After the 2025 season, a Dallas Cowboys fan would have told you that Jerry Jones had unearthed a gem in Brian Schottenheimer. Now, it seems like the shine only came from the way the light hit.
The allure of Schottenheimer's dynamic offense has worn off this season as the Cowboys have tumbled to 2-4. Instead of rising through the ranks of the NFL, the second-year head coach now finds himself on the hot seat.
For the most part, it's his own fault. In his desperation to fix the floundering Cowboys, Schottenheimer has abandoned the very thing that made his offense effective last season: his running game.
Brian Schottenheimer can't afford to abandon Cowboys' running game
Entering Week 7, Dallas leads the NFL in passing rate at 67.47%. The league median is around ten percentage points lower. Schottenheimer has leaned so heavily on Dak Prescott that his rushing attack has become a non-factor, especially in recent weeks.
In the Cowboys' losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers, they ran the ball 13 and 15 times, respectively.
Since Schottenheimer took over, the Cowboys are 8-4-1 when they run the ball at least 25 times. They're just 1-9 when they run the ball fewer than 25 times. Some of this is obviously dependent on game script; If Dallas is in control of the game, it will run the ball more often. But the ability to control the game by running the ball is clearly missing this year.
The Cowboys' running game was one of the more efficient attacks in the league last season, thanks in large part to offensive coordinator Klayton Adams.
Despite ranking 23rd in run rate, they finished top-10 in rushing yards and yards per carry. Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens were still the focal points of the offense, but Javonte Williams allowed the Cowboys to stay balanced.
That balance is nowhere to be found in 2026.
The Cowboys have still been effective on offense, ranking eighth in both EPA per play and success rate. But without a real threat of running the ball, they have lost any control they previously held in games. They currently rank 30th in time of possession, only ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans, who have a combined record of 3-9.
Brian Schottenheimer's refusal to run the ball is putting his Cowboys job at risk
This isn't winning football, but Schottenheimer himself doesn't seem to recognize the problem. Instead of owning up to his complete abandonment of the running game in the loss to the Packers, he placed the blame on turnovers.
After the game, Schottenheimer told reporters, “I’m gonna start with what I told the guys. The effort is right. The fight is right. But mistakes are killing us. Repeating mistakes is not what we’re about.”
As it turns out, your quarterback is going to turn the ball over a time or two when he has to throw the ball 55 times in a game. Without the support of a rushing attack, no quarterback in the NFL is consistently going to play mistake-free football.
Schottenheimer doesn't deserve all of the blame for the Cowboys' skid. Christian Parker's defense has been horrific, putting the offense in less-than-ideal situations. But the buck stops with the head coach.
If Schottenheimer can't turn this around, he might not get a third season in Dallas.
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