Mac Engel: The Brian Schottenheimer gamble by the Cowboys is clearly not working

Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Oct 20, 2026

Published in Football

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FORT WORTH, Texas — If you are wondering if Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will do to Brian Schottenheimer what he did to Wade Phillips the day after a horrendous Sunday night loss in Green Bay in November 2010, no.

Jerry is not going to fire Schottenheimer right now.

Wade was fired in the middle of his fourth season with the team, and the players did not respect him. They liked him. They didn’t respect him, and Jerry knew it. Jerry had no choice, and he replaced Wade with his Tom Landry-in-waiting, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Schottenheimer is not Wade, but there are uncomfortable similarities, and a big difference. There is no one on this coaching staff Jerry could promote right now to interim head coach, even if he was that tired of Schottenheimer.

To replace Mike McCarthy two years ago, Jerry took a risk by hiring a nepo-baby career assistant who had never been a head coach anywhere. This is not going great.

With 10 days to prepare, Schottenheimer’s Cowboys played an embarrassing first half en route to a 23-13 loss on Sunday night at Green Bay. For at least the third time this season, Schottenheimer made himself the lead topic of disappointments as the team dropped to 2-4.

Schottenheimer is 23 games into his tenure as the head coach of the Cowboys, and this is the worst start for a man in his position since Dave Campo, whose time in the coveted job lasted three years. Schotty is 9-13-1 thus far, and trending in a southerly direction.

Schottenheimer’s bad night in Green Bay

The Cowboys were not expected to defeat the Packers at Lambeau Field, but they should not have been blown out. The scoreboard said it was a 10-point differential, but it felt closer to 100.

The Packers dropped three touchdown passes.

For the second time in the last two games, the Cowboys came out flat, the high-dollar offense was bad, and the team was outplayed in every area but cheerleading.

This performance came after a week when the players held the cliche “players-only team meeting,” and Schottenheimer hired former Browns head coach Mike Pettine to work with defensive coordinator Christian Parker.

On the field, nothing changed. Check that; it was worse.

There are personnel issues all over the defense, but the Cowboys’ offense should not be shut out in the first half the way it was on Sunday night. The Cowboys’ first-half drives read: punt, punt, pick, pick, end of half.

Quarterback Dak Prescott threw a pair of interceptions in the second quarter, both deep on Green Bay’s side of the field. The first pick was a bad read by Prescott; the second happened after intended receiver CeeDee Lamb fell down.

An offense that features Prescott, Lamb, George Pickens, Javonte Williams and three first-round draft picks on the offensive line should not be held to 13 points against Green Bay on a mid-October night where the weather was zero issue.

The Cowboys’ most effective offensive plays were roughing-the-passer penalties on Green Bay.

This game follows the 24-16 loss at home against a winless Tampa Bay team that was starting an undrafted rookie quarterback making his second career NFL start.

Schottenheimer’s background and training is offense. It’s a reason why he was hired for this job.

The offense has scored 30 points three times this season, two of which were wins.

If this offense can’t score, the team won’t win. And if this offense can’t score, why is Schottenheimer the head coach?

The reason to retain Schottenheimer

Schottenheimer was handed a five-year contract when he was hired, and firing him right now is a non-starter. The interim head coach never works to save a season, and the Cowboys have to see this through for the remainder of the year.

Schottenheimer is a likable guy with good energy, players like him, but the performances and the results are not good.

Also not good, the state of the NFC East, a division so bad it should keep every team in the discussion to win it.

The Cowboys’ upcoming schedule is awful, full of teams with losing records, and/or playing backup quarterbacks. Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles.

There is a legit path in the NFC East to a playoff spot with eight or nine wins. The bar is so low in the NFC East, the Cowboys, even at 2-4, could possibly clear it.

But if they continue to play at their current rate, they have no chance, and then the discussion about retaining Schottenheimer for a third year will not just be theoretical but practical.

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