FRISCO, Texas — In his second season as head coach, Brian Schottenheimer’s biggest week-to-week advantage for the Dallas Cowboys is his relationship with quarterback Dak Prescott, co-owner and chief operating officer Stephen Jones said Friday.
Jones spoke on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation, where one of the hosts compared Schottenheimer with San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, whose team visits AT&T Stadium on Sunday. Schottenheimer was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024 before he was named head coach Jan. 24, 2025.
Brian Schottenheimer And Dak Prescott
Every player on the roster believes in Schottenheimer and his messaging, Jones said, though he started with Prescott.
“I think there’s no question, his relationship with Dak,” Jones said. “They certainly look at the game through a common lens. I think he understands what Dak’s comfort zones are in terms of where we can have success there, how we can play complementary football with the running game. Obviously, that’s his superpower.”
“I think the other thing is that certainly all the players on the football team believe in him and his messaging, and what we’re trying to get accomplished, and they all feel like they have to play better at the same time,” Jones continued.
Penalties And Ball Security
Dallas was penalized 14 times for 153 yards in the 27-23 win at Indianapolis on Nov. 8, about double the team’s usual total, according to Schottenheimer. Through nine games, the Cowboys had committed 74 penalties for 667 yards, according to the team. The penalty total was tied for second-most in the NFL, and the yardage was the most. CeeDee Lamb also lost a fumble in the win.
The Cowboys were able to overcome the penalties at Indianapolis, Jones said.
“Coach Schottenheimer and his staff know they got to be better in terms of preparing this football team, whether it’s executing offense, defense, special teams, or whether it’s keeping the game clean from a penalty standpoint, which we obviously didn’t do last week,” Jones explained.
“And then obviously the ball. We’ve got to protect the ball, and we’ve got to get the ball, especially against a team like the 49ers,” Jones continued.
Kickoff Sunday is 3:25 p.m. CT.
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