Brian Schottenheimer turned a lot of doubters into believers in his first year as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach. But good ain't good enough around these parts, and the second-year leader has a lot on the line during the 2026 NFL season, as this franchise's ultimate success barometer is rings.
And while Cowboys fans have full faith in Schottenheimer to utilize the team's immense, sometimes overwhelming amount of offensive talent and churn out strong production, it is not as if he was above criticism in his initial go-around. After all, the team went 7-9-1 and missed the postseason.
While many of the defensive issues in Dallas appear to be shored up, or are at least a work in progress with seemingly the right pieces in place, Schottenheimer can't get complacent with his offense. They still need to improve immensely for this team to reach new heights.
And a recent poll of NFL defensive coaches actually indicated that Schottenheimer may not be revered league-wide as the elite play-caller that Cowboys fans see him as. Cleaning up his red-zone woes is the obvious hurdle for him to clear and rise above this disrespect.
Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer middle-of-the-pack in NFL play-caller rankings
The Athletic's Ted Nguyen surveyed eight NFL defensive play-callers and assistant coaches to determine who the best offensive play-callers were in the league. He then compiled the data to form a top 10, and he listed several other coaches in the honorable mention category.
Guess where Schottenheimer ranked?
Surely, he was among the league's best, right? For all of the team's issues on defense, this ranking is about offensive prowess, and the Cowboys were second in total yards, seventh in points scored and top five in pretty much every offensive category that means anything.
Schottenheimer came in as the fourth-listed honorable mention. That's effectively No. 14 in the NFL, which is pretty much saying that, while some hold Schottenheimer in high regard, he is fairly average when compared to the rest of the league. And that's just not the guy that Dallas knows.
Yes, the league is full of hotshot wunderkind offensive minds who get a bit more credit for accomplishing what they have at a younger age, but in no world should Schottenheimer be ranked behind the Detroit Lions' Drew Petzing, who was slotted in just ahead of him.
Most people forget that the Cowboys' offense accomplished what it did last season without a fully healthy CeeDee Lamb, left tackle issues and with no real options to spell Javonte Williams, whom many thought was out of juice when he arrived at The Star.
Being a play-caller in Dallas certainly comes with more notoriety, but being under that microscope means that your flaws are amplified as well. In Schottenheimer's case, perhaps it was the Cowboys' fairly blatant issues in the red zone at times last season that are holding him back in these rankings.
Schottenheimer must clear up Dallas' red zone issues to earn respect around NFL
In 2025, despite scoring more points than all but six NFL teams, the Cowboys finished 16th in red zone scoring offense, scoring a touchdown on just 56.92% of their trips. That was worse than the Tennessee Titans and a staggering 15% worse than the Philadelphia Eagles' league-leading mark.
It seemed like Schottenheimer forgot at times that he could simply pound the football with Williams when the field shrunk and he got too cute at times. If he just ran behind Tyler Smith, Tyler Booker and Cooper Beebe, Dallas' red zone touchdown percentage may have skyrocketed.
Everyone loves a clever play, and it feels good to completely dupe an opposing coach with a wrinkle that hasn't been shown yet, and nobody expects. But sometimes, smashmouth football simply gets the job done. And the job needs to get done for the Cowboys this year.
So, while Schottenheimer should be more heralded in league circles for the job that he's done in Dallas, there's an obvious way for him to elevate his game and not only earn more respect around the NFL, but make the Cowboys better: Keep it simple in the red zone, and punch the ball in.
Easier said than done, I suppose.
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