It’s a tale of two seasons. In 2024 the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t buy an efficient running game if their lives depended on it. Their leading rusher, Rico Dowdle, averaged 67.4 yards/game and their offense finished the season ranked 26th in EPA rushing efficiency.
In 2025, things changed exponentially. The Cowboys find themselves ranked No. 1 in EPA rushing efficiency with their leading rusher, Javonte Williams, averaging 89.4 yards/game and sitting No. 3 in overall in rushing yards. The biggest difference between these two seasons: Klayton Adams.
Sure, the lead ball carrier changed over the offseason. Dowdle was replaced with Williams at RB, but in all honesty, the swap was seen as a lateral adjustment, at best. If anything, Dowdle was viewed as the more dynamic back of the two. And sure, the Cowboys used the No. 12 overall pick in a blue-chip offensive lineman. But that lineman has only played three games this year, and like a lot of rookie lineman, he’s struggled to be anything above average.
No matter how you slice it, the key difference is Adams, an up-and-coming offensive line coach from the Arizona Cardinals hired to be Brian Schottenheimer’s first ever offensive coordinator.
Adams’ ability to turn around the Arizona running game in dramatic fashion made him a dark horse in Schottenheimer’s OC search for Dallas. It made him a fan-favorite hire and a sign the Cowboys were finally dedicated to fixing their running game efficiency and not just giving it their usual lip service.
Together with new offensive line coach Conor Riley, Adams was primarily tasked with fixing the O-line and constructing a dominant running game. It’s a task that just five weeks in has already seen its share of successes and speedbumps. Injuries have plagued the Cowboys offensive line in 2025 with four of the five starting linemen missing Week 5 and many more absences yet to come. Despite it all the Cowboys have been able to overcome and field arguably the best rushing attack in the NFL.
Given everything, it’s only natural people in and around the NFL are starting to buzz about Klayton Adams. To them, I politely say, “stop it.”
Klayton Adams left ARI for DAL this offseason
DAL ranks 1st in rush success rate and ARI ranks 32nd. Have to imagine he gets some HC interviews next cycle pic.twitter.com/kwBmWHWc9j
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) October 6, 2025
Cowboys’ fans deserve nice things, too, so why exactly is everyone in a hurry to get their best new assistant coach promoted out of town? In an act of pure selfishness, it’s time to give Adams the old Voldemort treatment and make him “the one who shall not be named” going forward. What he’s managed to do in five short weeks is nothing short of spectacular and that must be protected.
The biggest indictment of the Ossenfort/Gannon era was their failure to recognize how integral Klayton Adam’s was to their offensive success.
The Arizona Cardinals are completely lost without him, Drew Petzing included.
A literal house of cards collapsing.
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) October 7, 2025
Teams aren’t supposed to survive the loss of four starting offensive lineman, yet the Cowboys did. In fact, they’re somehow thriving. It doesn’t just end at the running game either. Despite having suspect pass protection, particularly from the offensive tackle positions, the offense is playing in rhythm and getting the ball out on time to avoid catastrophe on dropbacks. Adams might not deserve all the credit, but he probably deserves most of it.
HC Brian Schottenheimer on OC Klayton Adams:
“Klayton is an excellent football coach he has a tough job but so easy to work with he loves coaching o-line it’s the fundamentals.”
Also noted he does a good job getting the most out of the players pic.twitter.com/DlVmBwdWgJ
— DLLS Cowboys (@DLLS_Cowboys) October 6, 2025
Keeping the first year OC in Dallas for as long as humanly possible should be a priority for the Cowboys. Dallas has one of the youngest offensive lines in the NFL so development will be key. Both tackle positions are unsettled long-term so having Adams and Riley on hand to identify and develop solutions is extremely important to the future of the roster.
When the Cowboys first hired Adams, many in the national media were left scratching their heads because so many more prominent names were available. Let’s get back to that. Don’t let Klayton Adams become a household name, Cowboys Nation. We deserve good things too.
Sorry about that, coach.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Why Cowboys fans need to pump the breaks on the Klayton Adams praise
