FRISCO, TEXAS — The Brian Schottenheimer era has begun. The 10th head coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys has now named the rest of his coaching staff.
Schottenheimer, a first time head coach, was Dallas’ offensive coordinator last season. He was not making the offensive play calls though; that was former head coach Mike McCarthy’s job. However, he will be calling the plays this season, instead of now OC Klayton Adams.
“Our job when we’re putting things on the call sheet is to be problem solvers,” Adams said, acknowledging that he took this job without the play calling component.
Adams was the offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals the past two seasons. Before that, he had spent four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
While he’s comfortable in an O-Line room and “won’t stay away” from it, wanting to work with offensive line coach Conor Riley, he’s responsible for other rooms now. Adams said, “I want to have a great relationship with all these guys. I’m here to help them play the best football of their careers.”
On the defensive side of the ball, former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus makes his return to Dallas.
“I was here seven years before, so I know the [Jones] family well,” Eberflus said. “I know the community, I know the fanbase, and it’s exciting to be back.”
Since leaving Dallas, he’s evolved in terms of his philosophy, saying he is better able to change and mold a scheme based on players he has, and their skill sets
Eberflus said “utilize me because I do have experience as a head coach, and can help,” when it comes to Schottenheimer navigating the role for the first time. He said he learned a lot when he first became a coordinator for the Colts, and then as the head coach in Chicago. He wants to “learn and grow from every experience and impart that wisdom onto the next crew,” something he plans to do in Dallas.
What can one expect of his defense? “Pretty simple: we will take the ball away,” he said. “We will stop the run, and we want to make exciting plays for our football team.”
Nick Sorenson replaces John Fassal as the special teams coordinator. He spent the last three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and was their defensive coordinator last season. Before that, he was a special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
Working with players like kicker Brandon Aubrey and KaVontae Turpin on the punt return were ones he took into major consideration when choosing where he’d take his coaching career.
The Cowboys returned four members of last season’s coaching staff, not including the strength and conditioning coaches: Ramon Chinyoung (Asst. Offensive Line), Steve Shimko (Quarterbacks), Lunda Wells (Tight Ends) and Darian Thompson (Secondary/Nickels).
Schottenheimer’s finalized coaching staff can be found, below:
Offense
- Steve Shimko (Quarterbacks)
- Dele Harding (QB Fellowship)
- Derrick Foster (Running Backs)
- Junior Adams, (Wide Receivers)
- Tiquan Underwood (Asst. Wide Receivers)
- Ken Dorsey (Pass Game Specialist)
- Conor Riley (Offensive Line)
- Ramon Chinyoung (Asst. Offensive Line)
- Lunda Wells (Tight Ends)
- Ryan Feder (Game Management Coordinator)
Defense
- Matt Eberflus (Defensive Coordinator)
- Tanzel Smart (Defensive Assistant/Quality Control)
- J.J. Clark (Defensive Assistant/Quality Control)
- Aaron Whitecotton (Defensive Line)
- Bryan Bing (Asst. Defensive Line)
- Dave Borgonzi (Linebackers)
- Andre Curtis (Def. Pass Game Coordinator/Safeties)
- David Overstreet (Secondary/Corners)
- Darian Thompson (Secondary/Nickels)
Special teams
Carlos Polk (Assistant Special Teams)
Nick Sorenson (Special Teams Coordinator)
