Monday morning, Brian Schottenheimer will be introduced as the 10th head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Within a week, two prospect showcases will take place, with the Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, and the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday.
The NFL calendar is relentless and Schottenheimer has no time to waste. Here’s a five-item checklist the new Cowboys coach needs get a move on as soon possible.
1. Build the coaching staff
This is Schottenheimer’s most important thing. He is a first-time NFL head coach and hasn’t had to deal with most that comes in that role in his two-plus decades as an assistant coach and coordinator. Even more comes with the role when you’re the head coach of the Cowboys. All of that will be much easier to navigate if there’s a quality staff in place.
Mike McCarthy is one of Schottenheimer’s mentors and his approach to a coaching staff structure is a good place to start. McCarthy was more offensively-inclined, so he always made sure the defensive coordinator was experienced, preferably someone who had been a head coach. Matt Eberflus is a frontrunner for that role and would check those boxes.
John Fassel left to become special teams coordinator in Tennessee, creating another vacant key position. Plus, there are multiple position coaches on offense and defense. Schottenheimer needs to ensure that those hires match up with his vision and message.
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2. Figure out how the offense will be run
This goes with the building the coaching staff, but it’s one of the main questions entering Monday’s news conference. Schottenheimer, 51, has an offensive background and has been an offensive coordinator in five places, including one year in college (Georgia). He hasn’t always been the offensive coordinator and play caller. McCarthy called plays the past two years.
How does Schottenheimer approach the role? His fingerprints will certainly be on the offense. Does he want to hire an offensive coordinator but still call his own plays? Or does he want to implement his philosophy on a larger scale and hand over offensive control — from scheme to play calling — to somebody else?
Schottenheimer also needs to identify what the offense’s identity. His first year as coordinator in Dallas, Dak Prescott was the NFL’s MVP runner-up and CeeDee Lamb had a career year. However, last year showed how much things can falter without a reliable running game. Schottenheimer has presided over offenses that made running the ball a priority.
Figuring out what he wants to do on offense, and how he wants to execute it, is crucial.
The Cowboys were 3-5 in Dak Prescott’s eight starts last season before his season-ending injury. (Dale Zanine / Imagn Images)
3. Hash out personnel preferences with front office
Schottenheimer needs to identify the roster’s most glaring holes. Obviously, there are players locked into roles due to contract status and the fact remains that Dallas’ front office doesn’t seem too intent on changing its lackadaisical approach to free agency. Still, the front office does take the coach’s opinion into serious consideration when adding players through free agency or the draft. It’s important for Schottenheimer to ensure that the communication is on point as the calendar enters the player evaluation phase — from draft prospects or veterans who could be options when free agency begins in less than two months.
4. Escalate the relationship with Prescott
Prescott is a fan of Schottenheimer and the hiring has the quarterback’s vote of confidence. But the relationship is going to change this year as Schottenheimer shifts from offensive coordinator to head coach. When it came to forging a deeper relationship, Prescott naturally did that with McCarthy more so than with Schottenheimer given that McCarthy was the play caller.
Prescott and McCarthy met every week on Thursdays to go over the plays the QB liked best. The two would talk ball but also connect on a personal level. That now falls on Schottenheimer’s plate.
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5. Tune out the noise
Schottenheimer has been in Dallas for the past three years — two 12-5 seasons and this past 7-10 one — in which he and many other Dallas coaches, were on contract years. Schottenheimer has heard the high praises and the tough questions. He’s stood at the podium at The Star and fielded questions that stemmed from what Jerry Jones revealed on the radio that morning. Schottenheimer understands this environment.
As the head coach, the noise rises many levels. The court of public opinion has not been kind since Schottenheimer became a serious candidate last week and landed the job Friday. Even though most of that ire is directed at Jerry Jones and the front office, Schottenheimer has caught many strays and that likely will continue. Just because Schottenheimer deserves a chance to prove his worth as head coach doesn’t mean the public will afford it to him, however unfair that may be.
Schottenheimer needs to ensure that his confidence and energy remain at high levels. That’s been one of his best qualities as a coordinator but the noise wasn’t anywhere near as loud around him. Learning to shield it all, especially in Dallas, is a process. He has the demeanor and background to do it. His father, Marty Schottenheimer, was an NFL head coach for 21 seasons. Brian understands the nature of the business. Dallas can be a different beast but with the proper efforts, it can be managed.
(Top photo of Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer: Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)
