Brian Schottenheimer, a favorite for the Dallas Cowboys head coaching position, is a lifelong offensive mind. Throughout his various stops around the NFL, Schottenheimer has worked on the offensive side of the ball. His entire time in Dallas, first as an analyst then as the offensive coordinator, he was singularly focused on offense.

Based on that, it’s understandable if his potential elevation to head coach makes people more worried about the new defensive coordinator than the new offensive one. After all, Schottenheimer would likely be more involved on the offensive side of the ball, so his defensive coordinator would have to be extremely capable to run things alone. But it’s that precise imbalance that really places added pressure on the offensive coordinator and smooths things out for whoever takes over as the defensive coordinator.

Schottenheimer may be an offensive mind, but that doesn’t mean he’s a successful offensive mind. This isn’t to say he’s a proven failure by any means, just that he operated in the background during the Mike McCarthy regime and has had various hiccups at previous stops when he was in charge of offensive play-calling. Having a strong No. 2, in the form of an offensive coordinator, would relieve the pressure and ease his transition to the first head coaching job of his career.

Schottenheimer has worked in some extremely conservative and outdated offenses in the past, so he comes with a fair amount of risk as a play-caller. It’s important the Cowboys add an innovative mind on staff to work as the coordinator/play-caller in order to counterbalance Schottenheimer’s more dated approach to the game.

Defensive coordinator, on the other hand, would likely be more autonomous. Much like how Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer operated behind McCarthy, whoever would come in to be defensive coordinator under Schottenheimer would likely enjoy the same freedoms over his unit. With so many experienced defensive coordinator names on the market, the Cowboys should have little problem attracting someone capable of picking up where Zimmer left off.

Offensive coordinator won’t be so simple. Most of the top offensive minds have been gobbled up and the remaining few probably won’t be eager to sign on under a conservative coach like Schottenheimer. Regardless, that’s exactly what this Cowboys franchise needs. They need the coordinator to come in and make the offense less Schottenheimer-y.

At time of this writing, Schottenheimer still hasn’t been hired but there are reports that say it’s only a matter of time. If Schottenheimer is made head coach and also decides to author the offense and call the plays, the Cowboys could be in for a long disappointing ride. But if they can add someone on offense to balance Schottenheimer out and take play-calling off his plate, the Cowboys have a chance at making this highly unpopular head coach hire work. Nothing to do now but sit and wait.

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