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By Jon Machota
Nov. 3, 2026
FRISCO, Texas — Von Miller has an interesting perspective on coaching. The 37-year-old compares it to parenting.
He shared those thoughts Sunday after the Dallas Cowboys suffered arguably their most inexcusable loss in the last 15 years, 33-30 to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime. Despite leading 17-3 late in the third quarter, 27-17 with under four minutes remaining and 30-24 with 51 seconds to play, Dallas fell to 3-5.
A Cowboys team that should have at least five wins is letting the season slip away and head coach Brian Schottenheimer is taking significant criticism.
But Miller doesn’t put the blame on Schottenheimer and the coaching staff.
“I got three kids,” said the two-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time Pro Bowler. “Sometimes you raise your kids a certain way and you teach them lessons. You expect them to act a certain way when they go out.
“And sometimes the kids just go out there and do things that are not a reflection of who you are as a parent. And I use that reference for our coaching staff. We have amazing coaches that keep us prepared, ready to go mentally, physically, emotionally. They breathe life into us, and just for whatever reason, that’s the product.
“The product that went out there is not a reflection of our coaching staff. This is pro sports. This is not parenting. So at the end of the day, the buck has to stop somewhere. Somebody’s going to get the blame. But my opinion, this is just me, I don’t know nothing about football. I only played 16 years. We’ve got great coaches. We’ve got a great coaching staff. And that’s not a reflection of how they coach us and get us ready every week.”
Schottenheimer, who is a father of two, says he sees some “parallels.”
“I think as coaches, you kind of are parents in a lot of different ways,” he added. “But at the end of the day, as I look at this, we’re all in this thing together and we understand we need to play better. We need to win games. The standard is not being met now and we need to get better.”
The Cowboys are 10-14-1 with Schottenheimer as head coach and offensive play caller. What’s more concerning is that they haven’t been able to take care of business in many favorable situations. The Cowboys were a 7-point favorite against the Cardinals. They were 8.5-point favorites three weeks ago against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both home losses. Add in a Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens after having the ball first-and-goal at the Baltimore 2 with 28 seconds to play, down 31-28. Dallas had a 77.5 percent chance to win the game at that point, according to ESPN Analytics.
“We got to be better,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “It’s unacceptable. We can’t lose that game. … I got full confidence in all my coaches. I think they do a good job of putting a great plan together. It’s on players out there to execute.”
Over the last two years, the Cowboys have only put together consecutive wins once, a three-game winning streak last season in Weeks 11 through 13.
This was supposed to be the stretch they were able to start stacking consecutive wins. The Philadelphia Eagles (2-6), Cardinals (3-5), Indianapolis Colts (2-6) and Tennessee Titans (1-7) are all among the bottom 10 teams in the league. Take care of business and the Cowboys could’ve been looking at a 7-5 record heading to Seattle in Week 13. Now, Dallas might not even get to seven wins by the end of the season.
With a team that struggled in just about every area on Sunday, Schottenheimer was asked Monday what he specifically can do better.
“There’s a number of things for all of us to do better,” he said. “I think I’m going to go back to the word consistency. You can’t go into Philadelphia and run the ball for (204) yards and then come out and rush for (2.4) yards per carry (Sunday). There’s certainly a lot of things that we as a football team can do better. Didn’t think we did a great job tackling.
“And then there’s certainly things that I can do better in all facets. Number one being finding a way to finish the game and give us a chance. We expect to get the ball back in a four-minute or two-minute drive and put it away, and we didn’t do that.”
Former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Tomlin was critical of the Cowboys’ performance before “Sunday Night Football” on NBC. Tomlin said he “saw a bunch of blinkers” when watching the Cowboys late in the game. He didn’t see “individuals or particular units that wanted to grab the bull by the horns and win the game.”
Cowboys’ playoff outcomes at different records
“I think Mike sees what he sees,” he said. “I saw a group that played hard, but we didn’t make the plays we needed to make down the stretch.”
The NFL trade deadline is next Tuesday. The Cowboys need defensive upgrades. They added cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in late September. But they could still use more help rushing the passer. After the results of the last few weeks, it’s probably better for Dallas to avoid any more additions and keep its draft picks.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan that they are still open to making moves to improve their roster before the deadline.
“We think we’re close,” he added. “We think we can get this ship righted and that we can have success.”
Schottenheimer would welcome any roster upgrades, but he said Monday that his focus is on Sunday’s game against the Colts. Most sportsbooks have Dallas as a 6-point favorite.
“I’m focused on finding a way for our guys to play well and win,” Schottenheimer said. “Jerry (Jones) and Stephen and Will (McClay) do a great job with (trade discussions). But my focus and my sole purpose right now is to find a way to play well and beat Indianapolis.”
