INDIANAPOLIS — Everything in perfect balance. Thanos was onto something with that statement, and the Dallas Cowboys are buying into it to begin the Brian Schottenheimer era, having allowed several familiar names and longtime coaches flake away to make room for the addition of a staff around their first-time head coach that is steeped as much in experience as it is new, fresh ideas.
On one hand, the defense is led by Matt Eberflus, a former Cowboys' linebackers coach and defensive passing game coordinator turned Chicago Bears' head coach turned Cowboys' defensive coordinator in 2025, as one example of what sits on the left side of the scale.
The right side boasts a name like Conor Riley, a heralded offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Kansas State who is already getting his first-ever taste of being an NFL coach at the combine in Indianapolis.
Schottenheimer spoke to striking such a balance, and how it came about.
"I think this is something that I've done for a long time, which means spend the offseason and the summer — my wife gets mad at me — but tracking coaches," he said, speaking from this year's NFL Combine. "I literally call guys in the business that I know and that I trust and I'm like, 'Hey, tell me about somebody that maybe you think the world of, but that I've never heard of.' And it's such a close knit fraternity that guys are happy to share good people with other good people.
"I think there are three guys that I've worked with before that weren't carryover guys. When [it comes to how] the staff was going to come together, did I think that would be the case? Probably not. But, again, the guys that came in, I think we found great teachers. We found guys that were incredible people and have a real big belief in fundamentals."
It's impossible to look at Schottenheimer's staff on paper and not see the blend of experience and potential marrying together fairly seamlessly in Dallas.
"I think if you look at all the coaches that we've added, it's [a mix of] both young and old, and the ability to train fundamentals and the developmental process of our players is critical," he explained. "One last thing: I know for a fact our players are going to feel the passion and energy of this staff. This staff is awesome just in terms of the energy, the way they want to teach and the way they want to be on the grass. I can't wait to see us get to work here in a couple of months."
That is indeed something else that emanates from this new-look staff: energy.
It revealed itself in the first round of interviews with the media but also permeates everything Schottenheimer's staff is doing in Indianapolis in their inaugural dance with draft prospects, at least in their current respective roles, anyway. From meetings with potential additions to the Cowboys' roster to closed door meetings with other coaches from outside of the organization, Schottenheimer is calling in all of his favors from decades of relationship-building.
Things are quickly coming together, and with few hiccups, if any at all, as the Cowboys' front office also approved the decision to pay the entire hefty expense to travel the entirety of the coaching staff to the NFL Combine with the goal of building continuity, maintaining the same message on a daily basis, and strengthening the working and personal bonds within the staff.
With a lot of work still ahead, the foundation is set.
"It's been long days, honestly," said Schottenheimer. "We really brought the whole staff up here [to Indy]. We've been doing a lot of football in the morning, and guys get pulled away to do interviews and things like that."
And speaking of meetings and interviews, it's not only the players Schottenheimer is developing but, much like his late, legendary father Marty Schottenheimer, there is also a coaching development already occurring.
"What's been really cool is watching the experienced coaches lean into the younger coaches, and we've actually, even in some of the interviews, we've watched some of the quality control guys do some of the interviews," he said. "Why would [we] do that? Well, you do it to develop your younger guys. So to watch [defensive assistant] J.J. Clark, or to watch [assistant offensive line coach/quality control] Ramon Chinyoung go through the interview process, and taking these guys through the process, is great for us as coaches to evaluate them; but also for [the front office] to see those guys in that role.
"That's because, at some point, when we win games and guys begin to move on, those are the guys that we're going to be promoting from within."
Not if the Cowboys win games, but when they do, per Schottenheimer.
It's a subtle yet poignant prediction and confidence that time will reveal as true or premature, but there's no denying the quality of coaching personnel brought in to mold the culture, locker room and win-loss record.
Next up: free agency.
