FRISCO, Texas – Time to read some prescient tea leaves, tipping the hand of what head coach Brian Schottenheimer's offensive intentions will be.
Like, uh, being able to run the football.
And this doesn't mean he will ignore the big chunk of this team's salary cap money spent on three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott and four-time Pro Bowl receiver CeeDee Lamb.
This also is no microscopic look at the running back position a good month out from the NFL Draft, since the Cowboys under contract at this point have two veteran backs on just very modest one-year deals (Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders), an impending third-year fullback (Hunter Luepke), a third-year former sixth-round draft choice (Deuce Vaughn) and rights to a still second-year undrafted free agent who has spent nearly all of the past two seasons on the practice squad (Malik Davis).
Or the current perception that the Cowboys will select one of these ball-carrier types at least during the first two rounds of the April 24-26 NFL Draft.
Nope, just going to make this case off my perception after observing what has taken place and saying ever since the Cowboys became "Schotty's Cowboys" on Jan. 27, having been named the Cowboys' 10th head coach over the franchise's 66-season history that began in 1960, although Tom Landry was the guy the first 29.
And a perception Schottenheimer helped collaborate with me on Feb. 18 when walking up the stairs to his office here at The Star while his staff of assistants was being interviewed in the hallways below.
Me: "Judging from what I'm hearing and evaluating your previous stops as offensive coordinator, there seems to be an emphasis being placed on running the football."
Schotty: "I'd say that's accurate. I'd say you have to be able to run the football in this league."
Me: So seems these offensive coaching hires have been intentional to this philosophy of running the football."
Schotty: "I think so."
So you guys closely paying attention, let me present my case for what's become of prime importance around here once again since over the course of history this franchise has produced two Pro Football Hall of Fame running backs, three Ring of Honor running backs, running backs leading the NFL in rushing seven times and running backs totaling 36 Pro Bowl seasons.
Exhibit A: Schottenheimer grew his coaching chops from birth. His father was legendary NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, Brian having been raised by Marty, tutored by Marty and working as an assistant coach for Marty in Kansas City, Washington and San Diego. But most of all, if only by osmosis, Brian learning football from his pops for 48 of his 51 years, Marty having passed away on Feb. 8, 2021 at the age of 77.
Long live "Marty Ball."
Because as former Cowboys quarterbacks, offensive coordinator and head coach Jason Garrett reminded me a few weeks ago while giving his thoughts on the career of Zack Martin, running the football "is certainly how (Brian's) dad built teams for years. They used to call him Marty Ball. It was almost to a fault. They were going to run the ball, play defense, special teams, and the issue was they would have good teams. They'd get to the playoffs, and they couldn't go to that next step because maybe they weren't balanced enough the other way. But he won a lot of games playing that way."
Influence noted.
Exhibit B: Look at Brian's offensive coordinator history. In three of his six seasons as offensive coordinator with the Jets, in 2008 running back Thomas Jones led the AFC in rushing with 1,312 yards, the Jets' 2,004 yards rushing ranking ninth in the NFL while scoring 405 points and 42 touchdowns. In 2009 the Jets led the NFL in rushing by averaging 172.3 a game. And in 2010 the Jets finished fourth in rushing. Then with Seattle in those three years, Schottenheimer's offense led the NFL by averaging 150 rushing yards a game in 2018, finished fourth the next year averaging 137.5 and in 2020 was 12th at 123 agame, all with Chris Carson the leading rusher.
All this was not by accident. Like, intentional.
Exhibit C: This, too, is no oversight. Schottenheimer, not only the head coach, is also running the offense and will be calling plays. He didn't hire a traditional OC, sort of what his support role as OC for Mike McCarthy was that past two seasons. Oh no, he hired a noted offensive line coach in Klayton Adams, the past two seasons the O-Line coach in Arizona, where in 2024 the Cards finished seventh in rushing yards with a franchise 16-year high of 2,451, an average of 144.2 a game and 5.3 a carry, with 18 rushing touchdowns. This with running back James Conner leading the way with 1,094 yards and eight TDs, along with quarterback Kyler Murray running for 572 on 78 carries. And in 2023, the Cardinals finished fourth by averaging 139.1 yards a game along with 17 rushing touchdowns, Conner going for 1,040 yards and seven TDs and Murray just 284 yards and two scores.
