Brian Schottenheimer taking hands-on role with Cowboys defense as 'heightened urgency' sets in

FRISCO, Texas -- First-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer spent 25 seasons grinding as an NFL assistant coach before the Dallas Cowboys gave him a shot to be the boss in 2025.

That's one of the reasons why he's about had it with his Cowboys off to a 3-4-1 start thanks to Jekyll and Hyde play on both sides of the football: Dallas' offense is averaging the league's second-most points per game (30.8 points per game) while Dallas' defense is allowing the second-most points per game (31.3 points per game). That makes his Cowboys just the fourth team in NFL history to average 30 or more points per game on offense and allow 30 or more points per game on defense through the first eight games of a season. None of the previous three teams to do that won a playoff game. In fact, no team has ever reached the playoffs, allowing 30 or more points per game.

Schottenheimer is the team's offensive play caller, so his side of the ball is more than doing its part. Quarterback Dak Prescott ranks third in the league in passing yards (2,069) and is tied for third in the NFL in passing touchdowns (16). Running back Javonte Williams ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (633) and third in rushing touchdowns (eight). Wide receiver George Pickens ranks third in the NFL in receiving yards (685), and both he and tight end Jake Ferguson are tied for third in the NFL in receiving touchdowns (six). 

It's been difficult for Schottenheimer to watch the side of the ball he isn't directly involved in floundering to this degree, which puts a tight lid on what Dallas can accomplish this year. He let that frustration out Wednesday afternoon before the team's practice following the Cowboys' largest loss of the season in Week 8, a 20-point beatdown, 44-24, at the Denver Broncos. 

"You can take stats on offense and shove them up your ass as far as I'm concerned. It is what it is. We want to win," Schottenheimer said. 

"People talk about, 'Hey, MVP and this and that.' Dak Prescott doesn't want to win MVP. He wants to win a Super Bowl and that's what we want to win. We're not there yet. We've not played consistently well enough to certainly be in that discussion but it doesn't mean the journey stops. ... You get more intentional, and you got to do it together."

Offense vs. defense

That's why Schottenheimer has increased his attendance at defensive meetings over the last few weeks, despite being the Cowboys' offensive playcaller. He's trying to do everything he can to help defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and his defensive staff, after the Cowboys have struggled to get comfortable in his zone coverage-based scheme (80.1% zone coverage rate, the seventh-highest in the NFL this season). Dallas has surrendered 66 explosive plays -- runs of 12 or more yards or completions of 16 or more yards -- this season, which ranks as the second-most in the NFL, just one behind the New York Giants' league-leading 67 explosive plays allowed. 

This week, Schottenheimer spent a noticeable amount of time in the linebacker position room. He said he hopes his defense can have a tighter focus to play cleaner football when getting into position with their run fits. 

"It's to offer my expertise on what I see and how I would attack them and things like that," Schottenheimer said. 

"There will be changes. Some are bigger than others, but the change is not necessarily what makes this thing go. What makes it go is going to be the execution. That's what I want everybody to understand."

Eberflus called Schottenheimer's increased presence in his meetings with defensive staff and players "always beneficial."

"Any offensive guy that I've been with, it's really beneficial because you can see it through the offensive coordinator's eyes," Eberflus said Thursday. "Gives us insight, not only in a defensive meeting or unit, but also when we just talk in the office. So I think that's really important to soak that in."

This stretch actually isn't Schottenheimer's first foray into the defensive meeting rooms with the Cowboys. After he found himself on the unemployment line in 2022 following the Jacksonville Jaguars' letting go of former head coach Urban Meyer's entire 2021 staff, then-Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy hired him to be a consultant in 2022. He spent that season with then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and the defense, offering his perspective from the other side of the ball on how to tweak and improve their approach. Schottenheimer was then promoted to the offensive coordinator role in 2023 when Kellen Moore left for the Los Angeles Chargers; however, his return to contributing on defense has been welcomed by his players. 

"I think it's good he's in the meetings, just giving a higher awareness of what's going on and just being able to chime in or certain things when we're asking about what he's thinking from an offensive standpoint," defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said Wednesday.

"McCarthy was mainly meeting with the offense when he was the head coach here, and Schotty was in that consulting role. He was kind of doing what he's doing now, so it's cool to have him and just more eyes. ... Time is ticking, so it's heightened urgency."

The toughest part about Dallas' defensive struggles is that the players feel like they're having good practices against the Cowboys' offense, the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL, but then the unit fails to execute on game day. That execution disconnect is something that's still being worked through nearly halfway through the 2025 season.

"That's definitely one of those things you just got to see that translate," Odighizuwa said. "Just make sure everyone is on the same page in that regard and just make sure that we stick to the fundamentals because it's not like doing the right things is going to guarantee that you win. But once you start to stray from doing it the right way, failure is guaranteed."

When will the major changes occur?

The likely Week 11 return of explosive linebacker DeMarvion Overshown should provide a boost to Dallas' defense, but it's not fair to expect him to be the defense's savior.  It's also worth wondering if Dallas' defense was doomed the moment they traded Micah Parsons away a week before the season kicked off. The Cowboys' defensive expected points added (EPA) per play when Parsons was on the field was the best in the NFL from 2021 to 2024. When off the field in that same span, Dallas had the league's worst EPA per play, per CBS Sports Research. 

That data is coming to life in 2025, with Dallas having the NFL's worst defense across the board this season. On Thursday, Parsons was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October with the Packers. Schottenheimer disputes the premise that Parsons' absence has sunk them, and he pointed to what happened with Cleveland Browns' All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett in Week 8: he recorded a Browns franchise-record five sacks, but Cleveland lost 32-13 to the New England Patriots. 

"Defense is about more than just one guy. Some of our defensive struggles have not been because of one guy not doing the right thing, and not been one assignment, hasn't been one defense, whether it's man, zone, whatever," Schottenheimer said. 

"This is the ultimate team game and defense. The more I spend time over there, you realize this as an offensive guy, but like if you're not aligned perfectly in terms of your fits and things like that, it makes it really, really difficult. So again, all respect to Micah [Parsons]. What a great player. But team defense is what we need to play better."

After squaring off against the feisty 2-5 Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, Schottenheimer promised key changes over the team's Week 10 bye week. 

"Like I said, we've already had some of those meetings and we've talked about those changes. We're in the mode right now of we've got kind of a one-game season, and I say that because we've got Arizona before the bye," Schottenheimer said. 

"No one is pleased. No one is happy with the way we performed [against the Broncos]. It's not acceptable. It's not good enough, and that starts with me. So I would say that both the staff and the players are aware that the standard was not met."