FRISCO, Texas — Things are just about wrapped up for the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching staff as they enter the era of Brian Schottenheimer, a first-time head coach who has effectively surrounded himself with lots of firepower in all three phases of the game — offense, defense, and special teams.
As the team begins to prepare for its first go at free agency with the new coaching staff, and its needs, the direction of the team appears far more clear than it's been not simply in the last few weeks, but in the last few seasons as a whole.
And it begins at an executive level.
[Note: Tap each link for more information on the respective signing/extension and/or insight.]
Front office
VP of Player Personnel: Will McClay (extended)
With McClay now locked in for the next half-decade and speaking publicly about how, going forward, the Cowboys will be more aligned than ever from the front office through the coaching staff and more, there's a singularity that carries the energy and tone of the budding blueprint.
Secondly, the offensive staff is designed with notable names added from both the NFL and collegiate ranks with what looks to be an emphasis on playing bully ball going forward.
Offense
- Head coach: Brian Schottenheimer
- Offensive coordinator: Klayton Adams
- Offensive line: Conor Riley
- Tight ends: Lunda Wells
- Wide receivers: Junior Adams
- Assistant wide receivers: Tiquan Underwood
- Running backs: Derrick Foster
- Quarterbacks: Steve Shimko
One of the biggest keys to continuity was to keep Wells in the building and, after losing Al Harris to the Chicago Bears on the defensive side of the ball — one of the top teams attempting to peel Wells away from Dallas as well — the Cowboys and the young, talented position coach agreed to a new multi-year deal to keep developing Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson, former second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker and up-and-comers like Brevyn Spann-Ford.
That's where the continuity ends, however, because the rest of the offensive staff behind Schottenheimer is shiny and new, and mixes in a couple of the best collegiate minds, e.g., Junior Adams and Conor Riley, hailing from the top program in the country last year (Oregon) and featuring a reunion with Cooper Beebe and Deuce Vaughn, respectively.
It might just be the spark needed to turn Vaughn into the weapon he was at Kansas State, under Riley at the time, and sets Beebe up for an even stronger Year 2, as Shimko lands a promotion from offensive assistant to quarterbacks coach having also spent time with Schottenheimer in Seattle on the Seahawks' coaching staff in yesteryear.
Klayton Adams (a massive get) and Derrick Foster combine with Riley to set the stage for what could be the return of a dominant rushing attack in Dallas, pending pivotal roster moves to come in free agency and the draft.
Oh and, by the by, Klayton Adams attended and later coached at Boise State, so do what you will with that information.
Now, what of the defense?
Defense
- Defensive coordinator: Matt Eberflus
- Defensive line: Aaron Whitecotton
- Assistant defensive line: Bryan Bing
- Linebackers: Dave Borgonzi
- Defensive pass game coordinator: Andre Curtis
- Cornerbacks: David Overstreet II
- Defensive assistant: J.J. Clark
Eberflus returns to take on a role the Cowboys had ordained for him years ago when he was linebackers coach and defensive passing game coordinator, defensive coordinator for now and later in replacing Mike Zimmer, who replaced Dan Quinn, who replaced Mike Nolan, who replaced Rod Marinelli — the latter being who Eberflus worked under and opted to not push out of his role to take on the seat of defensive coordinator at the time.
That paragraph is also to illustrate just how many have tried their hand at coordinating the Cowboys' defense since 2014, Quinn having the most success by a very large margin, but still with faults that required improvement, such as the run defense.
Eberflus is looking to Whitecotton, a heralded and no-nonsense coach poached from the New York Jets, and Bryan Bing to get that job done — Bing being one of four who spent time with Eberflus in Chicago.
Borgonzi is another of those four and, like Eberflus, returns to Dallas to continue his coaching career, and Curtis has ties to both Eberflus and Schottenheimer, making for a kind of silent continuity that should help the group hit the ground running more quickly.
Count Overstreet into that silent continuity equation, as the other who operated under Eberflus in the Windy City, and whose task will be to try and fill some gargantuan shoes vacated by Harris.
Special teams
- Special teams coordinator: Nick Sorensen
- Assistant special teams coordinator: Carlos Polk
Speaking of filling large footwear, Sorensen takes over as special teams coordinator to replace John "Bones" Fassel, who took his assistant special teams coordinator (Rayna Stewart) and signed on with the Tennessee Titans in a move that effectively shocked the Cowboys.
Sorensen has skins on the NFL wall in this role, to say the least, and there's an added benefit of bringing him in from the San Francisco 49ers: literally no one on the staff boasts his knowledge and level of intel about the inner workings of Kyle Shanahan's mind and operation.
