Mavericks stick with Kidd for long haul

By David Mullen

Among the head coaches of Dallas’s four major sports teams, just one is firmly entrenched.

In 2025, the Dallas Cowboys turned to rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer to provide fresh thinking for a franchise mired in mediocrity. Schottenheimer had the resume. He had been an assistant offensive coach at some capacity for 26 seasons, coaching quarterbacks and coordinating offenses including the Cowboys. 

Schottenheimer, 51, was part of coaching staffs led by high-profile NFL coaches like Pete Carroll, Jeff Fisher, Rex Ryan, Dick Vermeil and Mike McCarthy, who Schottenheimer replaced. Father Marty was a successful NFL coach but dubiously has the most wins (200) of any head coach in NFL history never to win a Super Bowl.

The early results on Schottenheimer, albeit a small sample size, were easy to foresee. The Cowboys are amidst a teetering 2-3-1 season that everyone but Owner/GM Jerry Jones sees as a rebuilding year. Jones thinks the Cowboys can still make the playoffs this season. He should worry about the team not finishing fourth in the four-team division. 

Through six games in the 2025 regular season, the Cowboys are all offense and no defense. Led by quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys’ offense ranks No. 1 in the league averaging 387.5 total yards per game. They average 30 points per contest. But the defense is dead last in the NFL, yielding 411.7 yards per game against inconsistent offenses like the New York Giants and Jets, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. 

History dictates that Schottenheimer will be given time to right the ship. Jones gave Jason Garrett nine and one-half seasons to win before realizing what everyone else knew. Garrett was not an NFL head coach.

On October 10, Skip Schumaker was formally introduced as the 21st manager of the Texas Rangers, replacing Bruce Bochy. Schumaker, 45, who previously managed the Miami Marlins, worked in the Rangers’ front office as a senior adviser to president of baseball operations Chris Young. This team needs serious offseason rebuilding, especially in the punchless everyday lineup. Schumaker, who was a utility player for three major league teams, is viewed as more relatable to younger players. 

In 2025, the Dallas Stars turned — or returned — to Glen Gulutzan, 54, head coach for a second stint. Gulutzan replaced Pete DeBoer, who in three seasons led the Stars to three Western Conference Finals. 

The Stars think Gulutzan relates better to players. Gulutzan is off to a good start. The Stars have turned a difficult opening schedule into a 3-0 record.

Coaches are easy to blame and easy to replace. But quietly and under the radar, the Dallas Mavericks have decided that they have their long-term leader. 

On October 13, the Mavericks signed head coach Jason Kidd, 52, to a multiyear contract extension. Terms were not released, but it is the second contract extension Kidd has received since becoming the Mavericks head coach on June 28, 2021. Kidd was hired to replace Rick Carlisle, who coached Dallas for 13 years, including an NBA Championship season.

While former owner Mark Cuban, current owner Miriam Adelson and players like Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have commanded the headlines in recent years, Kidd has been a calm leader. His lack of verbosity and animation on the sideline can be interpreted as a lack of intensity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Kidd is a basketball maven.

Kidd earned his street cred starring on the basketball courts in blue collar Oakland, a city with a great basketball history fueled by the likes of Bill Russell, Paul Silas, Paul Pierce, Gary Payton and Damian Lillard. Kidd attended the nearby University of California – Berkeley and dazzled as a point guard, earning NCAA Freshman of the Year honors.

The Mavericks made Kidd the second overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft behind Grant Hill. Kidd and Hill were named co-NBA Rookie of the Year in 1995. At 38, Kidd would become an NBA Champion with the Mavs in 2011. He finished his career as a 10-time NBA All-Star, a six-time All-NBA Team member, nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member and two-time Olympic gold medal winner. Kidd was named to the prestigious NBA 75th Anniversary Team and is enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Known for his analytical skills on a basketball court, Kidd gained head coaching experience with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks and was an assistant coach for the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers NBA Championship team. In his first season as the Dallas head coach, he led the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals.

In statements regarding Kidd’s contract extension, Mavericks team governor Patrick Dumont said: “Our entire organization deeply appreciates coach Kidd’s leadership, focus and positive energy. Coach Kidd embodies everything our organization wants in a leader, and I am happy he will be here for many years to come.”

Maligned Mavericks GM Nico Harrison stated: “J-Kidd’s basketball résumé is one of the best in the game, and through every situation he has proven he’s the right person to lead the Mavericks. He has a track record of developing some of the best talent in the league, as well as the ability to connect with players to bring out the best version of themselves.”

Harrison still must live down the Doncic trade to the Lakers until he can get the last laugh. The stoic Kidd may get Harrison to the level where he is laughed with, not laughed at. Dallas sports fans can appreciate the stability Jason Kidd brings as Mavericks head coach, even if his recent contract extension announcement was as low-key as Kidd himself.