FRISCO — Being a head coach means more responsibilities for Brian Schottenheimer. That doesn’t come with more time, however. So Schottenheimer had to adjust, even if it’s cost him some sleep.
“My wife actually said to me yesterday I looked tired. I said that’s OK, I’ll get through it,” he said. “I do think a strength of mine is using the people I hired because I believe in them. I’m going to hold them accountable. If there’s things I don’t like, they’ll know about it. I do think that the staff was built the right way because I knew that I couldn’t be in every room at every point in time.”
With the way his last-ranked defense has played so far this season, however, it begs the question: does Schottenheimer have to spend more time in the defensive rooms this week?
Schottenheimer caveated that he spends more time in those rooms than expected. That included meetings “at length” on Monday in the wake of the team’s 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
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“That’s not because I’m panicked,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s because I know I can offer solutions.”
It’s a delicate dance, offering further glances to an assistant coach — especially amidst adverse circumstances like the Cowboys currently find themselves in. Schottenheimer noted that scheme changes and personnel changes could be around the corner. He said that they discussed possible solutions on Monday and even noted some possible answers on whiteboards.
Until there are solutions, however, scrutiny of Matt Eberflus and the Cowboys’ defense will continue.
“I’ve been Matt,” Schottenheimer said. “I’ve been a coordinator, man, and I’ve been where people are calling you out and saying, ‘You don’t know how to coach,’ and, ‘Man, this guy is the worst coach in history.’ Matt Eberflus is a damn good football coach, and we have to perform better. But I’ve been him. Part of me being in there is to help, be an asset, tell him I believe him and I understand what he’s going through. It sucks and it’s no fun, but we’re going to ride this thing out and again: we’ll play better. We really will.”
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