Mike McCarthy was a Super Bowl-winning head coach who led the Dallas Cowboys to 49 wins in five seasons, giving him a career win rate of almost 61%. He's about as established as it gets when it comes to NFL head coaches.
When the Cowboys moved on from McCarthy and promoted Brian Schottenheimer to take his place, the NFL world criticized the franchise, calling the process a "disaster" and saying that the organization "doesn't want a ring."
Schottenheimer responded by fielding the second-best offense in the league. Heading into his second season, he has the Cowboys ready to jump into contender status. His biggest strength is exactly what separates him from McCarthy: He's willing to innovate when it comes to hiring his staff. That small detail is exactly what has positioned Dallas to be competitive in 2026.
Brian Schottenheimer's Cowboys staff highlights his biggest strength
Schottenheimer is an effective play caller, but the broad strokes of his scheme don't diverge significantly from what McCarthy ran. The differences come in the details — details often determined by his assistants.
For example, Schottenheimer hired Klayton Adams as his offensive coordinator. Adams had never been an offensive coordinator before, but his work as the Arizona Cardinals' offensive line coach indicated that he was ready to take the next step in his career.
After hiring Adams, the Cowboys jumped from 100 rushing yards per game in 2024 to 125 in 2025. Adams filled the gaps in Schottenheimer's scheme, helping create an elite offense.
Schottenheimer is also willing to pivot when something isn't working. After Dallas fielded a disastrous defense in 2025, he moved on from defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, hiring former Eagles assistant Christian Parker to replace him.
In this situation, McCarthy may have opted for a more established assistant, one who had called plays before. All three of the defensive coordinators he hired had previous experience in the role. But Schottenheimer was willing to bet on an unproven coach, and the hire has significantly raised expectations for his defense.
We can't call the Parker hire a success before the season starts, but early returns have been encouraging.
Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic listed both Adams and Parker as breakout candidates for the upcoming season, saying that they "combine to make as exciting a coordinator tandem as we’ll see in 2026."
That excitement comes from Schottenheimer's ability to assess the needs of his team and address them with hires that deviate from the franchise's typical choices.
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