FRISCO — The relationship began with a pregame chat in 2022. Klayton Adams, the guy on the other side of it, doesn’t quite remember.
Brian Schottenheimer does.
At the time, Schottenheimer was a consultant for the Cowboys, gathering intel on assistant coaches if he got a chance to become a head coach or offensive coordinator. When Schottenheimer became head coach this year with the Cowboys, Adams was among the people he wanted to interview for offensive coordinator.
It seems the two work well together, as the Cowboys offense is No. 1 overall in yards and tied for fifth in yards per play. More importantly, running the ball, something Schottenheimer stressed when he was hired, is succeeding.
Cowboys
Not only are Schottenheimer and Adams bonding through football but off the field as well.
Related
“I think there’s probably some personality similarities away from football, we’re the type of guys that would probably hang out and do things together,” Adams said on Thursday as the Cowboys prepared for their Sunday contest at Carolina. “I think there’s probably also some good complementary skill sets. I know there’s things he does that I look at and I go, ‘Oh gosh I wish I was a little bit more that way.’ So I didn’t obviously get to make the decision to come here but that was one thing I thought was really good about it for me.”
And after five weeks, the run game concepts by Adams, a former tight end and offensive line coach in previous stops, have the Cowboys with the seventh-most rushing yards and tied for third in average rushing yards per play.
Javonte Williams, a questionable free agent signing this offseason, has blossomed as nearly one-third of his carries (25) have earned a first down, which leads the NFL. He’s also third in the league in rushing yards.
Adams is the glue to the running game with his concepts, which combine different blocking schemes, as Schottenheimer calls run plays from various formations, regardless if they look like a pass or run set.
“Marrying the run and the pass means there are no scouting giveaways,” Schottenheimer said. “There’s no tells. There’s no: ‘Hey, we’re in the gun, we’re throwing. If we’re under [center] we’re running it. If we’re in two-by-two with both edges closed, it’s 85% run.’ Runs that we have in the game, we’re going to have action pass off of that and vice versa. And I think … there is so much technology now in terms of our ability to get information — everyone, the coaches give it to the players, the players have it — that, if you don’t do that, you’re battling uphill, because they’re all very talented players, very intelligent, great coaches.”
In the offseason, as Schottenheimer began compiling names for offensive coordinator, people he knew in the coaching profession (Tyler Boyles, Jake Doyle and Matt Turpening) mentioned Adams. Schottenheimer also spoke with Matt Eberflus, who was hired as his defensive coordinator. Eberflus was the linebackers coach when Adams was a tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach in Indianapolis.
Before finalizing the deal with Adams, Schottenheimer interviewed Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery and Falcons tight ends coach Kevin Koger.
“No, I wanted to get Klayton in front of the staff,” Schottenheimer said. “I wanted to get Klayton in front of Jerry [Jones], in front of Stephen [Jones]. Matt Eberflus was a huge proponent of Klayton, they had been together. Tyler Boyles, my chief of staff, was with him [in Indianapolis]. But no, it was a very open search. When Klayton came in here along with a couple of the other guys, he did a great job of separating himself. He fit what we were looking for.”
So far things have worked with the Cowboys offense, especially with the physical nature of the offensive line. Adams has nearly complete control of the run game concepts, connecting with tight ends coach Lunda Wells and offensive line coach Conor Riley to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Schottenheimer is making sure the Cowboys stick to the run, something that wasn’t always the case under previous head coaches.
Adams has been the key, given his success in Arizona where in two seasons (2023-24) as the offensive line coach the Cardinals were third in rushing yards per game (141.6), second in rushing yards per play (5.02) and led the league with 15.4% of carries going for 10 or more yards.
“Huge. He’s the OC, for one,” quarterback Dak Prescott said of Adams. “Just the way that he installs plays when he stands in front of the team, the confidence that he shows, that he portrays, he exudes. The professionalism that he expects. It’s contagious and everybody feels it. He’s a hell of a dude. I feel like as much as anything, obviously, the plays and all of that that he’s installed are working.”
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.