads of instructions they’ll go in the event that they’re seeking to merely take the perfect total participant on this facet of the ball at twelfth total.

As issues like this draft course of and free company ramp up and the Cowboys teaching hires are much less within the highlight, don’t neglect about Ken Dorsey being on workers going into 12 months one of many Schottenheimer period.