The Cowboys are 3-5 after a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a game they led 14-0 before the Cardinals rallied. Jerry Jones has ruled out a midseason coaching change, but Brian Schottenheimer is 10-14-1 since taking over, and a franchise legend has now publicly questioned the direction of the team.
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“Let’s say this, it was the Cowboys, and I’ve said it in different phases that you have to go through the coaching staff preparation, come to the sideline to adapt what’s going on,” James Washington said on the Cowboys Country Football. “Let’s focus just on coaching staff time management. Embarrassing because the coaching staff don’t got this thing under control. Offense, defense, and I’ve always kept it simple on defense. Containment. Every long run, there was no one to turn the ball back inside.”
It’s harsh, but Sunday gave him plenty to work with. Dallas, now sitting at three wins and five losses, handed away a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to Arizona. For a while, the Cowboys looked comfortable. They forced two turnovers, piled up five sacks, and held the Cardinals to three first-half points. Jacoby Brissett was struggling, and then Gardner Minshew replaced him.
That’s when the defense came apart. Arizona scored touchdowns on four straight possessions to finish regulation, tie the game, and push it to overtime. The Cardinals put up 27 points in the second half, outgained Dallas 286 to 157, converted four of five third downs, and went three for three in the red zone. The total yardage was 467 to 261. This came right after Philadelphia ran for 121 yards on them.
The defense is the biggest concern. Dallas allows 385.4 yards a game, the worst mark in the league.
Michael Irvin has never been shy about the Cowboys, but this week he went further than most.
“That’s an easy bet, Stephen A. Like, you think that’s something big,” Irvin said. “Anybody would bet their check on it, because anybody can do better. Anybody. There is no worse that you can be than they are right now.”
He kept going.
“There is no such thing as lower than this, or worse than this, or not as good as this. They are the worst. So anybody, anybody, my dead mom can coach them better,” Irvin continued.
Schottenheimer’s own words haven’t helped. After a 13-point showing at Green Bay, he called himself an “elite playcaller in this league.” The Arizona game made that hard to defend.
The offense has also lost some of what made it interesting. Last season, extra pre-snap motion was one of the biggest changes under Schottenheimer, giving the unit a way to create better matchups. According to Cowboys Wire, Dallas ranked 14th in pre-snap motion and 17th in motion at the snap in 2025. This year those rankings have dropped to 30th and 32nd.
The running game isn’t working the way it should. Javonte Williams gets the ball more than anyone else, and he’s on pace for over 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns. But he gains almost a yard less every time he runs than he did last year. Part of that falls on the offensive line. Dallas ranks 31st in run-block win rate, which means the blockers rarely open clean lanes for him.
All of this feeds a bigger problem. Schottenheimer keeps talking about accountability and about learning to finish games, yet this isn’t the first time Dallas has failed to close one out.
He was promoted from offensive coordinator in January 2025, went 7-9-1 in his first season, and now carries a record of 10-14-1 into the Week 9 game against Indianapolis.
Jerry Jones, for his part, has stayed supportive. After the loss to Arizona, he said he isn’t considering a midseason coaching change.
Schottenheimer’s job looks safe for now, but if the losses keep coming, that may not last much longer.