5 Most Important Moves Brian Schottenheimer Must Make in 1st Year as Cowboys Coach

America's Team is now Brian Schottenheimer's.

Well, sort of. It ain't Mike McCarthy's, if it ever was. It generally still belongs to Jerry Jones, but Schottenheimer is the man at the head coaching helm now.

What does it mean for the Dallas Cowboys? Likely some significant changes on offense, from both a personnel and schematic standpoint.

With the regime now taking on a new form, here are five key moves Schottenheimer and/or Jones need to make ASAP.

Even if they're somewhat controversial by modern standards!

Yeah, "ground and pound" isn't particularly popular these days, but that's always been the Schottenheimer approach, and it's important that he doesn't veer away from that dramatically just because he has Dak Prescott and this is a pass-happy era.

"I'm a big believer in cut splits," Schottenheimer said in his introductory press conference last month, per USA Today. "I'm a big believer in shifts and motions to distort things. We're going to do a great job of marrying our runs and our passes and make those look the same. I'm proud to say that two different times in my career as a coordinator we led the league in rushing."

This is the shake-up this offense needs, with Dallas trending more toward Seattle in Russell Wilson's prime or contemporary San Francisco. More play-action, more balance, more guessing defenses, less pressure on Dak.

Besides, we saw the impact star running backs Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry had on playoff and Super Bowl races this season. The running game is far from dead, and it can often make life a hell of a lot easier on the rest of your offense and team.

This might seem contradictory to the last suggestion, but it appears Prescott realizes how much it hurts when he doesn't have enough support on the ground.

"Shotty means a lot to me," Prescott said of his former offensive coordinator and now head coach, according to the team's official website. "He's been a consistent man, and I think that's a part of why he's gotten this job in his time being here. So somebody that shows you the character that is consistent with what they do, that is supportive to me. Anything that has happened to me these three years on the field or off the field, I got a message or check-in on that."

One other reality from Prescott regarding Schottenheimer: "He's tied directly to my future, so let's go be the best that we can in these four years."

Prescott is one of the highest-paid players in professional sports. The Cowboys won't finally break through in the next few years unless he does, and he won't succeed unless Schottenheimer does. This is it now. All of the eggs are in this basket.

With that in mind, it's imperative that Schottenheimer keep Prescott feeling satisfied and supported. Otherwise, this will eventually blow up.

A great run-oriented playbook and a top-notch run-focused play-caller only gets you so far if your running backs lack talent. And with Tony Pollard gone and Ezekiel Elliott far beyond his prime, that was often the case as the Cowboys ranked 30th with 4.0 yards per carry while scoring a league-low six rushing touchdowns in 2024.

Now, with Rico Dowdle hitting free agency, Schottenheimer has a chance to go out and land a back of his choosing. That could mean former Boise State star Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the draft, but a back that early is questionable when you have other areas to address.

Alternatively, Najee Harris and J.K. Dobbins are intriguing impending free-agent targets who could pay major dividends in Schottenheimer's offense.

The offense also is in desperate need of someone to complement CeeDee Lamb more effectively. Someone not named Brandin Cooks. In fact, nobody on the roster looks suited to be a true No. 2 option for a contending team.

It just so happens that there are some pretty strong options slated to hit the open market, even beyond the likely unaffordable Tee Higgins. Chris Godwin could come a little cheaper considering his age and recent ankle injury, as could Stefon Diggs for the same reasons (except it was a knee injury) in addition to the fact his little brother is on the Dallas roster.

What about a reunion with Amari Cooper? Could they steal Darius Slayton from a division rival and get considerably more from him than the Giants did, a la Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia?

Plenty of possibilities, and I'd actually recommend Slayton over all of 'em when you consider his ability to stretch the field in a new spot while also likely coming cheaper than the others.

Regardless, this has to be a priority for this regime as the Schottenheimer era gets underway.

A lot of the focus this offseason will understandably be on Schottenheimer's offense, but the Cowboys can't lose sight of the defense. Support for Prescott is support for Prescott, and it includes keeping other teams out of the end zone to make life easier on the offense.

That probably means working out a new deal with Micah Parsons and restructuring Prescott's contract to free up salary-cap space so that they can keep guys like the underrated Jourdan Lewis, the steadily improving Osa Odighizuwa, the experienced Eric Kendricks and the complementary weapon Chauncey Golston.

If that means moving on from the 32-year-old DeMarcus Lawrence, so be it.

The Cowboys are more talented defensively than the numbers would indicate this past season. They can't afford to make big splashes there, but they also can't afford a step backward.

And while this series of moves might not fall to Schottenheimer solely, you'd have to imagine he'd be deeply involved in helping shape the defense on behalf of incoming coordinator Matt Eberflus.