Nov. 3, 2026
FRISCO, Texas — Von Miller has an interesting perspective on coaching. The 37-year-old compares it to parenting.
He shared those thoughts Sunday after the Dallas Cowboys suffered arguably their most inexcusable loss in the last 15 years, 33-30 to the Arizona Cardinals in overtime. Despite leading 17-3 late in the third quarter, 27-17 with under four minutes remaining and 30-24 with 51 seconds to play, Dallas fell to 3-5.
A Cowboys team that should have at least five wins is letting the season slip away and head coach Brian Schottenheimer is taking significant criticism.
But Miller doesn’t put the blame on Schottenheimer and the coaching staff.
“I got three kids,” said the two-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time Pro Bowler. “Sometimes you raise your kids a certain way and you teach them lessons. You expect them to act a certain way when they go out.
“And sometimes the kids just go out there and do things that are not a reflection of who you are as a parent. And I use that reference for our coaching staff. We have amazing coaches that keep us prepared, ready to go mentally, physically, emotionally. They breathe life into us, and just for whatever reason, that’s the product.
“The product that went out there is not a reflection of our coaching staff. This is pro sports. This is not parenting. So at the end of the day, the buck has to stop somewhere. Somebody’s going to get the blame. But my opinion, this is just me, I don’t know nothing about football. I only played 16 years. We’ve got great coaches. We’ve got a great coaching staff. And that’s not a reflection of how they coach us and get us ready every week.”
Schottenheimer, who is a father of two, says he sees some “parallels.”
“I think as coaches, you kind of are parents in a lot of different ways,” he added. “But at the end of the day, as I look at this, we’re all in this thing together and we understand we need to play better. We need to win games. The standard is not being met now and we need to get better.”
The Cowboys are 10-14-1 with Schottenheimer as head coach and offensive play caller. What’s more concerning is that they haven’t been able to take care of business in many favorable situations. The Cowboys were a 7-point favorite against the Cardinals. They were 8.5-point favorites three weeks ago against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both home losses. Add in a Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens after having the ball first-and-goal at the Baltimore 2 with 28 seconds to play, down 31-28. Dallas had a 77.5 percent chance to win the game at that point, according to ESPN Analytics.
“We got to be better,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “It’s unacceptable. We can’t lose that game. … I got full confidence in all my coaches. I think they do a good job of putting a great plan together. It’s on players out there to execute.”
Over the last two years, the Cowboys have only put together consecutive wins once, a three-game winning streak last season in Weeks 11 through 13.
This was supposed to be the stretch they were able to start stacking consecutive wins. The Philadelphia Eagles (2-6), Cardinals (3-5), Indianapolis Colts (2-6) and Tennessee Titans (1-7) are all among the bottom 10 teams in the league. Take care of business and the Cowboys could’ve been looking at a 7-5 record heading to Seattle in Week 13. Now, Dallas might not even get to seven wins by the end of the season.
With a team that struggled in just about every area on Sunday, Schottenheimer was asked Monday what he specifically can do better.
“There’s a number of things for all of us to do better,” he said. “I think I’m going to go back to the word consistency. You can’t go into Philadelphia and run the ball for (204) yards and then come out and rush for (2.4) yards per carry (Sunday). There’s certainly a lot of things that we as a football team can do better. Didn’t think we did a great job tackling.
“And then there’s certainly things that I can do better in all facets. Number one being finding a way to finish the game and give us a chance. We expect to get the ball back in a four-minute or two-minute drive and put it away, and we didn’t do that.”
Former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Tomlin was critical of the Cowboys’ performance before “Sunday Night Football” on NBC. Tomlin said he “saw a bunch of blinkers” when watching the Cowboys late in the game. He didn’t see “individuals or particular units that wanted to grab the bull by the horns and win the game.”
Cowboys’ playoff outcomes at different records
“I think Mike sees what he sees,” he said. “I saw a group that played hard, but we didn’t make the plays we needed to make down the stretch.”
The NFL trade deadline is next Tuesday. The Cowboys need defensive upgrades. They added cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in late September. But they could still use more help rushing the passer. After the results of the last few weeks, it’s probably better for Dallas to avoid any more additions and keep its draft picks.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan that they are still open to making moves to improve their roster before the deadline.
“We think we’re close,” he added. “We think we can get this ship righted and that we can have success.”
Schottenheimer would welcome any roster upgrades, but he said Monday that his focus is on Sunday’s game against the Colts. Most sportsbooks have Dallas as a 6-point favorite.
“I’m focused on finding a way for our guys to play well and win,” Schottenheimer said. “Jerry (Jones) and Stephen and Will (McClay) do a great job with (trade discussions). But my focus and my sole purpose right now is to find a way to play well and beat Indianapolis.”