FRISCO, Texas -- It's about an hour before Brian Schottenheimer is introduced as the 10th head coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.

Through the atrium windows at The Star, Dak Prescott is seen rehabbing from the surgery he had to repair a right hamstring avulsion suffered in a Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He is wearing a gray hoodie and gray sweatpants. With director of rehabilitation Britt Brown holding the cords, Prescott goes through a series of exercises up and down the field to rebuild strength in his right leg.

Soon, Prescott will sit behind the media, as Schottenheimer, owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones answer questions for more than an hour, listening intently to a coach he has grown to like over the past three years and who could be the last coach he has as Cowboys quarterback.

Prescott is signed through 2028. So is Schottenheimer.

"He's had a huge impact," Prescott said. "He was a guy that was a vital part in putting the game plan together each and every week. Obviously, [former coach Mike] McCarthy was the one making the calls at the end of the day, but [then-offensive coordinator Schottenheimer] was a big part in the in-game process, which call was being made.

"Obviously, I was on the headset the latter part of the year, heard all that. Very professional guy. He's ready. He's earned it and deserved every bit of this opportunity that he's getting."

SCHOTTENHEIMER JOINED THE Cowboys as a consultant in 2022. He primarily worked with then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn on offensive tendencies of upcoming opponents, and Prescott introduced himself early on.

They had some friends in common and just talked football.

"Dak and I have an incredible relationship, just like I have an incredible relationship with all these guys," Schottenheimer said. "Dak and I know how to push each other's buttons. We know how to have hard conversations."

Schottenheimer laughed as he said it. His mind went back to training camp last summer.

After Prescott had a pass intercepted in practice, Schottenheimer pulled the quarterback for a play. Prescott wasn't happy, but that was the rule in place, just like it was for an offensive lineman who jumped early.

"He pushed back," Schottenheimer said. "The competitor in him is special. So I think he and I working together, along with the rest of the guys putting together the system, there'll be tweaks. There's going to be changes. But he's the type of worker that changes an entire organization. And I think he and I see the game of football offensively very, very similar.

"And we'll have tons of communication moving forward on some of the thoughts of things we want to do, whether it's tempo or some of the different things we're trying to do with our play-action pass game, the run game, things like that. But he's easy to talk to. And I love and respect him."

Prescott was upset at the time, but they quickly came to an accord.

"It was a great moment of understanding and appreciating that sense of standard that, yeah, we're not accepting one play to come out. But my point [was], 'Hey, where do I get my risk versus reward?'" Prescott said. "But that was a conversation that was very unpleasant on the front end, but it had to be addressed at some point or another, and it was, immediately after practice.

"It was two grown men coming to an understanding and appreciating each other for the competitiveness and the standard. So [I'm] excited for things like that to grow, and not only me, but throughout every position on our team."

FROM 2016 TO 2018, Prescott grew from NFL Rookie of the Year to Pro Bowl quarterback with Scott Linehan as his playcaller. Prescott set franchise records with Kellen Moore as his playcaller (e.g., 37 touchdown passes in 2022) and finished 2 passing yards shy of setting the team record in a season (4,905 in 2019). He finished second in MVP voting in 2023 after leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes with McCarthy as his playcaller.

Now Prescott gets Schottenheimer as his head coach and playcaller.

"We've got to get to running the ball, being a little bit more consistent on that," Prescott said. "And from there, go back and look at the numbers. I've always enjoyed play-action pass, so just being able to get back to that. But you've got to start with the run game, and when you have that, the rest of the offense can open up."

Since his rookie year, Prescott ranks eighth in the league in touchdown passes (56) and yards (8,427) when using play-action, according to ESPN Research. In 2021, with Moore as his playcaller, he had 12 touchdown passes when using a play-action fake, which was tied for third in the NFL.

But last season, the Cowboys called play-action on only 18% of their dropbacks, which was second lowest in the league.

While Schottenheimer has a run-first history, his three-year stint as the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator (2018-20) with quarterback Russell Wilson speaks to his belief in play-action.

According to ESPN Research, the Seahawks used play-action on 27% of dropbacks during those seasons, eighth most in the league. Wilson was in the top three in the NFL for play-action touchdown passes (31, second), completion percentage (74%, third) and Total QBR (82, third).

"My vision for [Prescott] is he's one of the best," Schottenheimer said. "And through the coaching that he's going to get, through the hours and hours of time that he and I will spend together, he's going to play elite-level football. And he's going to lead us to championships.

"We got the right guy."