Where do Glen Gulutzan (left), Skip Schumaker (center) and Brian Schottenheimer (right) rank on Dallas’ Coach-O-Meter?
Michael Hogue/Staff Photographer/Photos/Getty Images
This is the land of Jimmy, of Hitch, the land of Carlisle and Nelson, the land of Bochy and Buck. It’s the land of Landry, for gosh sake.
When the Minnesota North Stars moved south in 1993 and Dallas became a big-time four-major-sports-teams city like New York or Chicago or Philly or just a handful of others, these were the men entrusted to coach the Cowboys, the Rangers, the Stars and the Mavericks to do their very best.
Jimmy Johnson. Kevin Kennedy. Bob Gainey. Quinn Buckner.
OK, there’s a little hiccup there at the end because the Mavericks wandered aimlessly through the ’90s until Don Nelson happened on the scene. Then you had more than a quarter of a century of Nelson, Avery Johnson, Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd — mostly veteran coaches, all taking the Mavs at least as far as the Western Conference finals and three of them reaching the Finals.
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So actually the Mavericks have been more reliable at the helm than the rest. Maybe that’s why it feels like this whole thing is adrift right now, like we are on some forgotten island (also maybe because it rains every day?).
How did we get here … this land of Schottenheimer, Gulutzan, Schumaker and Unknown?
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer applauds his squad as they stretch during the second day of full-squad mandatory minicamp at The Star in Frisco, June 11, 2025.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
It’s a bit of a 2002 reminder when, other than Nelson, the men in charge were Dave Campo, Jerry Narron and a young Dave Tippett.
I am not here to knock any of these current coaches or proclaim them as inadequate. It’s just that there’s a lack of experience and a complete lack of local production at the helm right now. The dean of local coaches is Brian Schottenheimer, because he has been on the job almost 17 months. He also has a 7-9-1 record on his resume. Talks the talk really well, but needs to walk the walk this season.
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Jerry Jones’ beloved Schotty is followed in seniority by Glen Gulutzan, who is taking his second crack at coaching the Stars. He was here 15 years ago, before Tom Gaglardi rode to the rescue with a little money and a GM named Jim Nill. Gulutzan speaks and even gestures a bit like Jason Garrett, at least in my mind, and I don’t know what that indicates beyond potential for some serious longevity in this post.
But the Stars are more demanding of playoff success than the Cowboys. They play to a higher standard. After a first-round flameout against Minnesota (which then lost to Colorado, which was then swept by Vegas), the Stars are feeling like an afterthought in a conference where reaching the finals was simply a given for Pete DeBoer.
Gulutzan’s first-round playoff record is 2-8, having lost series in Calgary and now Dallas. As good as the Stars’ regular season was, Gulutzan needs to be better in April and deep into May the next two years or, at the very least, some of that golden hair is going to gray.
Skip Schumaker checks in next on the list. The Rangers hit the 55-game mark at 25-30. Not exactly the improvement team president Chris Young had in mind when he excused Bruce Bochy from further duties and hired the in-demand Schumaker. He performed wonders in one season with the Marlins in 2023 but is supposed to have a better roster at Globe Life Field. Supposed to. Hard to tell when they almost get no-hit by Astros’ Spencer Arrighetti two weeks ago, then they do get no-hit by a chorus of Astros here Monday night. And only Baltimore has allowed more runs than Houston this season.
Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker (55) in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 18, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
David Zalubowski/AP Photo/David Zalubowski
It’s too soon to see how Schumaker’s brand fits the Rangers. A mediocre baseball team that just can’t hit most nights is a tough one to watch, let alone manage.
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Maybe the Mavericks will bring a big name to town, although that doesn’t seem the likely fit for this new team of president Masai Ujiri and GM Mike Schmitz. Completely new leadership, after it was really Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson in charge for so many years, makes this feel like an especially experimental phase for the Mavs.
Is there a championship parade in the future for any of these new faces? It’s awfully hard to imagine for Schotty or Schumaker. In the one case, the NFC is just loaded with good teams. Even with the anticipated improvements on defense, the Cowboys are tied for 7th in Super Bowl odds, and that’s just to get there. The offense is explosive enough, but the clock is also ticking for Dak Prescott, coming off a great season but 33 in July with a thicker injury history than you’d like.
The Rangers have some of the pitching in place you might need to win it all, but that lineup that looked so potent and productive at the end of 2023 has vanished. Not unwisely in some cases, either. Check the Mets or the Phillies or Sacramento to see what Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim aren’t hitting these days.
The Stars have had most of the pieces in place for five years now. It’s their time, if there is one around here, and it’s on Gulutzan to take advantage of the timing of his second chance.
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The mystery man for the Mavs? They will inherit a teenage star and a draft pick. And as you saw for the last two weeks, competing at Oklahoma City or San Antonio’s level is going to take a heck of a lot more than that.