Rookie NFL Coaches Are Winning; Can Cowboys' Christian Parker Catch Up?

The NFL thesis, as stated by football lifer Brian Schottenheimer, holds that a new coach simply must endure "growing pains'' on his path to success.

Here's the reality: Schotty's Dallas Cowboys are proving his thesis to be right ... while there are a dozen other NFL teams proving him to be way behind the curve. ...

And wrong.

The Cowboys are 2-3, inarguably in part because they are experiencing "growing pains'' with 34-year-old rookie coordinator Christian Parker in charge of the defense.

The following study isn't meant to suggest that Parker won't grow into the job; hey, it's a good thing the Cowboys didn't fire Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson because they got off to poor starts, right?

But what I think we will find: Being "new'' doesn't mean your team "must lose.'' 

So again, the thesis statement ... 'New coaches MUST experience 'growing pains' before they win.'

True or false? Let's see ...

RECENT (2025/'26) ROOKIE Head Coaches

Bills' Joe Brady is 4-1

Ravens' Jesse Minter is 4-1

Raiders' Klint Kubiak started 3-1

Browns' Todd Monken started 3-1.

Bears' Ben Johnson took over 5-12 team and went 11-6.

Jags' Liam Coen took over 4-13 team and went 13-4.

Seahawks' Mike Macdonald went 14-3 and won Super Bowl.

RECENT RETREAD 'NEW' Head Coaches

Giants' John Harbaugh started 3-1.

Patriots Mike Vrabel took 4-13 team, went 14-3 and made Super Bowl

'NEW' 2026 COORDINATORS

Chiefs' Eric Bieniemy is 4-0

Bills' Pete Carmichael is 4-1

Bills' Jim Leonhard is 4-1

Ravens' Declan Doyle is 4-1

Ravens' Anthony Weaver is 4-1

Giants' Matt Nagy started 3-1

Raiders' Andrew Janocko started 3-1

Raiders' Rob Leonard started 3-1.

Lions' Drew Petzing is 3-2.

Browns' Mike Rutenberg is 3-2.

Browns' Travis Switzer is 3-2.

Bears' Press Taylor is 3-2

Packers' Jonathan Gannon is 3-2.

Lots of different guys in different cities, with different styles and philosophies ... but among them, lots of wins.

I often say, "Let the cake bake'' when it comes to battling Cowboys overreactions, and that is merited here. As I write this, Dallas is 2-3 and heading to Green Bay as a slight Sunday night underdog. Parker is a bright guy who has been installing a brand new system with new players and new thinking.

Of course, that goes for most of the fellas listed above, too.

Dallas continues to tinker on the Parker thing, this week adding to his staff a "senior assistant'' in un-retiring 60-year-old Mike Pettine while also working through whether Parker should coach from the sideline or the booth. (They've decided to stick with the latter, with the more experienced Pettine upstairs).

I also anticipate some simplifying of his plan and some alterations in his personnel.

But ultimately, there is a bottom line here: There are no more "five-year plans'' in part because too many NFL teams have used the rules and used their brains to execute quick turnarounds.

There are 21 new NFL offensive coordinators in the league this year, and 14 new defensive coordinators. Christian Parker is one of those 35 men, and patience is due all of them, to some degree.

But the ones who require too much patience while enduring too many growing pains? They won't be coordinator for long.