Dallas' young coaching staff needs seasoned wisdom. Pete Carroll, a proven mentor, could provide invaluable guidance to navigate challenges and build success.
FRISCO - There is plenty of justification for having confidence in the Dallas Cowboys’ newly-formed coaching staff led by second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and freshly-hired defense coordinator Christian Parker.
Offensively, Schottenheimer and Adams performed about as well as most could have expected in 2025, given it was their first year in their positions.
It will be the same story for Parker now in 2026. And yes, the optimism is there, too, with his resume featuring ways the youthful hotshot has impacted Super Bowl-caliber rosters.
But there’s is cause for concern. These guys are young.
Schottenheimer is 52 and he’s been around the block. Adams is 42, but now he can be considered “proven.’’
But on defense? Parker may be brilliant, but he’s also just 34. And the defensive staff he’s assembling? A bunch of them are in their 30’s as well.
Maybe I’m just saying this because I myself am an old man, but …
The 2026 Dallas defensive coaching staff could use an old man.
This does not mean Parker’s choices are wrong or need to be undone. A quick look back at the Mike McCarthy era provides a double-dose demonstration.
These Cowboys should hire a consultant. An old hand who has relationships in the NFL and in the building. He’d be an advisor to Parker (and to Schotty?), not his boss.
He’d be someone who is present to ease the tensions and answer the questions and help solve the problems that plague anybody in any field who’s new to his job.
McCarthy did it twice, first hiring Ben McAdoo after he’d been fired as the New York Giants head coach, and later hiring - guess who? - Schottenheimer when he was looking for work.
Both worked here full-time, but without fancy titles. They just helped.
Think about it: Without McCarthy hiring a guy he once mentored way back early in both their careers (McCarthy was a young staffer in Kansas City under Marty Schottenheimer who asked Big Mike to help tutor his son), Brian would not be the head coach here today.
So there is value in connections. And there is value in a consultant.
My early name to consider is that of Pete Carroll, the former coach of the Las Vegas Raiders who couldn’t get the train on the tracks in his one year in Sin City before being fired.
Carroll at age 74 has been there and done that - and he is another Schottenheimer mentor, as Schotty was once his offensive coordinator (from 2018 to 2022) for some excellent Seahawks teams.
Is turnabout fair play? Can the tandem help each other out once again?
Parker will be one of the youngest coordinators in football, and it'll be his first year in that role. The rest of his staff shares in the inexperience and youth, potentially leaving the already-criticized unit even more vulnerable. A defensive-minded soundboard like Carroll could be of great benefit.
We know the former college national champion and Super Bowl-winning coach endorsed Schottenheimer’s hire in Dallas over a year ago, calling him “ready” for the new gig. Oh, and Pete has a relationship with the Joneses, too.
During the hiring process, owner Jerry Jones personally reached out to Carroll, who after momentarily pitching his own name for the Cowboys’ vacancy, gave Schottenheimer a good enough reference to land the veteran assistant his first head job.
“I just told them all the positive stuff about Brian, the stuff we’ve been through together and the confidence I have in him,” Carroll said last February. “I was trying to help Jerry feel good about it. I was glad I had the chance to help him.”
For all I know, Carroll has had enough. Maybe it’s time to go into broadcasting or just to go hang at the beach.
Or …
Maybe it’s time to help again. … should the Cowboys see the wisdom of again hiring a consultant, this time of the defensive side of the ball.