Jerry Jones has never been quick to move on from his head coaches, especially those whom he has hand-picked. He kept Jason Garrett employed for almost ten seasons before finally facing reality. We're only 25 games into Brian Schottenheimer's tenure, but it already looks like Jones is going to make the same mistake.
After a brutal overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8, Jones refused to consider firing his head coach. When asked about making a change on the coaching staff, Jones simply said, "That's not in my mind at this time."
It should be. We're not calling for Schottenheimer to be fired immediately after this loss by any means, but it has to be clear that he's coaching for his job throughout the rest of the season. Failing to come away with the NFC East in its current state should be unacceptable for a franchise with this level of external expectations.
Cowboys' Jerry Jones is running out of reasons to support Brian Schottenheimer
At least Schottenheimer himself was willing to take accountability. After the game, he told reporters, "It starts with me, and I have to do better."
Schottenheimer believes that he can fix the issues that are holding his team back. He said, "I only know how to do it one way, and that’s to work. I’m a worker, I’m a problem solver.”
Of course, that kind of talk will only go so far. Until he shows results on the field, it will be hard to fault Cowboys fans for being skeptical.
In 25 games, Schottenheimer has still only won back-to-back games once. This season, while the rest of the division suffers quarterback injuries, he has allowed the New York Giants to take a commanding lead.
Against the Cardinals, he made multiple obvious mistakes as a play caller that allowed Arizona to pull off a win that never should have happened. His conservative calls in overtime will get most of the criticism, but he failed to give Dak Prescott easy answers throughout the game.
Beyond the calls, his team's lack of discipline was unacceptable. The Cowboys made simple mistakes, jumping offsides, committing obvious holding penalties, and failing to manage the clock well. While players will be held accountable for their own missteps, the responsibility ultimately falls on the head coach.
Again, we aren't banging the drum for a midseason firing. The division title is still within reach, and the Cowboys' upcoming schedule holds a few favorable games. There's still a chance that Schottenheimer turns things around. If he doesn't, though, Jones can't move this franchise forward under poor leadership in the name of patience.
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