We can give Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer some grace for not having all the ins and outs of his new position totally perfected yet.
There’s a lot to learn and it’s a high pressure job — maybe the most high pressure job you can have in all of professional sports. Still, though, there’s just some things common sense might tell you not to say.
Like, for example, saying veteran quarterback Dak Prescott, who is closing out the first decade of his career, is in a “developmental phase” when it comes to playing his position.
“I think Dak is in the developmental phase,” Schottenheimer said on May 29 following an OTA workout. “And that sounds crazy for a guy who’s played that much, but there are things we’re tweaking with Dak.”
As can be expected, people were taken aback by Schottenheimer’s comments. That’s fair, considering Prescott, who has made 122 career starts in 122 career games, is also a 3-time Pro Bowler, NFL All-Pro and signed a 4-year, $240 million contract in September 2024 that made him the highest paid player in NFL history.
When Prescott’s current contract runs out following the 2028 season, he will have accumulated approximately $436.2 million in career earnings.
“Still, don’t know that I’ve ever heard about any coach talking about a 31-year-old experienced player with 122 career starts to his name like he’s a young guy learning the ropes for the first time,” USA Today’s Robert Zeglinski wrote on May 29. “It’s kind of unnerving to see Schottenheimer boil down his work with Prescott like this so simplistically.”
One might also question, fairly, what Schottenheimer might even be able to teach Prescott about playing the quarterback position.
One might wonder if a better approach to take might be learning from his quarterback instead of vice versa, and whether Schottenheimer should be tinkering with Prescott’s game at all.
Schottenheimer’s Hire Led to Widespread Derision
Schottenheimer was the Cowboys offensive coordinator for the last 2 seasons and stepped into the head coaching spot after Mike McCarthy’s contract wasn’t renewed. While the hire was met with widespread derision, it was Prescott who reportedly campaigned for Schottenheimer to get the job behind the scenes.
” … Schottenheimer had a supporter in quarterback Dak Prescott,” ESPN’s Todd Archer wrote on January 24. “The two have a good relationship, and according to people in and around the team, Prescott likes Schottenheimer’s creativity. After a slow start offensively in 2023, the belief from some was that Schottenheimer played a part in the schematic changes that led to the offense taking off in the final 13 weeks of the season, even if former coach Mike McCarthy was calling the plays.”
The Cowboys are coming off a 7-10 season in 2024 and face an uphill battle in the NFC East with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders — the 2 teams in the NFC Championship Game last season — looking down on the Cowboys and the New York Giants.
The Cowboys have their lowest projected over/under win total in years. According to BetMGM they are projected at just 7.5 wins in 2025, and according to NFL.com have the fifth toughest schedule in the entire NFL.
