The Dallas Cowboys were raked over the coals when they hired Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach. While it's only been 12 games, it's become increasingly clear that Schottenheimer is an upgrade over Mike McCarthy.
Schottenheimer doesn't have the win-loss record to back up that statement. However, the culture is vastly different from that of McCarthy. Schottenheimer has also modernized the offense, and players feed off his emotion and energy. Go look at how the locker room celebrates wins under Schottenheimer compared to the previous regime. It's a night-and-day difference.
On the latest episode of his podcast, ESPN's Adam Schefter took time out to give Schottenheimer his flowers.
"By the way, we're talking about (Bears head coach) Ben Johnson and the job he's done. How about Brian Schottenheimer, who literally was out there in the coaching cycle the last 15 years?" Schefter said. "... People thought that it was like a fallback selection, somebody that they didn't want. Cowboys fans, let me call them out right now. I heard from a number of them. They were not happy with the selection. How do you feel about Brian Schottenheimer now?"
Adam Schefter gives Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer his flowers
Ben Johnson is getting serious Coach of the Year buzz for the job he's done in Chicago. The Bears have the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 9-3 record. They have some tough games coming up, so that could change, but it's impossible to deny that Johnson has done a tremendous job.
Schottenheimer, though, deserves some praise, too. With all due respect to Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys probably would've gone 0-2 against the Eagles and Chiefs under him. Those just aren't games Cowboys fans are used to winning.
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The second Dallas went down 21-0 against the Eagles, you could have written it down in pen as a loss. And the Cowboys absolutely would've folded after Kansas City stormed back in the fourth quarter.
At the very least, McCarthy would've played conservative instead of taking the fight to the Chiefs after Dallas got the ball back with 9:27 left in the game while nursing a 28-21 lead.
On the very first play, Schottenheimer dialed up play-action (!), and Dak Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb up the right sideline for a 51-yard gain. The Cowboys were backed up at their own 10-yard line. Calling play-action was a gamble from Schottenheimer, as a sack could have turned into a safety. That aggression is just one of the things Dallas didn't have under McCarthy.
Johnson and Mike Vrabel look like home run hires from the 2025 coaching cycle, but Schottenheimer isn't far behind. If the Cowboys win out or finish 10-6-1 and miss the playoffs, he would be deserving of Coach of the Year votes. Full stop.