‘You Trust Your Gut’: Brian Schottenheimer Explains Dallas Cowboys’ Two-Point Calls, Trust In Game Management Coordinator Ryan Feder

FRISCO, Texas — Analytics are part of every game-management call the Dallas Cowboys make, coach Brian Schottenheimer said Friday, but a lot of times he is going to defer to his gut.

The weekly preparation for those calls runs through game management coordinator Ryan Feder. Schottenheimer said Oct. 12 that he and Feder sit down every Friday to go through situations from every NFL game, and that Feder presents a scaled-down version of that tape to the players on Saturdays.

Brian Schottenheimer Leans On Ryan Feder’s Weekly Review

Feder pulls 25 to 40 situations from around the league each week, and he and Schottenheimer talk through them Friday and Saturday.

“No, I think the big part of today and tomorrow is Feeder does a great job. He cuts out all the situations that come out around the league. I mean, there’s probably 25 to 40 every week that you just talk through and discuss,” Schottenheimer said. “But the biggest thing is analytics are certainly involved, but there’s a gut instinct to it. What I think we’ve done a really good job of with a lot of the stuff is we’ve got names and ways of prioritizing them or itemizing them to where they come up. It’s not a big, lengthy conversation. It’s pretty quick.”

Feder arrived in Dallas in 2020 and has been the Cowboys’ game management coordinator since Schottenheimer’s first season in 2025, according to the team. Before that, he spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers in game management and football technology roles and a year as a graduate assistant at Nebraska.

Feder also talks to the league office about rules, looking for any edge, in Schottenheimer’s description of the job.

“I think he’s elite at what he does. I think you’re never going to bat a thousand in this business. It’s what you want. It’s what you strive for, but you don’t. But, again, he’s one of the smartest, brightest guys I’ve ever been around,” Schottenheimer explained. “I love the calming influence that he has for me. But again, you talk about a guy that does all day, every day. He’s studying what’s going on around the league. He’s talking to the league office about rules and things like that, looking for any edge. And again, it’s not an easy job.”

Schottenheimer Explains Cowboys’ Two-Point Calls Against Tampa Bay, Philadelphia

Schottenheimer was the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020 under Pete Carroll, who used to ask him on fourth down whether he had a good play ready.

“Again, I would say a lot of times I’m going to defer to my gut, because especially as a play caller, when you’re the play caller, you kind of have an idea certainly of what’s going on on your side, and hey, I like this call on fourth down, whereas I don’t,” Schottenheimer said. “I remember Pete Carroll always asking me, ‘Schotty, on fourth down, you got a good one?’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah,’ and I might have been like, ‘No, I don’t,’ but, ‘Yeah, I got a good one.’ And I’d be scrambling if he said, ‘OK, let’s go for it.’ But as a play caller, for sure, you trust your gut because you kind of know what you’re looking at.”

Game management has its own plan during the week, the same as offense, defense, and special teams.

“Similar, but there’s a lot of communication throughout the course of the week. There’s a lot of communication. There’s a game plan no different than you have an offensive, defensive, special teams game plan. There’s a game plan. But at times you say, hey, no, my gut’s telling me to do this,” Schottenheimer said.

On Oct. 8, Dallas went 99 yards for a touchdown to cut the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ lead to 24-16 with 5:26 left at AT&T Stadium, then went for two. The pass fell incomplete, and the Cowboys lost by that score. Schottenheimer called going for two down 14 “kind of our philosophy” after that game.

If the staff does not like the play it has, Schottenheimer will kick the extra point instead.

“I think 60% of the teams would probably go for two in that situation. The reasoning or the rationale behind it is if you’re down eight points and you go for two and you get it, then when you go and you score, you take the lead by kicking the extra point. If you miss it, then you still have a chance,” Schottenheimer said. “But I think everybody’s a little bit different. Some of it comes down to, I mean, it’s not a philosophy where, like I just said, if there wasn’t a play I like, I might kick it.”

“So those are the things where it’s not, oh, we have to do this because this is what people do. It’s, oh, yeah, I like this call. Let’s go with it. The case in point is the two-point play last week in Philly. Different situation. But that would have been an easy one to go for, too, because we liked the quarterback draw play a lot. We felt it had a great answer for it. But that’s the reasoning behind it. That’s why I saw that, too, that Carolina went for it,” Schottenheimer continued.

In Philadelphia on Monday, CeeDee Lamb caught a 16-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to put Dallas ahead 26-21. Dak Prescott ran in the two-point conversion for a 28-21 lead, and the Cowboys won 38-21.

Dallas (3-4) hosts the Arizona Cardinals (2-5) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.