Should Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer take over play calling from Mike McCarthy?
It's time for the Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy to face facts. The offense is struggling and a lot of it has to do with McCarthy's time management and play calling. Players seemingly are frustrated with the offense and it might be time for McCarthy to hand over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
Schottenheimer's play calling could add a spark to an offense that looks very vanilla and restrictive in order to protect the football.
We heard so much about the Texas Coast offense and thus far it's been very underwhelming. The Cowboys have devolved from a high-powered offense to one that wants to be methodical in moving the football down the field; but that comes with risks and rewards.
While Dallas has a winning record (the rewards) the risk is exactly what we are seeing: an offense that lacks a true identity and one that showed us fool's gold the first two games of the season.
The design of the #Cowboys offense remains too static and bland. Not only do the Cowboys sit below the NFL average in motion/shift %, but they also sit below the NFL average in bunch, empty and 3x1 formations.
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 17, 2023
And that's without even getting into my issues with how DAL uses…
Should Mike McCarthy hand over play calling to Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer?
What happened to the offense we saw against the Giants and Jets that was having players in bunch formations and using pick plays to get players open and shifts to create mismatches at the snap of the ball?
Like PFF's John Owning notes, this offense has become static and bland and that's thanks to McCarthy. Now that he's beaten his former offensive coordinator (Kellen Moore) in a head-to-head play-calling battle, now's the time for him to allow Schottenheimer to call the plays and get this offense humming again.
Of course, there will be folks who scoff at this idea, but it's one they should make in order to help the team and provide a spark. In doing so, McCarthy can focus on game and clock management, which has been suspect this season, to say the last.
People will have concerns that Schottenheimer will run more than pass (fans are already fed up with how committed McCarthy's been to the run), but the offense is still built around Dak Prescott and Schottenheimer won't drastically change the offense.
The entire Cowboys offense is Dak to Ceedee. No running game, have no idea how to use Cooks, Gallup can’t play, tight ends aren’t involved. Just crazy people can watch this and not what to point a finger at McCarthy. It has his name written all over it.
— Connor Livesay (@ConnorNFLDraft) October 17, 2023
This change would be more about situational play calling and getting someone in who could be a more aggressive and imaginative play caller than McCarthy, who seems to be clutching to the dink and dunk philosophy that he used in Green Bay.
Schottenheimer isn't afraid to move the pocket in order to help his offensive line and quarterback. Right now, McCarthy isn't doing that. Schottenheimer will also use more bunch formations, but not to find a player on a short out or slant. Instead, he'll be looking to take deep shots like the Cowboys use to under Kellen Moore.
This move is one that would be good for the entire team and one that can easily be made during their bye week.
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