DALLAS — With 12 wins and a playoff victory, the 2022 season was ultimately a good year for the Dallas Cowboys, but they came up short in the divisional round of the playoffs once again. Part of that failure fell on the offense, which couldn’t scrape together enough points to beat the San Francisco 49ers.
After seeing another season come up short, the Cowboys and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore mutually decided to part ways. To fill the open position, the organization did what has been expected for days by hiring Brian Schottenheimer as the new architect of the offense.
Schottenheimer spent 2022 with the Cowboys as an offensive consultant and had familiarity with head coach Mike McCarthy prior to joining the organization.
The search didn’t take long for the Cowboys, who seemingly had the candidate that they wanted to hire in the building after Moore left. Schottenheimer has been around the league for a long time and has previously held the position of offensive coordinator for the New York Jets (2006–2011), St. Louis Rams (2012–2014), and most recently, the Seattle Seahawks for three seasons (2018-2020).
In his last stop with the Seahawks, Schottenheimer’s offense ranked in the top 10 in total offense once, 2019, but had one of the league’s top rushing attacks in two of his three years. The 2018 Seahawks led the NFL in rushing, while they finished fourth in 2019.
During his tenure with the Jets, Schottenheimer’s rushing attack finished in the top 10 three times, including leading the league in 2009, but his Rams offenses were not nearly as successful.
Bringing up the running game and Schottenheimer’s history of success at that aspect makes it clear that the organization wants to remain a run-heavy offense despite the league now moving to passing centric game plans. Even without knowing what the Cowboys will do at running back, McCarthy and Jerry Jones appear to prefer running the ball.
Schottenheimer doesn’t look like an inspired choice with the Cowboys’ fanbase, but many of his perceived shortcomings as an offensive coordinator came as a play caller. That won’t be the case in Dallas with McCarthy taking over those duties.
Those clamoring for a younger, more forward-thinking coordinator from outside the organization didn’t get their wish. However, if this is a make-or-break year for McCarthy, it makes sense that he’d hire someone that he trusts. After back-to-back 12-win seasons, McCarthy has earned the right to play it out how he sees fit.
Schottenheimer’s offenses might be thought of as run-first units, but that could also be tied to the philosophies of the head coaches he’s worked with. Coaching under Jeff Fisher, Rex Ryan and Pete Carroll, who are all more thought of as bringing a smashmouth rushing attack on offense, might have been why Schottenheimer’s offenses were more running oriented.
McCarthy does like a physical offense as well, but in his days of calling offenses for the Green Bay Packers, they had more diversity in throwing the ball, especially on the early downs.
What Schottenheimer does bring to the table is route expansion for the Cowboys’ wide receivers, an increased emphasis on play-action, and the usage of more pre-snap motion, among other qualities. John Owning of PFF.com has a more nuanced look at Schottenheimer’s differences:
"Cowboys fans will be happy to hear that Schottenheimer's presence should mean a move away from the hitch/curl routes that were so frequently leaned on during Moore’s tenure as offensive coordinator. The Cowboys targeted hitch routes the fourth most in the NFL; however, Schottenheimer appears to favor routes where his receivers are on the move rather than a stationary target, as his offenses are littered with drive, shallow-cross, spear and “China” passing game concepts — none of which have a stop, curl or hitch route baked into the basic play.
Overall, Schottenheimer's presence as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator is unlikely to garner much excitement among the Cowboys fanbase (and rightfully so), but as an impressive scheme developer and play designer who struggled with repetitive and unimaginative play-calling, a situation where he can just focus on the Xs and Os may be just what the doctor ordered for both Schottenheimer and the Cowboys offense."
Schottenheimer will also likely change the running scheme to be more of an inside zone rushing attack which could pan out for Dallas after consecutive years where the run game lost steam in the waning weeks of the season
The Cowboys could have gone outside the organization to hire a new offensive coordinator, but with so much on the line for McCarthy in the upcoming season, the decision to name Schottenheimer as the OC makes sense. Dallas had gotten stale on offense, so a new voice with new concepts and play design was of the utmost importance.
Schottenheimer’s hiring does bring a freshness to the Cowboys’ offense and, coupled with McCarthy taking charge of the play calling duties, the team will see changes. An in-house promotion wasn’t a flashy move, but the hope is that Schottenheimer can get more out of Dallas’ offense, especially when it counts.
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