When Adams was asked if he might still have a hand in coaching the offensive line while the OC, he said, "I definitely won't stay away from that."
Then comes the new offensive line coach Conor Riley, the former offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Kansas State the past six seasons. The Wildcats the last two seasons averaged more than 200 yards rushing and 32 points a game. Check this out: In 2023 with Deuce Vaughan a rookie with the Cowboys, K-State still averaged 204.1 yards rushing a game and scored 32 rushing touchdowns. And this past season the average jumped to 215.5 a game and 21 rushing touchdowns.
Riley knows why Schottenheimer came calling.
"Coach Shottenheimer has talked about it. It's going to be a physical, physical identity. He's made it very clear we have to win up front, and we have to win up front on both sides of the football. And then along with that, how do we take advantage of that physicality and utilize the play-action game and getting the ball in the playmakers hands?" Riley said, the Cowboys doubling down with the offensive line, and really tripling down since Ramon Chinyoung remains as the O-Line assistant.
Likewise with new running backs coach Derrick Foster, sensing the same run-emphasis as me.
"I sense that. Kind of had an idea when I took the job," Foster said. "We both understood each other's passion about the run game. It's very important."
Then made Foster laugh when told him at the time, since free agency had yet to start and the Cowboys unsure if they would be able to retain 2024 lead back Rico Dowdle, an unrestricted free agent, "Great, now all you need is just some running backs."
Well, Exhibit D might just be on the way since indeed the Cowboys lost Rico Dowdle to Carolina in free agency, and again only signed Williams and Sanders as veteran insurance heading into the draft, one stocked with several creditable first- and second-round graded running backs. Surely one will be on the way.
Even the newcomer Sanders senses the importance being placed on the run game, and he hasn't even touched a ball yet, figuring, "That's the plan. You don't get too many places where the offensive coordinator is the offensive line coach."
And if in needing theoretical confirmation on the importance of the run game, one in which the Cowboys only ranked 17th last year and 14th in 2023, then ninth in 2021-22 but 17th in 2020, listen to Garrett, now the NBC studio analyst for Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame televised game broadcasts.
Remember, as head coach he had a whole lot to do with the Cowboys drafting three first-round offensive linemen from 2011-15 – two of those, Tyron Smith and Martin, likely headed to the Hall of Fame – as well as running back Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth pick in the 2016 draft who would become a three-time NFL leading rusher under his guidance. Garrett also saw DeMarco Murray in 2014 lead the NFL with 1,845 yards rushing, a Cowboys' single-season high never reached by the likes of Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker or Emmitt Smith.
"I've always believed this, and it was reinforced this year by the Eagles, go back to Pudge Heffelfinger back in 1892, the game is won on the line of scrimmage," Garrett said. "You have to solidify your offensive and defensive lines or you're never going to win. You're never going to see your offensive skill. You're never going to see your quarterback, your running back, your receiver if you have no chance on the offensive line. They can just set the tone for your entire team.
"When we were at our best, 2014, 2016, 2018, those years, the running backs led the league in rushing, and our whole team benefited. Our quarterbacks had their best years, receivers had their best years, the defenses had their best years, and that had a lot to do with those decisions to invest in those guys up front."
And for those not subscribing to this running the football philosophy, maybe in a way my Exhibit E is this past NFL season. Let Garrett expound.
"To see what Philly did this past year, dominate on the offensive line, dominate on the defensive line," he began. "Let's go back to the Super Bowl, the one we all just watched. (Kansas City) was 15-2, really 15-1. Kansas City, now, they win in the playoffs. Then they go there and get completely dominated up front. And that quarterback who is one of the all-time greats, looks pedestrian, looks bad, right? Their team looks bad because they were dominated up front.
"And I think the league got sidetracked a little bit because of Tom Brady, and everyone said, 'Well, you don't need a running back.' Well, you don't need a running back when Tom Brady is your quarterback, and you don't need a lot of things in New England. That's why they drafted all the defensive guys every year and put all their money on defense. They had Brady, he kind of made the whole thing work. Then take Brady out of New England, and how's it been since then?
"I just believe in the pervasive impact of (running the ball), and I preach this all the time on TV as everyone talked about the demise of the running back. You know, did Saquon Barkley have an impact on their team?"
Yep, sure did, just another chapter of those tea leaves singing aloud out here.
