Brian Schottenheimer says he's a great coach at 2-4

Schottenheimer took questions on Thursday, 4 days after Sunday night in Green Bay, and was asked straight up about the criticism. Here's the answer that's going to follow him around.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer says he knows he’s a great coach and can handle the criticism: “Yeah, I think it comes with the territory. I think some of it is deserved. We got to play better. I got to coach better. And so when you grow up in a family that your dad's a head coach for over 20 something years, you understand that this is part of the job description. No one likes it. I block out most of it. Some of it gets to me doing this job and having to speak to you guys is part of that. But at the same time, I've got strong shoulders. I know what a great coach I am. I know what this team is capable of, and that's what I focus.”

Most of that answer is fine. Some of it is deserved, play better, coach better, it comes with the job. He grew up as Marty Schottenheimer's kid, so he's watched a head coach take this kind of beating his whole life. Then he gets to "I know what a great coach I am" and Cowboys fans read it after a 23-13 loss to the Packers. Saying it at 2-4 is a choice. Coaches believe in themselves all the time. Very few say it into a microphone the same week the fans want them gone.

The tape from Sunday doesn't help him. Dallas ran for a season-low 48 yards, and Dak Prescott threw 54 passes because the Cowboys fell behind again. Schottenheimer admitted the Packers kept blitzing and Dallas "haven't handled it very well," and he said he was "pretty pissed off" afterward. That's the same guy who was hired in January 2025 because of his offense, and now it's the thing everybody is ripping.

He also talked about what keeps him level when the losses stack up. He named his faith, his family, his pastor, Dr. Tony Evans, and a group of former Navy SEALs he leans on.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Who does Brian Schottenheimer lean on during tough times, led by Dr. Tony Evans: "It's different for me. A lot of different things. I talk to my pastor a lot. I talk to Dr. Tony Evans. You guys know my faith is so important and God is so good to me and I'm overly blessed. He kind of keeps me grounded in a good way. There's a group here by the name of O2X where some of their leadership guys, former Navy SEALs that have seen way worse things than I have in battle. They talk to me about staying consistent with your anchors in life, which is my faith and my family. And then of course there's a lot of people in the industry I talk to, Bill Cowher, people reach out. And I've been the guy that when someone's going through tough times, I try to reach out because I know this is not just solely happening to us. You talk to people around the league, talk to guys like Dan Quinn, and this is a tough profession for tough people.

That's a lot more relatable than the great-coach line, and it says the same thing: he isn't changing course. The front office isn't either. Stephen Jones said earlier this week that he and Jerry are fully behind Schottenheimer, "there's not any question in Jerry's and I's mind." Under the Joneses, that's worth something until it suddenly isn't, and Schottenheimer is 9-13-1 in Dallas so far.

Next up is Philadelphia on Monday Night Football, and the Eagles are 2-4 as well. That's one bad team in a bad spot playing another. If Schottenheimer wins, he looks like a guy who stayed calm. If he loses, every talk show in Texas is going to run "I know what a great coach I am" on loop until Jerry has to answer for it.