Blogging The Boys
Here is what the Cowboys need to do to help Schotty and Dak.
At the behest of many surrounding the Dallas Cowboys, the team hired their offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, as their next head coach. Dallas didn’t cast a wide net with their search, and although they were linked to some high-profile names like Deion Sanders, but those talks weren’t as serious as the ones they had with Schottenheimer, who ultimately got the job.
In the press conference introducing him as head coach, the Cowboys also clarified why they felt Schottenheimer was the right person for the job, prizing some continuity in working with Dak Prescott. The relationship with Prescott is at the core of the decision. In the last few days, multiple reports have stated how good of a relationship Prescott has with his new coach, and some could interpret the hire as a pacification of Prescott, who looks to return from a season-ending hamstring injury last season.
When you examine the hire further, the Cowboys are comfortable with tasking Schottenheimer as the leader of their team and extracting the best from Prescott, which is good. Yet, regardless of whatever words the front office uses to sell the hire as some groundbreaking decision, all of this feels feels like dejá vu. On the other hand, suppose the Cowboys front office has seen enough from Schottenheimer to authentically believe he is the caliber of all the other coaches they passed on to hire him.
Let’s assume the 2023 All-Pro version of Prescott is something Jerry and Stephen Jones believe Schottenheimer can coax out of Prescott more consistently. If so, then there’s hope for this hire. However, unless the Joneses do things differently to support their quarterback and first-time head coach, this will blow up in their face. Here’s what needs to change to ensure Prescott and Schottenheimer succeed going into next season.
For starters, Dallas needs to take free agency seriously. This has been a hot-button issue for what feels like the last ten years, and annually, we remember that the last free agent the team spent a sizable contract on was Brandon Carr in 2012. You cannot expect to compete with the elites in the NFL without supplying your team with the best available talent on the market.
In the press conference, Stephen Jones was asked if he had noticed the approach of the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency and how they parlayed that into a Super Bowl appearance. He did acknowledge it but also backslid the Kansas City Chiefs into the conversation to compliment them on how they built through the draft, as if to liken his team to a team on the verge of a three-peat and defend his way of doing business. That’s not acceptable. Dallas has to provide Schottenheimer with more so that he can find early success instead of throwing spare parts at a restoration project the Cowboys’ stingy ways have created. The aversion to paying top-dollar to address holes on the roster has...
