Brian Schottenheimer’s own words lit the fuse, and Stephen A. Smith wasted no time firing back.
The Cowboys coach drew plenty of attention when he brushed off outside criticism and doubled down on his belief in himself, saying, “No one likes it,” Schottenheimer said. “I block out most of it; some of it gets to me, but at the same time, I've got strong shoulders.
I know what a great coach I am, and I know what this team is capable of. That's what I focus on.
That quote became the target on Friday’s edition of “First Take,” where Smith challenged the idea that Schottenheimer could call himself great while Dallas has stumbled out of the gate. The ESPN commentator pointed directly to the Cowboys’ results and used a pair of blunt hypotheticals to make his point.
“This is the problem,” Smith said. “Let me ask Brian Schottenheimer a rhetorical question.
If your quarterback completed 41% of his passes, would you call him great? If your defense gave up 41 points a game, would you call him great?
“If you were not the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and somebody else was coaching them, and then in two years that they were coaching, one year they didn't make the playoffs, and another year they're underachieving two games under .500 with the most potent offense arguably in the sport … Is that great?”
The numbers behind the frustration are hard to ignore. The Cowboys enter Week 7 at 2-4, well short of the expectations surrounding the team before the season began. Their next test comes Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, a division matchup that arrives with the Eagles dealing with their own set of setbacks.
Despite the criticism aimed at Schottenheimer, Jerry Jones stepped in on Friday with public support for his coach. Speaking on 105.3 The Fan, Jones praised Schottenheimer’s ability to evaluate himself and manage the job.
“Brian has really shown the ability to self-assess,” Jones said. “Look in the mirror, I call it, but self-assess.
In his case, his self is our offense, our team. He's good at it.
He's been around [it] all of his life.
“I feel good about our future with him. He's got outstanding offensive experience because of the way he grew up with his father, the great Marty Schottenheimer. He can handle this, and it's not just because of his bloodlines either.”
For now, Jones is standing by his coach. Whether that support lasts depends on what happens next, because Dallas has looked far from dominant this season even with one of the league’s best offenses on paper.
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George Pickens Put On Notice Before Cowboys Eagles Showdown
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Pickens heads into the upcoming matchup with Philadelphia having already built a solid start to his Dallas tenure, with 33 catches, 428 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles game gives him another chance to show he can be a complete piece of the offense, not just a downfield threat, and for a Cowboys unit looking for every edge in the run game, that part of his assignment is suddenly front and center. [Read more 🡒]
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Jones said the discussion has focused on structure, schemes and play-calling rather than questions of effort or roster depth, which makes the temperature around the team feel a little different heading into a divisional spotlight game. For a coaching staff still trying to define its footing, that kind of feedback from the top is its own signal, and it leaves Dallas with plenty to prove against Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Faces A Cowboys Decision Fans Can't Ignore
The Cowboys are still sitting at 2-4, but the bigger picture in Dallas has not really changed: this team remains in the NFC East race and still has a path to the division if it can stabilize its offense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has already signaled that the club could act as a trade deadline buyer, which says plenty about how the front office views the gap between where the Cowboys are and where they expect to be by seasons end.
What makes the decision so tricky is that the offense has struggled even with healthy talent in place, leaving Dak Prescott and the passing game to shoulder far too much of the load. Dallas has leaned heavily on the air attack while the run game has not provided the kind of balance the staff wants, and that leaves Jerry Jones weighing whether a move is needed to help fix a problem that has been there since the early part of the season. [Read more 🡒]