ClutchPoints
For the Dallas Cowboys, George Pickens is all over the news. And it leaves the team with a burning question to answer. Also, head coach Brian Schottenheimer faces shocking boom-or-bust Year 2 outcomes.
In many ways, Schottenheimer’s rookie season as head coach landed in the middle ground. The team looked awesome on offense and terrible on defense. And it resulted in a 7-9-1. Just plain old vanilla.
But 2026 looks different. The Cowboys have astronomical hopes. But there’s also a scenario where they finish with more losses than wins. And the latter would likely cost Schottenheimer his job.
To resolve that question forthright, the answer is no. In fact, if Schottenheimer gets the Cowboys into the playoffs, he should earn a Year 3 shot.
But the expectations are enormous. With potentially the NFL’s best offense, the Cowboys could make playoff thunder if their defense gets even to the fringe of a top-10 unit.
However, that very pressure can work against Schottenheimer. The Cowboys’ organization seems to implode whenever the team gets off track. For example, if they started 4-0, everybody would be screaming “Super Bowl, here we come!” But if they followed with back-to-back losses, the doom and gloom voices would likely emerge as dominant.
Another part of the bust potential is that Schottenheimer hasn’t proven himself. So when the rough patches come, and they likely will at some point, Schottenheimer has to find a way to get a win here or there when the injuries have piled up.
For his part, Schottenheimer said he knows 7-9-1 won’t be good enough in 2026, according to ESPN.
“I mean, it’s obviously going to start with more wins,” Schottenheimer said. “Getting the culture to continue to grow. Like I said, I think one of the deals this year [is] the culture has been really fun to create because you’ve got a lot of new faces. We certainly weren’t expecting as many changes on the defensive staff that we ended up making, but excited about the culture.
“But at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to wins and losses. I feel much more comfortable in Year 2. I think I’ve got my hands around more of the things that I want to. And I’ve also been able to really do an after-action report on myself and making little tweaks throughout. Just much more comfortable.”
Frankly, it looks like an appearance in the NFC Championship game. The Cowboys certainly have the talent to be in that conversation. If young defensive players like Donovan Ezeiruaku, Caleb Downs, and Malachi Lawrence hit the ground running, the Cowboys’ defense could be good.
And if they’re good on that side of the ball, Schottenheimer loses any excuses.
One good thing for Schottenheimer is that he currently seems to have the right kind of attention from the players.
“He feels more dangerous,” tight...
