Mailbag: Is 2025 best chance for Schottenheimer?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

I believe that year one of the Brian Schottenheimer era is the best chance for the Cowboys to get to the Super Bowl. This is when everyone is jumping up and down, ready to learn Schotty football and run through a wall for the coach. If they fall flat, say, in the first round of the playoffs, fans and players alike will get that "here we go again" feeling, which might make it harder for guys to buy in for year two and beyond. Am I off base here? And for the record, I think the Cowboys do make a run and at least reach the NFC Championship. – Gary Hemming/Blackshear, GA

Nick: First of all, YOUR OPINION is never off base. I truly believe that, so I would never tell anyone that they're wrong in what they believe. Now some people are not as informed as others, but I wouldn't even say this is the case here. There's probably a theory there, but I know it's only happened five times ever where a first-year head coach even made it to the Super Bowl in the first year. And the last time I believe was over 20 years ago.

While you didn't mention this, I would imagine some of this mindset stems from what Dan Quinn did with Washington just last season. They got hot and rode the wave all the way to the NFC Championship. Part of that was a new culture and belief system, and part of it was finding a great rookie quarterback who was ready to be a star from the jump.

Still, either way, I do think the Cowboys can build something here in the first year. Lots has to happen but assuming they can stay relatively healthy, get Dak to return and play at a high-level and about 2-3 players emerge as superstars, then yes they can get on a run and compete for that. I don't know if I agree that it has to happen this year or never, but I can see a scenario for a quick turnaround.

Kurt: That's an interesting theory, but I don't really agree with it. I think there is a learning curve that comes with a new coaching staff, and not just with how Brian Schottenheimer will run the team overall. Think about the defense and adjusting to a new defensive coordinator. Matt Eberflus will be the Cowboys' third coordinator in the last three years. How quickly will that unit be able to find its footing?

Know how many first-year head coaches have won the Super Bowl? Two. In the 1970 season, Don McCafferty led the Colts to victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, and then in the 1990 campaign, George Seifert was at the helm of the 49ers when they won Super Bowl XXIV. Both were promoted after previously being long-time coordinators with those same teams. Gary Kubiak also won Super Bowl 50 in his first season with the Broncos, but he had been a head coach previously in Houston.

And all three were asked to guide teams that were already powerhouses. McCafferty and Kubiak took the reins of clubs that had lost the Super Bowl just two seasons earlier while Seifert led a San Francisco squad that had actually won the Super Bowl the year before.

In other words, it's just not easy to do. I think Schottenheimer and his staff will need at least a season or two for his players to fully master his system. So will he take the Cowboys to the Super Bowl? History would suggest no, but that doesn't mean he and the team still can't reach the playoffs and have a successful first season.