The Cowboys 'Fire Schotty' Problem: Who'd Move Up As Jerry Jones' Head Coach?

Let's say Jerry Jones has seen enough.

Maybe it's coming soon following the Dallas Cowboys' embarrassing 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Maybe it's after next week's trip to Philadelphia. Or perhaps another ugly performance against Arizona finally pushes him over the edge.

Whatever the timing, entertain the hypothetical ... Jones fires Brian Schottenheimer.

There's been no indication from Dallas that a coaching change is being considered. But the Cowboys are 2-4, fan frustration is mounting and history offers a remarkable parallel.

On November 8, 2010, Jones made the only in-season head-coaching change in franchise history, firing Wade Phillips one day after a 45-7 loss to ... the Packers.

Nearly 16 years later, another Green Bay defeat has fans calling for another coach's job.

But say they get their wish. Then what?

When Phillips left, Jones already had Jason Garrett on staff. The offensive coordinator, former Cowboys quarterback and longtime potential successor took over a 1-7 team, went 5-3 and earned the permanent job. Defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni assumed Phillips' defensive coordinator duties.

Jones wasn't merely dismissing a coach. He had a succession plan.

Where's the equivalent on this staff?

An outside replacement would have little time to learn the roster or install a system. An assistant is the practical choice ... provided there's one worth trusting.

READ MORE: Cowboys Recap & Takeaways: Dallas' Same Old Mistakes Lead to Ugly Loss at Packers

Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams would be the conventional pick. Dallas finished second in total offense last season, and Adams has experience coaching offensive lines and designing running games.

It's a tougher argument today.

Prescott threw 54 passes against Green Bay while Dallas managed 48 rushing yards. The offensive line has struggled through back-to-back defeats. Schottenheimer calls plays and Conor Riley coaches the line, so Adams doesn't own every failure.

But promoting him amid those problems hardly promises a clean break.

Mike Pettine has something Adams lacks: experience leading an NFL team. His Browns went 10-22 from 2014-15, and he's coordinated several defenses.

He also joined Dallas on October 12.

One week ago.

Pettine came out of retirement to advise first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Handing him the entire organization before he's learned its locker room would be quite a leap.

Parker himself? Dallas just hired Pettine to help him. Derrick Ansley has coordinated an NFL defense, but this unit's struggles don't make a persuasive case for promoting from within it. Special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen brings his own questions after mistakes in that phase.

Then there's Lunda Wells.

The tight ends coach has been with Dallas since 2020 and even interned with the Cowboys during training camp in 2010. He offers continuity across coaching changes.

And other teams have noticed.

Wells interviewed for offensive coordinator openings with Washington, Pittsburgh and the Jets this year. He also coached the winning West team at January's East-West Shrine Bowl.

"I'm a connector," Wells said while explaining his emphasis on relationships between players and coaches.

That's a useful quality for somebody asked to steady a frustrated locker room. Still, an all-star game isn't a regular-season sideline, and Wells has never been an NFL coordinator.

Even if Jones chose him, an interim title wouldn't solve the biggest logistical problem.

Who calls the plays?

Schottenheimer handles that himself. Firing him removes the head coach and the person running Dallas' offense on Sundays.

Adams received a preseason play-calling opportunity, but hasn't handled those duties in a regular-season NFL game. Ken Dorsey, now Dallas' passing-game specialist, has called plays in Buffalo and Cleveland.

Wells as interim head coach, Dorsey calling plays, Adams maintaining the offensive game plan ... there's a conceivable arrangement.

There's also a question of authority. Who establishes the weekly approach? Who makes the fourth-down decisions? And how quickly could those coaches establish a working system while trying to rescue the season?

That's what gets lost in the calls to fire Schottenheimer.

READ MORE: Can Cowboys Make Major Changes Amid Embarrassing Report Card For Loss At Packers?

The 2010 Cowboys were 1-7. These Cowboys are 2-4, with Philadelphia also 2-4 heading into their October 26 meeting. Their season isn't over, however ugly Sunday looked.

None of that excuses the turnovers, lack of protection or failures to adjust. Schottenheimer is responsible for the operation, and criticism is warranted.

But Jones has fired a coach after an embarrassing Packers loss before. That time, Garrett was ready, and Pasqualoni could inherit the defense.

Sixteen years later, Jones would be searching for an interim head coach and a play-caller, while leaving most of the staff and its problems intact.

Firing Schottenheimer might be the easy part.

Who'd actually be taking over?

Until there's a sensible answer to that question, all we can do is theorize.