Blogging The Boys
The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing, and for the Dallas Cowboys that means an ongoing search for their newest defensive coordinator. Other teams within the NFC East are actively looking for new coordinators as well, but only the New York Giants were in on the head coaching hiring cycle, landing what many considered the biggest fish on the market in John Harbaugh.
It had been known for some time, prior to the end of the regular season even, that the Giants would be searching for a new coach, having put the interim tag on Mike Kafka once moving on from Brian Daboll. The Washington Commanders also moved on from offensive coordinator and play-caller Kliff Kingsbury, and most recently the Philadelphia Eagles parted ways with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo following their home playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
This means something very important for the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott, and second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Prescott and Schotty will be the only quarterback and play-caller battery in the division with continuity from the previous season in 2026. They will do so after going 4-2 against the NFC East in 2025, with a gritty four-point loss on the season’s opening night at the Eagles and Week 18 loss at the Giants where Prescott did not play the second half – and New York cost themselves the number one overall pick by winning.
The Cowboys overall finishing record of 7-9-1 in year one under Schottenheimer was still a disappointment, but when compared to preseason expectations and now adding the fact they’ll have the benefit of continuity, there is room to look on the bright side. When the Commanders and Eagles went to the NFC Championship game in 2024, both with former Cowboys coaches in prominent roles and Washington with a star rookie quarterback, the consensus popular opinion around the league was that the Cowboys would be behind both teams for the foreseeable future.
Just one season later, the Cowboys swept the Commanders and saw the Eagles regress so far from their championship season that Jalen Hurts will have his 10th offensive coordinator in 11 seasons including his college career, and A.J. Brown’s status moving forward as their WR1 is in serious question. The Cowboys have every reason to think they’ll be right back in the mix in 2026, for familiar reasons.
The narrative that the Cowboys best path to winning is with Prescott being the best QB on the field is a bit of a tired one, and understandably so, but that doesn’t mean it can be totally forgotten either. It feels tired at this particular junction in the early arrival of another Cowboys offseason because it hasn’t played itself out in the ways the Cowboys have hoped for since signing Prescott to his massive extension, with 2024 being an injury year and Prescott playing with a defense that allowed over 500 points for the first time in franchise history this past season.
If for no other reason though, this...
