Bloody Monday not likely, but Cowboys offense stems from QB not HC

6 days ago 2

The decision to promote then offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the position of head coach was met with a loud cry of disgust from much of the Dallas Cowboys' fan base and laughter from many in the media. Each year is different, but this past offseason the coaching candidates felt to be an intriguing group.

With Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel headlining every front office's list as can't-miss hires, their names were hot and heavy amongst the media for the litany of 2025 openings. But Dallas owner Jerry Jones notoriously walks a unique path when it comes to his hiring practices, and either they wouldn't return his call or he wouldn't call them as potential replacements for Mike McCarthy. But Jones didn't only not speak to those candidates, he also didn't have Liam Coen on his radar either.

How First-Year HCs performed in 2025

Ben Johnson took the lowly Chicago Bears to 11 wins and an NFC North championship. Liam Coen took the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars and potential bust QB Trevor Lawrence to 13 wins and an AFC South championship. Mike Vrabel took the lowly New England Patriots to 14 wins and an AFC East championship.

Heck, even Kellen Moore got the moribund Saints with a horrible QB situation one more win by securing victories in four of their final five games, as they appear to have found a franchise signal caller. Tyler Shough had a better winning percentage than Dak Prescott.

Schottenheimer took a Cowboys team that ended up with the easiest Strength of Schedule of all NFC clubs and finished two games under .500. Dallas' seven victories came against horrible opponents, as their Strength of Victory (winning percentage of teams they beat) was also an NFC worst.

The only 2025 hires Schottenheimer outperformed were Pete Carroll (Raiders) and Aaron Glenn (Jets); two of the Cowboys' seven wins. And while it's easy to place the blame on the ridiculous defense and special teams units the Cowboys trotted out weekly, Schottenheimer likely is receiving far more credit for the offensive excellence than he should.

Jones allowed Schottenheimer's exit interview to convince him that he had found the needle in a haystack. The offensive-minded lifelong assistant who no other organization had showed any inkling of consideration for years on years, was the perfect hire for Jones.

Hiring someone who probably thought their chance at the big chair had passed them by, allows Jones to continue to keep his thumb on the scale for organizational direction. Things such as, hiring a defensive coordinator, for instance. Would a candidate in high demand across the league stand for having his top general on the opposite side of the ball decided for him? Not likely. But a guy feeling like this is his last chance just might.

Hiring the right head coach is a difficult thing to do, and several organizations botch it, while orgs such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles seem to do a better job than others. If, as many have alluded to, Jones forced Matt Eberflus on Schottenheimer, that's bad enough. But it's quite difficult to say the hiring of Schottenheimer wasn't a crucial misstep as well.

One year is a small sample size when trying to rebuild a culture from (checks notes) a coach who won 12 games three years in a row before a lame-duck season with a broken QB.

Credit for what did work in 2025 should go to Dak Prescott

Prescott is elite. Every time he plays a full season, the Dallas offense is incredible. That's under Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy or now Schottenheimer.

From our Cowboys 2025 Preview article, "Fairly Odd Appearance":

Can the Cowboys count on Dak Presott? That's the biggest question floating around the Dallas franchise at the moment. The injuries are a concern, as he's missed 26 games in the last five seasons, including the final nine of 2024. But if he's able to play the majority of the year, the trend says that Prescott is going to have a phenomenal 2025 campaign.

Those are Prescott's volume stats from his last three odd-year seasons. No one is saying that the odd number at the end of the calendar is magic, but it is a note that after attaining superstar status in 2019, Prescott's been able to bounce back each time he's had a down season.

Prescott's 2025 stat line? 4,482 passing yards, 30 TDs, 10 INTs. Right in line with what he does every season he plays a full slate. Yes, Schottenheimer's staff deserves credit for the run game improvement, but Prescott is the decisive reason for the Dallas offense to look as it does.

How much benefit of the doubt does Schottenheimer actually deserve? The Cowboys went 7-10 with a lame-duck McCarthy, a really bad defense and just eight games of Prescott in 2024. The 2025 Cowboys went 7-9-1 with a horrific defense and the "A game" version of a Prescott campaign.

This isn't advocating for Schottenheimer to be ousted as part of Blood Monday, but hopefully a sobering view that the credit for what did go right with the disappointing Cowboys season needs to be directed towards the player under center, not the coach with the play sheet.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Schottenheimer behind other 1st-year coaches, Prescott boosts his HC

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