Dallas Cowboys Offensive Coaching Staff Shakeup

The Dallas Cowboys offensive coaching staff shakeup is nearly complete. Every significant coaching role has been replaced, and this team is looking to start fresh.

As every fan knows, Mike McCarthy is out, and along with him, much of the coaching staff he had by his side.

The new coaching staff will look to turn the team’s misfortune around with several big-name hires in the hopes this team can make a deep push into the playoffs.

The Cowboys will need all the help they can get because, as it stands right now in the NFC East, they will start the season as the third-best team in the division.

The Philadelphia Eagles are fresh off a Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Washington Commanders are coming off an NFC Championship appearance.

The NFC East is always challenging, and as everyone knows in this division, each year can be drastically different for every team.

With that in mind, who will lead the Cowboys from the sidelines and press box?

Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer

Brian Schotenheimer is the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He replaces Mike McCarthy, the team’s leading man from 2020 to 2024.

Brian Schottenheimer comes from a coaching family. His father, Marty Schottenheimer, was an NFL head coach for 20 years with varying success.

The younger Schottenheimer has been a coach in the NFL for 25 years but has never had the opportunity to be a head coach. He will get his shot with the Dallas Cowboys.

Brian Schottenheimer has been an offensive coordinator for 14 years for the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Dallas Cowboys.

In his 14 years as offensive coordinator, here is how his offenses have faired:

Points scored – 15th

Total Yards – 19th

Giveaways – 14th

Rushing yards – 14th

Rushing TDs – 16th

Passing yards – 19th

Passing TD’s – 15th

Interceptions – 16th

Pretty average by offensive standards, but the coaching staff he has built around himself so far should help elevate the offense.

A healthy Dak Prescott should also be a big boost to the offensive numbers.

Offensive Coordinator Klayton Adams

Klayton Adams came to the Dallas Cowboys from the Arizona Cardinals, where he was the offensive line coach.

Adams was highly respected in the Cardinals organization and should bring a fresh look to the Cowboy’s offense.

Klayton Adams is an offensive line guru, and every team he has been a part of has seen the offensive line progress without bringing in big-name free agents, which is music to Stephen Jones’ ears.

In the NFL since 2019, Klayton Adams held the position of assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach with the Indianapolis Colts.

In 2023, he was hired as the offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals.

It is hard to quantify the stats for an offensive line, but here are the rushing and sack averages for those teams during his time with the teams.

Rushing yards – 9th

Rushing average – 10th

Sacks given up – 15th

These are the averages for his total years in the NFL. His averages with the Cardinals the last two seasons were:

Rushing yards – 2,408 (2nd)

Rushing average – 5.15 (2nd)

Sacks – 36 (12th)

These numbers would look great for the Dallas Cowboys next year.

Running Backs Coach Derrick Foster

Derrick Foster broke into the NFL from the college ranks in 2021 with the Los Angeles Chargers as the running backs coach.

He would stay with the Chargers from 2021 to 2023. For the 2024 season, he became the running backs coach for the New Orleans Saints.

In his four seasons as an NFL running backs coach, his backs have averaged:

Rushing yards – 1,738 (22)

Rushing average – 4.1 (22)

Rushing attempts – 425 (23)

First downs – 101 (21)

Touchdowns – 15 (16)

These numbers will not excite anyone, especially after the season the Dallas Cowboys had rushing.

One thing the statistics show is that Derrick Foster does not like the running back by committee approach. He likes having a workhorse back get the majority of the attempts.

Derrick Foster, combined with the head coach and offensive coordinator’s dedication to the run game, could elevate these numbers significantly.

Wide Receivers Coach Junior Adams

Junior Adams is the Dallas Cowboys’ new wide receivers coach. He has never coached in the NFL and has experience only at the collegiate level.

Adams started his coaching career in 2004 at Montana State as the wide receivers coach and left this position in 2006 to take over the same title in 2007 at Prosser High School in Washington.

He bounced around at the collegiate level after his year in high school.

In 2008, he was an assistant coach at Chattanooga. From 2009 to 2013, he was the wide receivers coach at Eastern Washington.

From 2014 to 2016, he was the wide receivers coach at Boise State. In 2017 and 2018, he moved on to Western Kentucky, where he was the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

In 2019, Junior Adams became the University of Washington’s wide receivers coach, and in 2021, he became the offensive coordinator.

From 2022 to 2024, he became the co-offensive coordinator and the wide receivers coach at the University of Oregon.

He has a massive amount of experience as a wide receivers coach at every level except the NFL.

Two things that are promising about bringing Junior Adams onto the staff are that he coached wide receiver Tez Johnson at the University of Oregon and Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington.

He had a major impact on Cooper Kupp’s career, and the bond between the two men is strong.

Cooper Kupp talking about #Cowboys newest wide receivers coach Junior Adams during their time at EWU:

“It wasn’t about winning the route. It was about doing it the right way,” Kupp said. “(Adams) lives in the world of being process-driven over results-driven. It’s not about just… pic.twitter.com/pLPPJBFn8h
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) February 9, 2025

University of Oregon Coach Dan Lanning had this to say about Junior Adams,

“Junior Adams has tremendous experience on the West Coast both as a player and a coach, as well as knowledge and familiarity working in the Pac-12 Conference,” Lanning said at the time of the hiring. Coach Adams is a terrific teacher and mentor of young men, and I am excited for our student-athletes to get the opportunity to learn from him. He has a track record of developing NFL talent at the wide receiver position, and I am looking forward to seeing him develop some more playmakers here at Oregon. His experience as a play caller will be extremely beneficial to our staff as we work to install our offensive system here at Oregon.”

Junior Adams could be a major asset at the NFL level. He can develop wide receivers and demands excellence, which is what the Cowboys wide receivers need from a coach.

His connection to Cooper Kupp and Tez Johnson could benefit the Cowboys, who need an upgrade at the wide receiver position opposite CeeDee Lamb.

Offensive Line Coach Conor Riley

The Dallas Cowboys are making it a point to surround coach Brian Schottenheimer with coaching talent. The newly hired offensive line coach will add to the firepower of this coaching staff.

Conor Riley had five national titles as the offensive line coach for North Dakota State before moving on to the Kansas State Wildcats.

While with the Wildcats as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, the Wildcats recorded three straight years, averaging 200 yards a game rushing.

Riley will get to coach his former K-State pupil, Cooper Beebe, who the Cowboys drafted last season in the third round.

He also gets to reunite with running back Deuce Vaughn, who played three seasons with the Wildcats, all under Riley, who directed the big guys up front.

This coaching staff will have the experience to succeed.

All the coaches assembled on the offensive side of the ball have years of success at various levels.

One thing is for sure: the Dallas Cowboys are serious about the running game. Most of these coaches have shown they can elevate a running game to elite levels.