Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer Land in Surprising Coach-QB Rankings Spot

Dak Prescott enters his 11th season in the NFL this year, and it will be the 11th time he kicks off the year as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

That position comes with much scrutiny, but the same is true for the head coach. Right now, that title belongs to Brian Schottenheimer, who is entering his second season in the role.

In 2025, Schottenheimer finished with a record of 7-9-1 in what was a disappointing campaign. This year, he's made wholesale changes to the defensive staff, which was much needed. That has led to significant optimism, but he's still a coach who has never had a winning season and has much to prove.

Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer land in a tough spot in Coach-QB ranking

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer on the field during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

That was evident in a recent Coach-QB duo ranking from SI.com's Matt Verderame. While Verderame did have the Cowboys move up from the No. 22 spot last season, he's still not ready to buy in with the coach. Dallas is currently slotted at 17th overall, with Prescott doing the heavy lifting. Verderame gives the individual rankings as well to show how he came up with his ranks, and has Prescott at eighth overall and Schottenheimer at 24th.

"The Cowboys have plenty of questions, but most center on a defense that ranked 30th a year ago. Offensively, the unit was second in yardage primarily because of Prescott, and receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, one of the league’s best trios. In 2025, Prescott threw for 4,552 yards and 30 touchdowns after finishing second in the MVP balloting two years before," Verderame wrote.

"In Schottenheimer’s case, the coach enters his second season after finishing 7-9-1 in his first campaign. After moving off defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus for Christian Parker, did Schottenheimer push the right button? That choice will hover over Dallas’s season and potentially determine its fate."

Verderame is fair in his assessment on both players, and is on the money when it comes to the pressure Schottenheimer will face. He did excellent work with the offense in 2025, but the defensive failure might have led to him receiving a bit of a pass.

That shouldn't be the case since the head coach oversees everything, and Schottenheimer didn't do enough to get Eberflus on track. Now, he enters his second season and is facing mounting pressure. If he succeeds, this duo will shoot up the leaderboards. If not, Schottenheimer's future will be in serious doubt.

—Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter for more free coverage from Dallas Cowboys on SI—

Add us as a preferred source on Google