Brian Schottenheimer’s run in Dallas has been defined by one ugly number after another, and the clearest one might be this: through 22 games with Dak Prescott healthy, the Cowboys are 9-12-1.
That works out to a 39% win rate, a staggering drop from what Dallas had gotten used to under Prescott. With Jason Garrett, Prescott went 40-24 and the Cowboys won 62.5% of their games.
Under Mike McCarthy, Dallas went 36-22 when Prescott was healthy. Schottenheimer, by contrast, has been the least successful coach of Prescott’s era.
The strange part is that this wasn’t supposed to be how it went. When Jerry Jones hired Schottenheimer ahead of the 2025 season, plenty of fans were skeptical.
But that changed for some once they heard him speak. Schottenheimer had a way of saying the right things, and he talked about building “the greatest culture in professional sports.”
Five weeks into his second season, though, the talk has not translated into results.
Dallas has had enough offense to believe this could work, at least in stretches, because Schottenheimer did inherit a setup that looked ready to carry over from the McCarthy years. He had spent three seasons on McCarthy’s staff, including two as offensive coordinator, and his connection with Prescott was part of the appeal. The expectation was that the Cowboys could keep rolling with much of the same offensive rhythm.
Instead, the offense has too often started slow and let games slip out of control. That showed up in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, and it was there again in the Week 1 loss to the New York Giants, when Dallas allowed the opponent to set the tone.
The defense has taken plenty of heat, and rightly so. It has been bad.
But that doesn’t explain everything, because Garrett and McCarthy both found ways to survive defensive issues when Prescott was playing. Schottenheimer hasn’t been able to do that.
The numbers get even harsher in games where the offense hasn’t reached 30 points. Schottenheimer is 1-10 in those situations, a record that underscores how little margin the Cowboys have had under him when the defense is struggling.
For all the confidence he brought in, Schottenheimer’s tenure has turned into a case study in how quickly a promising pitch can unravel once the games start counting.
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Stephen A. Smith added another layer to the scrutiny on ESPNs First Take, saying Brock Purdy has been better than Prescott because of his success in the biggest moments and Prescotts limited playoff track record. For the Cowboys, it is the kind of comparison that tends to linger when the results are coming up short, and every rough outcome only makes the discussion around Prescott harder to quiet. [Read more 🡒]