Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer made waves during his latest press conference when he said something that lit up headlines.
The quote …
“I think Dak is in the developmental phase. That sounds crazy for a guy who has played that much… but the minute these quarterbacks think they’ve figured it all out, that’s when it’s probably time for them to do something different.”
As expected, the reaction was instant and predictable from the public:
“Wait… Dak’s still developing?” “How is your franchise QB not finished yet?”
First off, that quote is being manipulated by Cowboys haters. … because that’s not what Schotty meant at all.
The coach was asked about the “development” of raw second-year QB Joe Milton. And all Schottenheimer really said in his reply is that all of his QBs are “developing” on a path to get better.
But here’s another piece of the truth — and it’s the part that most people missed.
Quarterback is the most cerebral position in sports. There is therefore no “finished product.”
Ever.
The best in the world — from Staubach to Aikman to Brady to Manning to Mahomes — treat every offseason like a new climb. New defenses. New blitz patterns. New coverages. Why? Because the NFL is an ever-evolving pendulum where the offensive and defensive counterpunch changes every single year.
The QB’s who’re wired the right way as far as living in the film room and never being satisfied with their current craft, always age like a fine wine. You eventually get to a point in which you’ve seen almost everything a defense can throw at you and you can thereby diagnose what they’re gonna do often times before the do it.
That’s a key point. But here’s the deeper meaning behind what Schottenheimer is doing — it’s culture.
So, here’s the part of the quote many are conveniently leaving out — the follow-up that changes everything:
“The minute these quarterbacks start to think they’ve got it all figured out,” he said, “ is probably the minute they should think about hanging them up.”
That’s the way Schottenheimer closed that statement … and that’s not an indictment of Dak.
That’s a warning against complacency — for everyone in the room.
In his own way, Schotty is planting the flag for accountability. It doesn’t matter if your name is Dak Prescott, Joe Milton, or QB4 on the practice squad. If you’re in this room, you’re expected to evolve. There’s no such thing as autopilot. There’s no comfort zone.
Complacency kills.
So when Schottenheimer says Dak is still developing — he’s not questioning his QB1. He’s setting the tone.
Because in this building, everybody works. No exceptions. No ceilings.
