Schottenheimer knows his team fell short of expectations in 2025, but he's hellbent on making up for it.
It is no secret that Brian Schottenheimer's first season as an NFL head coach didn't go as planned, as the Dallas Cowboys finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs.
Whether or not you thought Dallas was a playoff team or not in the offseason, there's no denying or sugarcoating it - the 2025 season was a failure.
Yes, the offense showed real promise with Javonte Williams, Dak Prescott, and George Pickens having good seasons. But the defense?
The less said, the better.
As for Schottenheimer, he couldn't hide his disappointment after Sunday's 34-17 season-closing loss at New York. And he made a rather bold statement about what's coming for his franchise.
“I'm disappointed, of course, absolutely,” Schottenheimer said. “The question is why? We need to look at and figure out why. Did not think that we would be 7-9-1. I didn't think that we wouldn't be in the playoffs. I expected to be in the playoffs and competing for Super Bowl. We did not do that.
"That starts with me, and I understand that.
"But I can promise you this. We're going to get to the bottom of it. We're going to work our a---- off to figure it out, and we're gonna adjust, make changes that we need to do to help us get there.”
It is clear where the Cowboys have to start in their assessment of the season, and that's the defense.
We have stated previously that the defense simply had to be average, and this Cowboys team would be playoff-bound due to the explosive nature of the offense.
But Matt Eberflus' defense couldn't get it done.
Yes, the offense had its troubles as well, but make no mistake, the big, red blinking light for the Cowboys has been the defense.
It hasn't been the year anyone in the organization wanted, and now things have to change, both personnel and coaching-wise.
Schottenheimer says they will get to the bottom of it, and make the changes needed.
But after years and years of failure, Cowboys Nation wants action, not just words.
And in the coming months, we're going to see exactly how ruthless Schottenheimer is going to be in the pursuit of getting that elusive Super Bowl trophy.