FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as the Dallas Cowboys head coach was already going to be a difficult one. That’s the nature of any job for a first-timer.
It was made more difficult Thursday when the Cowboys traded their Pro Bowl edge rusher, Micah Parsons, to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
But there might be good news for Schottenheimer with the trade.
Expectations entering the season, which starts Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), are low. Dallas fell from 17th to 24th in ESPN’s Football Power Index rankings after the trade. FPI now gives the Cowboys a 28.2% chance of making the playoffs, 11.5% to win the NFC East and 1.1% to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
If the Cowboys overachieve, at least by outside expectations, then Schottenheimer will be in a good situation. If the Cowboys falter, Schottenheimer won’t take all of the blame because he was without a four-time Pro Bowler who recorded at least 12 sacks in each of his four seasons and was a three-time finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
When the Cowboys were in Oxnard, California, for training camp and the saga between Parsons and the Cowboys front office — executive vice president Stephen Jones, owner and general manager Jerry Jones and vice president of player personnel Will McClay — dragged on, Schottenheimer was asked if he felt like he was caught in the middle.
“No, because I’m in communication with everybody. I mean I’m talking to the players all the time. I’m talking to ownership all the time. Stephen and Jerry and I talk all the time, Will McClay,” he said. “You know, again, the business side is the business side.
“We’re not the only team in the league that’s going through this. It’s what happens in big business and with elite players. But, no, I think I’m certainly someone that has the ability to have conversations and taking a lot of information. I’m able to look at things from all sides.”
Jerry Jones sees the Parsons trade as the next step in his process of reshaping the team, which began with hiring Schottenheimer in January.
“As my mirror is saying, ‘Come on, let’s change something up. Let’s do something a little different here,'” Jones said. “Well, how about Brian Schottenheimer? How about loading up with some resources called cap room and draft picks?
“And how about bringing on those kinds of changes? How about philosophically doing our defense a little different? How about bringing in some better blocking on the offensive line? We have done all that and this is part of that.”
Schottenheimer did his best to build a relationship with Parsons by communicating with him as much as possible when he was not around for the offseason program.
For the first two days of the offseason program, which included a crawfish boil and a paintball game for the team, Parsons was in attendance. He showed up for the mandatory June minicamp but did not participate, citing back tightness.
He showed up for training camp, again citing back tightness on the first day, but he never practiced. He took part in walk-throughs and meetings.
Small things then started to creep up publicly.
Parsons did not wear his No. 11 jersey to practice one day. Another day, he didn’t wear sneakers. On another, he just wore his jersey around his neck.
Leading into last week’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons, Parsons was eating nachos as he walked down the AT&T Stadium hallway to the locker room. He was the only player to not wear his jersey on the sideline. To start the third quarter, he was lying down on a medical table behind the bench as the offense drove down the field.
It was as if he was testing boundaries.
Two days after the game, Schottenheimer had a meeting with Parsons. Schottenheimer wouldn’t divulge the details of the conversation, but multiple sources said a number of players had started to become bothered by Parsons’ behavior.
It’s not the first time that teammates had become annoyed over the years. Some did not like what they perceived as a lackadaisical approach to practice at times. Others were upset when Parsons did not include Dak Prescott among the top quarterbacks in the league on his podcast.
Parsons’ on-field production always outweighed the off-field issues.
But for Schottenheimer, the trade frees him from incessant questions about Parsons’ availability and the possibility of a distraction.
In some ways, his job might have gotten easier.