Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as the Dallas Cowboys head coach didn’t end the way he had hoped, with a 7-9-1 record and no playoffs.

But from a wider lens, Schotty was able to build the foundation for what he hopes will be the start of something special.

The offense was elite under his guidance, which, for most, is the only reason for optimism heading into 2026. The defense was woeful under Matt Eberflus, but now with Christian Parker taking over, there’s excitement for what the defense could look like.

So there are things to build on from Year 1, and as we enter Schottenheimer’s offseason, with two first-round draft picks and the ability to have over $100 million in cap space, Dallas needs to hit home runs.

But after one year, are the Cowboys, under Schottenheimer, getting this ship turned in the right direction?

Cowboys legend and Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is waiting to see what the franchise does in the coming months.

“I tell you what, the moves that we make this offseason will tell me a lot, whether or not we’re going in the right direction,” Smith said via Zach Gelb of 365 Sports. “Because I think the trade of [Micah] Parsons and the acquisition of [Quinnen] Williams and others put us on a path and gave us an inkling that we could become something very special.
“Think what Brian Schottenheimer has done offensively, it stopped the sliding and inconsistency and started to build on a base and foundation that we should be able to step up.”

So that is all positive, and it is hard to argue with what Emmitt has said there.

The offense is the straw that stirs the Cowboys’ drink, but aside from that, Dallas has several urgent needs to fill and address before it can even be considered to be a team worth looking out for in 2026.

And for Smith, while Schottenheimer has the arrow pointing upward, he knows there’s a lot of work to do this offseason.

“But here’s the problem, we got to address George Pickens, we got to address the issues and holes of the defense. Whether that’s scheme-wise, defensive coordinator-wise, player-wise.

“If we don’t have quality linebackers to go east and west to stop the run, and we don’t do right in the draft and the free agency period, we’ll be having the same damn conversation next year.”

And that is where the trepidation from Cowboys Nation comes from, and Emmitt just laid it all out there.

Many know what Dallas has to do this offseason. The key pieces are there. Now build around it with quality additions.

You have the cap space and the draft capital to do it.

So yes, Dallas appears to be heading in the right direction for now, but as Smith pointed out, the moves the franchise makes will tell us whether or not to fully buy into Schottenheimer’s vision.