In a way, the Dallas Cowboys‘ loss to the Buccaneers on Thursday night at home was not quite as bad a loss as what we saw on Sunday in Green Bay, at least from coach brian Schottenheimer’s perspective. Sounds absurd, sure, given that the Cowboys lost to a previously winless team that was starting an undrafted rookie, Jalon Daniels, on their home field last week. But there was a chance that could be viewed as a one-off. There was a chance that could be rock bottom, and that the Cowboys could rebuild this season from there. Starting against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Instead, what we saw on Sunday was confirmation of the worst fears that lingered from the Buccaneers game: That this team and its NFL Super Bowl aspirations had been broken in that loss, that something snapped and might not be able to be repaired. Because, though the defense played better on Sunday–after the first half, at least–the offense appeared beyond repair, a steep three-week drop that has seen Dak Prescott throw four interceptions in two games, after having thrown just four in nine games before that.
Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer Taking the Blame
Around Cowboys media and fans, the finger of blame is increasingly turning to Schottenheimer, and calls for the team to take action are mounting.
From Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Believe it or not, this roster is good enough. Is it elite? No. Is it great? No. But it should be good enough, and it’s nowhere close to even average. The Cowboys are on a train to nowhere, and the blame falls on the coaches leading it.”
And Zach Wolchuk of 105.3 the Fan wrote: “Offense has failed tonight. Coach is in over his head.”
Connor Livesay, formerly of PFF, noted: “Brian Schottenheimer is an embarrassment to football.”
There was Marcus Mosher of “Locked on Cowboys” podcast: “The Cowboys just have no chance to be anything real with this coaching staff. It doesn’t matter if they grind their way to 8-9 and a division title. They are just so poorly coached.”
And RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys: “Brian Schottenheimer has broken one of the greatest offenses (statistically speaking) in Dallas Cowboys franchise history.”
Now, there is no doubt that much of what has gone wrong for the Cowboys this season can be laid at the feet of Schottenheimer. But just 23 games into his head coaching tenure, with a record of 9-13-1 behind him, and with Jerry Jones’ known disdain for making in-season coaching moves, can the team really take the next step and cut ties with Schottenheimer?
Well, increasingly, that’s the view.
As Tyler Glasscock of 247 Sports wrote on Twitter/X, simply: “Fire Brian Schottenheimer.”
And from the Sleeper Cowboys account: “Fire Brian Schottenheimer.”
As one Twitter user wrote: “You have to fire Schottenheimer. Enough is enough. This team is a complete embarrassment.”
It would be a big step for Jones. But the sentiment is there, no doubt.
Cowboys Calls Mount for Action on Brian Schottenheimer