Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer: J.J. McCarthy's 'future looks very bright' under ex-pupil Kevin O'Connell

FRISCO, Texas -- Seven games into Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy's NFL career, it's clear that the 2024 NFL Draft's 10th overall pick isn't off to the start that anyone with the franchise had hoped for in 2025.

McCarthy ranks dead last in the league in completion percentage (56%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-10, 0.9) and passer rating (67.4) this season among 34 qualified quarterbacks, a driving factor in the Vikings' 5-8 record just a year after Minnesota went 14-3 with quarterback Sam Darnold earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2024 Coach of the Year Kevin O'Connell's offense.

However, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, whose 6-6-1 squad will face off against O'Connell and McCarthy on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 15, believes that McCarthy has a bright future. That's because of how McCarthy looked in the best game of his short career (163 yards and three touchdown passes on 16-of-23 passing) in a 31-0 win over the Washington Commanders as well as his faith in his former pupil, O'Connell.

Schottenheimer was the New York Jets' offensive coordinator during the Rex Ryan-Mark Sanchez glory years in which the Jets reached consecutive AFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2010, and O'Connell was one of New York's backup quarterbacks.

"Played great, the little bit I saw from the game, just flipping through the different games and things like that," Schottenheimer said on Monday. "I thought [McCarthy] played great. Looked very comfortable. Very talented young man. I won't speak too much into it, but I've heard amazing things about him as a leader and what he brings to that locker room.

"I coached Kevin O'Connell in New York. He was one of our backup quarterbacks. Love Kevin. I think he's an incredible coach. He's an expert in developing quarterbacks. I'll say that about Kevin. I think the future looks very bright for J.J."

Schottenheimer recalls plenty about O'Connell's aptitude for coaching during their shared Jets tenure, which came after the latter spent a season with the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady New England Patriots where he was a rookie third-round pick in 2008. Schottenheimer's Jets spent a 2011 seventh-round pick to acquire O'Connell in 2009, and for the next two seasons, New York saw a burgeoning future in coaching when they used him to spill the beans on everything he knew about Brady and the Patriots' offense.

Brady dominated against the AFC East with a 31-8 record (regular season and playoffs) against the Jets in his Hall of Fame career, but he hit a 2009-10 lull against New York: the Jets won 3 of 5 matchups in those two seasons, including a 28-21 victory in New England during the 2010 AFC divisional round.

"I remember a lot. ... I really remember him when we were in the division against the Patriots, and we would go back and forth," Schottenheimer said. "Kevin had been in New England with Tom and knew a lot of the answers. He would get with Rex and the defensive staff every time we played the Patriots and basically become a defensive coach that week. He gave a great look to the scout team, helped them come up with blitzes and ways to attack things.

"If you've ever been around the guy, he's very personable, very football-intelligent, and he's a leader of men. So I was not surprised when he became a head coach. I was not surprised to see his success because every time I've been around him, I've been impressed by him as a man -- a husband, a father -- all those things. Again, he really helped us be a really good team a number of times when we were facing off against the Patriots."

The two have spoken "a couple different times" since Schottenheimer joined O'Connell among the NFL's head-coaching ranks in January, and there will certainly be a pleasant handshake and embrace between the two when the clock hits zero at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.