The Dallas Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer, their offensive coordinator, as the team’s next head coach, and announced the move Friday with a message from Jerry Jones attached.
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones said, according to ESPN. “He’s no longer Brian. He’s now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
The signing is a shock to some and a surprise to many, as the Cowboys’ process this offseason has been a headache.
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Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 28-16. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Cowboys fans expressed their opinions on social media and were not very happy with their team’s choice.
“Hiring Brian Schottenheimer as head coach without even trying to talk to Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn or other top candidates is 1000% the same as not calling up Derrick Henry and just hiring Zeke,” said one fan on X. “Same thing “Exactly.”
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To understand where Cowboys fans are coming from, one must understand the strange process the team has gone through since the offseason began.
First, the dilemma for Jones and the rest of the organization was what to do with Mike McCarthy, the veteran head coach who went 7-10 in the final year of his contract without quarterback Dak Prescott for much of the year. the season.
Players like Prescott and others publicly expressed support for McCarthy, but the Cowboys moved on.
However, in doing so, they were already behind the 8 ball, as other teams in need of a head coach were already conducting interviews and lining up their candidates.
When Dallas put their roster together, it was an interesting group. Robert Saleh, the former New York Jets head coach who was fired midseason in 2024, arrived despite not being high on anyone’s roster except the Jacksonville Jaguars. He eventually returned to the Bay Area to take over his old job as defensive coordinator under Kyle Shanahan.
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer watches before the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
There was also Pete Carroll, who ended up returning to the NFL by accepting the Las Vegas Raiders job. Kellen Moore, the former Cowboys offensive coordinator who is now with the Eagles, attended an interview, as did Leslie Frazier, who serves as assistant head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
While all of these candidates have their credentials, fans were unhappy that top candidates like those mentioned above, who landed elsewhere, never entered the building.
David Helman of Fox Sports analyzed the situation from the perspective of the Cowboys’ process.
“We don’t know that Brian Schottenheimer will be a failure, any more than we know that Ben Johnson will be a success,” he posted on X. “Coaching hires are strange and difficult to predict.
“We know it stinks of bad process to fart for eight days with a head coach who needs a new contract, to not retain him after missing an interview window for coveted candidates, to bring in two former head coaches who are not at a high level “. demand, an outside assistant that you already have a relationship with and *then* pick the guy down the hall who a) isn’t attracting interest elsewhere b) hasn’t been a head coach c) hasn’t called plays for you and d ) has had mixed results when it has called an infraction in the past.”
Finally, some feel that Schottenheimer is similar to Jason Garrett, who took over the position after Wade Phillips, for whom he worked, was fired.
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during training camp at River Ridge Fields. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)
“Quick, easy, CHEAP and the Joneses retain control just the way they like it,” wrote one disgruntled fan. “This team doesn’t want to win. It’s about attention. It’s about egos. Cowboys fans are exhausted with this clown show.”
Schottenheimer joined McCarthy’s Cowboys staff in 2022 as a training analyst before replacing Moore as offensive coordinator in 2023. His first year on the job was also Prescott’s best season, as the team won the NFC East before of failing in the Wild Card Round for the Green Bay Packers. The team had the fifth ranked offense that season.
Schottenheimer, the son of decorated NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, has nearly three decades of coaching under his belt, spending time with the Jets, Rams and Seahawks before joining the Cowboys. He served as offensive coordinator for each of those teams.