Want to finally exorcise that specific demon? Sorensen might have some holy water in his luggage.
Strength and conditioning
- Harold Nash
- Kendall Smith (assistant)
- Cedric Smith (assistant)
The training staff remains unchanged for 2025, keeping familiarity in place for many players who have already built specific programs and regimens with Nash and the Smiths.
The newest additions to the staff include Junior Adams, Carlos Polk and J.J. Clark, as noted above, and here is a more detailed look at what each of those three bring to the table.
Junior Adams
Adams agreed to terms with the Cowboys to replace Robert Prince as receivers coach, leaving his role as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach of the Oregon Ducks, where he held both positions from 2022 through the 2024 season.
It was an offense in Oregon that regularly scorched opposing defenses on a weekly basis en route to earning their way to the No. 1 seed in the nation and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff last season.
His coaching career spans backward to 2004 as a receivers coach at Montana State, gradually climbing to larger programs that included Boise State and Washington before accepting a dual position with the Ducks. Assisting Adams will be former NFL receiver Tiquan Underwood, added to the coaching staff only a few days prior, and the two have plenty to help Schottenheimer sort out behind all-world wideout CeeDee Lamb going forward.
It is clear though that Schottenheimer is seemingly mastering the balance of adding experience to his staff with talented, untapped potential. - Patrik Walker
Ken Dorsey
The expectation is that Dorsey will join the Cowboys as offensive passing game coordinator, having interviewed and impressed for the offensive coordinator position that was, however, awarded to Klayton Adams. They've since circled back to grab Dorsey for Schottenheimer.
Dorsey, 43, spent the 2024 season as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Previously, he had been the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2022 and 2023. The two seasons that Dorsey spent in Buffalo were his best, as the Bills offense ranked top-five in total yards and points during both seasons. The Bills' passing and rushing attacks were both ranked top-10 during Dorsey's tenure as well.
In 2011, Dorsey took his first NFL position as a scout for the Carolina Panthers, spending two years in the role before being hired as the team's quarterbacks coach in 2013. Dorsey was part of the development of Cam Newton, who was named MVP in 2015 after posting over 4,400 scrimmage yards and 45 total touchdowns en route to an appearance in Super Bowl 50.
After five seasons as the quarterbacks coach in Carolina, Dorsey joined the Buffalo Bills in the same role in 2019 after spending the 2018 season as the assistant director of athletics at Florida International University. Two years later, Dorsey had the passing game coordinator tag added to his title before being named offensive coordinator in 2022, helping develop now MVP quarterback Josh Allen in the process.
As a player, Dorsey was the starting quarterback for the 2001 University of Miami national championship team. He also won the Maxwell Award that season, presented each year to the most outstanding player in college football.
Once he finished his collegiate playing career in 2002, Dorsey was selected in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent three seasons with the 49ers before being traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2006, spending his final three playing seasons there before being cut after the 2008 season.
In Dallas, Dorsey will likely be tasked with aiding Dak Prescott, who looks to come back from a season-ending hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for a majority of the 2024 season. - Tommy Yarrish
Carlos Polk, J.J. Clark
Polk returns to Dallas in the same role he had in 2019, where he spent the 2019 season on Jason Garrett's staff in his final season as head coach. Before that role with the Cowboys, Garrett hired Polk as a coaching intern with Dallas in 2013. Now, Polk joins Nick Sorensen on the Cowboys special teams coaching staff. For the past three seasons, he's worked as the assistant special teams coach for the Chicago Bears, reuniting with Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
Polk has held the same title his entire NFL coaching career, spending time with the San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars in the past as well.
Clark joins the staff as a defensive assistant who will likely help in the linebacker room. Last season, he was the defensive coordinator at the University of Texas at El Paso.
It's been a fast rise for Clark in the coaching industry, as he was a coordinator at Indiana Wesleyan, an NAIA college, just four years ago. Clark was hired as linebackers coach at Austin Peay University in 2022, and served in the role before being promoted to defensive coordinator/safeties coach a year later.
In 2023, Clark helped Austin Peay to a nine win season and a United Athletic Conference championship.
Clark is the third coach that the Cowboys have hired from the collegiate ranks, joining new wide receivers coach Junior Adams who came from Oregon, and offensive line coach Conor Riley who joined from Kansas State. - Tommy Yarrish
Liftoff?
And with that, Schottenheimer has the keys to the vehicle, one the Cowboys are expecting him to turn into a rocket ship, but his success will also be predicated upon the launching pad designed in free agency and the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
The first stage is basically all set though, and objectively impressive. The ship looks good, but it's time to start adding the right grade of fuel, because you can't get to the moon on 87 octane.
