The Dallas Cowboys recovered from a disappointing home loss last weekend with a nail-biting 27-23 Week 9 win over the struggling Indianapolis Colts on the road. Dallas improved to 4-5 with the win over Indianapolis and cemented its second-place standing in the NFC East behind the New York Giants.

Despite the win, former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho remained skeptical of the team’s potential this season.

Emmanuel Acho Makes Radical Suggestion for the Cowboys

During a segment on the “Speakeasy” show, Acho suggested a radical measure: Dallas should part ways with coach Brian Schottenheimer and quarterback Dak Prescott if they fail to clinch a playoff spot.

“If the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs this year, there has to be the most monumental, cataclysmic changes the Cowboys have ever seen,” Acho said. “Because this would be the most disappointing one… Several (positions). Blow it up, quarterback and coach. The reason this would have to be the time is like… we’re giving the Cowboys grace because everyone sucks. So we don’t notice how bad the Cowboys have been. But like, we know why the Eagles are bad. We know why the Commanders are bad.”

Dallas has been starved of success, and the heyday of winning three Super Bowl titles during mercurial owner Jerry Jones’ first seven years at the helm is long gone. The NFC East team’s last playoff appearance came in January 2024 when former head coach Mike McCarthy’s team was beaten 48-32 by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round.

The Cowboys’ last Super Bowl appearance came during the 1995 season, heralding the end of their burgeoning dynasty. Since being promoted from the team’s offensive coordinator to head coach, Schottenheimer’s ability to restore Dallas to the elite circles has been widely questioned after he finished his first season in charge with a 7-9-1 record and no playoff appearance.

The franchise responded by firing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, hiring Christian Parker in his place, and rejuvenating the team’s defense. Despite the significant defensive changes, the unit has earned the league’s worst PFN Defense Impact score of 63.1.

On the other hand, Dallas boasts one of the league’s most stacked offenses led by Prescott and explosive wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Under offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, the Cowboys have earned the league’s fourth-highest PFN Offense Impact Metric score of 84.5, clearly showcasing the team’s problem areas.

In more than 37 years as Cowboys owner, Jones has made just one in-season head-coaching change, firing Wade Phillips and promoting Jason Garrett in 2010. After last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Jones again backed Schottenheimer and indicated that he did not envision making a similar move.

Dallas now sits second in the NFC East at 4-5 and remains firmly in the playoff hunt, giving Schottenheimer and Prescott an opportunity to turn the season around. But if the Cowboys fail to capitalize and miss the postseason for a third straight year, Acho believes significant changes at quarterback and head coach should be on the table.