Jerry Jones compares Brian Schottenheimer to Jimmie Johnson

The The Dallas Cowboys will enter the Week 8 matchup against the Denver Broncos with a 3-3-1 record in his first year as a head coach Brian Schottenheimerand the owner Jerry Jones maybe he already has hope that his last job could flourish into a Dallas legend.

“There’s value in somebody who’s never done it before,” Jones told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. “They’ve got something to prove. He’s been around the best staffs — all that osmosis. It’s like having a coach who’s been a five-time head coach but never won a title. That gives him juice.”

Jones didn’t stop there. The longtime iconoclast compared Schottenheimer’s drive to that of the former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson.

“It’s great after the game when you win and drink that beer,” he said, smiling. “But getting there, it’s hard. Competitive. Those big climbs? You live off them forever.”

Johnson famously led the Cowboys to victories in Super Bowl XXXVII and Super Bowl XXXVIII, and was a key part of why the franchise was able to experience a renaissance in the ’90s.

Like Schottenheimer, Johnson’s first NFL coaching job was with the Cowboys, but he has already gained significant experience at the helm of the University of Miami program. Schottenheimer wasn’t responsible for an entire team or program before this season.

A win against Denver could put the Cowboys in the playoff conversation, but the team will have to continue to improve your defensive performance if they have plans for a legitimate run. Entering Sunday’s games, the Cowboys’ defense had surrendered the most yards in the NFL.

“To some extent, we had no other way to go but defense,” Jones told the Athletics’ Jon Machotta after the team’s 44-22 Week 7 win over the Washington Commanders. “But I didn’t expect this kind of performance from our defense. So kudos to (defensive coordinator Matt Eberfluss) and certainly Brian Schottenheimer. He had a lot of his fingerprints on this. … He’s the head coach, obviously calling the (offensive) plays, and he spends a lot of (last) week there working with the defensive coordinator. there.

“This was a big day for Brian. A lot of people would say there aren’t enough minutes to cover all that ground. He’s so engaged and values ​​his chance to do this so much that I believe he’d put in 36 hours a day if needed, do some work in the equipment room (if needed). Give him full credit here.”