The Dallas Cowboys are searching for answers after starting the 2026 NFL regular season at 2-4 on the year. The team’s head coach, though, is unlikely to be what the team needs moving forward.
Brian Schottenheimer seems like a good dude. He’s been around football his entire life. His dad, Marty Schottenheimer, was a longtime head coach.
But Schottenheimer is not the guy to lead this Cowboys team, now or in the future. His hiring was uninspiring from the start. Say what you want about Mike McCarthy – the team’s previous head coach – but he at least has a strong resume, winning a Super Bowl and coaching several contending Packers teams.
Schottenheimer, 53, has been coaching in the NFL or college football since 1997. His longest coaching stint came in New York, where he was the Jets offensive coordinator from 2006 until 2011.
Former Jets star Braylon Edwards was among those calling out Schottenheimer on Monday.
“Watching the @dallascowboys struggle two weeks in a row reminded me of why we as a Jets offense were terrible in back to back afc championship games in ’09’ and ’10’….mid OC by the name of Brian Schottenheimer,” he shared.
One longtime Jets fan responded: “I was just saying how shocked I was that Brian Schottenheimer has one of the most coveted coaching jobs in the NFL in the year 2026.”
The reason, of course, is that Jerry Jones seems unwilling to hire anyone who could take the spotlight away from himself. Since handing over the keys to Bill Parcells in the early 2000s, Jones has gone with a stable of head coaches that, ultimately, feel like guys who won’t push back on whatever Jones wants to do.
That is going to have to change, eventually, if the Cowboys are going to build a consistent winner – and Super Bowl contender – around Dak Prescott.
But right now, the Cowboys are closer to a full rebuild than they are a contending team.
