The Dallas Cowboys' current record is not a reflection of the job Brian Schottenheimer has done in his first year as an NFL head coach.
No, Schottenheimer hasn't been perfect, but his game management has been spot on, and his play-calling has been a godsend relative to the Mike McCarthy era. He is a huge reason why the Cowboys' offense remained prolific during CeeDee Lamb's three-game absence.
The early returns on Schottenheimer are extremely positive. That can't be said for other candidates Dallas interviewed, including former Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll, whose ugly start with the Las Vegas Raiders culminated in Sunday's 31-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cowboys dodged a nightmare by not hiring Pete Carroll to be their head coach
Carroll entered the Cowboys' coaching sweepstakes late in the process. He never formally interviewed for the job, but he and Jerry Jones reportedly had informal conversations about the vacancy, with Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting that Dallas expressed a level of interest in hiring Carroll.
The rumors lasted no more than 24 hours before the Raiders zeroed in on Carroll for their own vacancy and signed him to a three-year contract.
Widely expected to be a frisky team in a wide-open AFC this season, the Raiders currently sit a 2-5 with a -96 point differential. That is comfortably the worst point differential of any team. Carroll pushed Las Vegas' front office to trade for Geno Smith, his former quarterback in Seattle, and he's been a disaster, leading all of football with 10 interceptions while ranking 31st in passer rating and 28th in QBR.
Carroll went to two Super Bowls with the Seahawks and won over 60 percent of his games in 14 years at the helm with a 227-137-1 overall record. He has a lot of respect around the league, and his experience was viewed as a potential upgrade over Schottenheimer, who delivered uninspiring results as a play-caller before this season.
Beyond Smith's awful play, the Raiders just look like a lifeless team. Raiders fans are calling him a worse head coach than Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce, who went 9-16 and 9-17, respectively, before they were fired. It makes little sense to fire Carroll mid-season, but Cowboys fans should be thanking their lucky stars that Jerry Jones didn't let his relationship with Carroll influence his final decision.
Disaster avoided.