It’s certainly no surprise to find that, when a team is struggling, the head coach pretty quickly tends to come under fire and that calls for his job come fast and furious from fans and media members. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows that, of course, and has a long record of almost always showing patience with coaches–he’s only fired one, Wade Phillips in 2010, and has said it remains one of his biggest regrets. That’s good news for the embattled Brian Schottenheimer, who has gone from Super Bowl chatter to 2-4 fast enough to call into question his NFL job security.
But if the Cowboys are not going to fire Schottenheimer after back -to-back weeks of this team looking like it is backsliding offensively in addition to the usual issue of having a bad defense, then perhaps there is a way to make a change on him without making a change–by taking away his play-calling duties and moving them to offensive coordinator Klayton Adams.
Brian Schottenheimer Out, Klayton Adams In as Play Caller?
That’s the view from Cowboys flagship station 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, where acceptance that Schottenheimer is not going anywhere is being met with the possibility–however slim it might be–that the Cowboys could at least take Schottenheimer out of the play-caller’s role on an offense that is being criticized as too predictable and without any real answers for blitz packages.
Host Shan Shariff said, “I think that Brian Schottenheimer should give the play-calling to Klayton Adams. Do I think that is going to happen? Probably not, not on Schotty’s behalf. What does Jerry and Stephen (Jones) do? Because right now, Schotty’s offense is, blitz confusion, no answer for pressure, you can’t run the football, you can’t get the ball to George Pickens and Dak Prescott all the sudden has fallen off a cliff in the past two games. And you’re healthy with Tyler Smith back?
“How much longer do you give him before you make him hand it over to Klayton Adams? I would not mind if that news came out mid-week. …”
Jerry Jones Can Force Cowboys Change
The Cowboys started the year with the expectation of having the self-titled “GOTI,” which Prescott explained meant Greatest Offense There Is. But after struggling against Tampa in Week 5, the Dallas offense gained just 303 yards on Sunday against a beaten-up version of the Packers, and committed two turnovers, running their total in the past two weeks to five.
The expectation, though, is that Schottenheimer will want to retain play-calling ability, especially if Dallas keeps floundering.
Said Shariff: “If the ship is going down anyway, I am going have my hands on the steering wheel. Lot of guys are like that. If my head coaching career is going to die right here, I am going down in my area of expertise, calling the plays. Now, Jerry and Stephen can also take that out of his control and say, it doesn’t matter what you want, Klayton Adams is calling the plays.”
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Urged to Force Brian Schottenheimer Change