‘Go Win A Football Game’: Troy Aikman Sends Clear Message On Brian Schottenheimer As Dallas Cowboys Face Mounting Pressure

FRISCO, Texas — Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said Thursday morning on 96.7 The Ticket that the only way for Dallas to fix its recent problems is to win a football game. The Cowboys are 3-5 and have lost three of their last four games heading into Sunday’s trip to the Indianapolis Colts.

Aikman’s comments were posted by Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News. Aikman said the last couple of weeks have been tough on everybody, including Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who has had a lot of questions to answer. Schottenheimer is 10-14-1 in his second season.

“Obviously this is not where anyone envisioned they would be, so they’re talking about a lot of things they didn’t anticipate they would be talking about, but that’s kind of life in the NFL,” Aikman said. “I know these last couple of weeks have been tough on everybody and certainly tough on Brian Schottenheimer as well with a lot of questions he’s had to answer. The only way to fix all that and cure it is to go win a football game and hopefully put it behind you.”

Dallas drafted Aikman first overall in 1989, and he won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys, earning MVP honors in Super Bowl XXVII. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and has worked as the analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football since 2022.

Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones Address Brian Schottenheimer’s Future

On Sunday at AT&T Stadium, Dallas led 24-10 early in the fourth quarter before losing 33-30 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona outgained Dallas 467-261 and rushed for 202 yards.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones called it a total team loss after the game. The Cowboys fired Wade Phillips on Nov. 8, 2010, after a 1-7 start, the only time Jones has made an in-season head coaching change. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over and coached the team through the 2019 season.

“I made a change, and I don’t want to mention it because I’m not proud of it. But I made a change with Wade Phillips there in the middle of the season, and I don’t see that here at all,” Jerry Jones said.

A coaching change was not in Jones’ mind at this time, he said.

“Well, I will say that a lot of people let Brian down today. So for whatever criticism we want to have with Brian, we can all get in line,” Jerry Jones explained. “And that was a total team loss to use a cliché. That was a total team effort out there for us.”

On Monday, Cowboys COO and executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece” that his father can speak for himself on a coaching change. The Cowboys have nine games left.

“I don’t think you just say, hey, you fire somebody just to send a message,” Stephen Jones said. “If it’s something that’s there that you need to make a change because it’ll make us better in the long haul, then you certainly have to take a look at that. But not necessarily. Jerry can obviously speak for himself on that. But I’m into making changes when it makes you better.”

Dallas Cowboys Look To End Slide Against Indianapolis Colts

Entering Week 9, the New York Giants lead the NFC East at 4-2-1, with Dallas second at 3-5. The Washington Commanders are 2-4-1, and the Philadelphia Eagles are 2-6. The Giants beat the Cowboys 28-20 in the Sept. 13 opener.

In 2010, Dallas had Garrett on the staff as a possible next head coach, Stephen Jones said. A lot of teams look at a change that way, according to Jones.

“I know we made the change with Wade the one year because we did have … Jason, who was on the staff, and I really thought that he was going to … might be our next head coach, so it made a lot of sense,” Stephen Jones explained. “But I know obviously we hadn’t played well, but there’s still a lot of football to be played.”

“We’re in a division that’s struggling to some degree, and we still have nine games left,” Stephen Jones continued. “And we certainly feel like there’s signs that we can do some things really well at times. And if we can just get consistency during the game and finish, then good things can happen for this team.”

Indianapolis is 2-6. The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10. Dallas visits the Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, with kickoff set for noon CT on FOX.