The Dallas Cowboys recently decided to move on from head coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract with the organization was up. After weighing McCarthy’s future, owner Jerry Jones ultimately opted against renewing his deal and promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the job.
However, Schottenheimer’s lack of head coaching experience and how he would treat star players such as Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons left some questions to be answered. While it remains to be seen how Schottenheimer fares, he wants to start on a good note by moving lockers and putting the two star players closer to each other and foster a stronger connection.
Schottenheimer Explains the “Method to the Madness” Behind Cowboys’ Locker Shakeup
Schottenheimer is the third head coach hired by Jones without prior head coaching experience in the NFL or college. While the first two hires had mixed results, Schottenheimer is starting with a different strategy.
Part of it is shuffling the lockers of the Cowboys’ players, and Schottenheimer argues one should do different things in a new year.
“We moved some guys around. This year, I did, along with the help of the staff. They don’t really get a say in that, but there’s a method to the madness.”
“I think when guys enter the team for the first time, I made them all stand up after they sat down, and I had them stand up, and I had them move seats. Why? It’s a new year, it’s 2025, we’ll do that in 2026, we’ll do that in 2027, and beyond. I think it’s just when you start a new year, you do something different.”
#Cowboys Brian Schottenheimer was asked by @jonmachota about players having their seats moved in the locker room, for instance, having Micah Parsons closer to Dak Prescott.
His answer was (after a big smirk), “We moved some guys around. This year, I did along with the help of… pic.twitter.com/ufxEFqM7dU
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite)
Schottenheimer has also moved the lockers of the team’s two star players in Prescott and Parsons. Explaining the decision, the head coach said:
“Two of our best players put them together. There’s also other things we’re doing in there where guys are competing every day, and different things that we’ve kind of put in there, but just they can challenge each other in a good way.”
Under Schottenheimer, the Cowboys offense has been of the best in recent years and it’s the defense which has let them down. Bringing Parsons’ and Prescott’s locker room together may not have a direct impact, but could make it easier for the two to exchange inputs.
Parsons and Prescott are close to each other with the former backing the QB for MVP last season. The Cowboys would be hoping that Schottenheimer’s ‘method to madness’ can reap them rewards sooner rather than later.
