BREAKING: Dallas Cowboys Has FIRED Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer Due To…
UPDATE (Nov. 4, 2026): Reports circulating Wednesday morning claiming the Dallas Cowboys have fired head coach Brian Schottenheimer are unfounded and inaccurate, according to multiple team sources. The speculation appears to stem from a misreading of comments made by Cowboys ownership following Sunday’s devastating loss.
THE ORIGINAL REPORT:
DALLAS — Social media erupted Wednesday morning with rumors that the Dallas Cowboys had finally pulled the plug on head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The whispers began after a chaotic 48-hour news cycle in which the Cowboys blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to the lowly Arizona Cardinals, dropped to 3-5, and watched their season teeter on the brink of collapse.
But here is the truth: Brian Schottenheimer has not been fired.
Multiple outlets, including CBS Sports, The Athletic, and NBC Sports, confirmed that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones explicitly shot down the idea of an in-season coaching change immediately after Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss . The rumor mill, however, has a mind of its own.
What Jerry Jones Actually Said
Jones was asked point-blank about Schottenheimer’s job status in the locker room after the Cardinals game. His response was unambiguous.
“That’s not in my mind at this time,” Jones said . “I made a change, and I don’t want to mention it because I’m not proud of it. But I made a change with Wade Phillips there in the middle of the season, and I don’t see that here at all” .
Jones was referencing his 2010 midseason firing of Wade Phillips—the only time he has ever made an in-season coaching change in his nearly four decades as owner. By invoking that precedent, Jones was signaling that Schottenheimer’s situation, while dire, has not reached the point of no return.
Perhaps more strikingly, Jones deflected blame away from his head coach entirely.
“I will say that a lot of people let Brian down today,” Jones said . “So for whatever criticism we want to have of Brian, we can all get in line” .
The Case for Firing Him
The arguments for termination are not without merit. Dallas has been a model of inconsistency under Schottenheimer, compiling a 10-14-1 record and failing to win consecutive games more than once in nearly two full seasons . The loss to Arizona was historically embarrassing—the Cowboys matched the biggest blown fourth-quarter lead in franchise history, surrendering a 14-point advantage in the final fifteen minutes .
They have now lost to backup quarterbacks twice this season, including undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels of the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The defense, overhauled in the offseason at significant cost, has been a liability. And Schottenheimer’s own game management has drawn scrutiny in close losses.
Former NFL receiver Jarvis Landry tweeted after Sunday’s collapse: “I want every coach in Dallas Fired by the time I lay my head on a pillow TONIGHT!!” .
The Case Against Firing Him Now
Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president and COO, offered a more nuanced perspective on Monday. He said the Cowboys would not hesitate to make an in-season change if they “had a succession plan in place,” but for now, he is backing Schottenheimer .
“I don’t think you fire somebody just to send a message,” Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan . “If it’s something there that you make a change because it’ll make us better in the long haul then you certainly have to take a look at that.”
That is the crux of the dilemma. Jerry Jones fired Wade Phillips in 2010 because he had Jason Garrett waiting in the wings as a clear successor. There is no Garrett on this staff. Firing Schottenheimer midseason would leave Dallas with an interim coach and no long-term plan, a recipe for further chaos.
What’s Really Going On
The Cowboys are 3-5 in a mediocre NFC East, with nine games remaining. The season is not lost. But the margin for error is razor-thin.
Jerry Jones, at 84, is keenly aware of his own mortality and his legacy. He has watched three decades of mediocrity since the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl. He hired Schottenheimer as a low-cost, low-profile option after Mike McCarthy’s departure, hoping stability and continuity would yield different results. It has not.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Mac Engel reported this week that Jones “will not fire Schottenheimer during this season, but after it feels plausible” . Schottenheimer is in the second year of a four-year contract. Jones reportedly hates the idea of paying a coach not to coach, but he may hate another season of this product even more.
For now, the headline is clear: Brian Schottenheimer is still the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The rumors of his firing are premature. But the seat is scorching, the patience is thinning, and the next loss—especially if it comes Sunday against the 2-6 Indianapolis Colts—could change everything.
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