Brian Schottenheimer could very well become the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo courtesy of Sam … (+)
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The Dallas Cowboys may be in the final stages of hiring a new head coach to replace Mike McCarthy.
Owner Jerry Jones and others have been meeting with McCarthy since Dallas parted ways with McCarthy on January 13th. Former New York Jets head coach and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was the first to initiate the interview. Deion Sanders also spoke to Jones about the vacancy. However, that seems a long way off.
Jones’ decision to wait so long to move on from McCarthy prevented Dallas from being a viable candidate for Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Eventually, in a surprising move, Johnson was traded to the Chicago Bears. Glenn was traded to the Jets.
As the Cowboys’ process to find a new head coach continues, former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has emerged as the top candidate. He is currently employed in the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles as they prepare for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. Dallas won’t be able to interview Moore until after the Eagles’ season ends, which complicates the situation if the Eagles are heading to the Super Bowl.
We’re now hearing more about what Dallas will do next. It would be no exaggeration to say that this is surprising. Cowboys fans will be a little worried, too.
Longtime Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. reported Thursday that the Cowboys are close to promoting current offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach.
“I expect the Cowboys to cross the finish line hiring Brian Schottenheimer by Friday, possibly today,” Hill reported in the X.
Schottenheimer had his second in-person interview with the Cowboys team on Wednesday. He joined Dallas as offensive coordinator in 2023 and led a leading scoring offense in his first season. This unit made a big breakthrough in 2024, finishing 21st in scoring. Injuries to Dak Prescott and others also contributed to the regression.
Understanding Brian Schottenheimer as the top head coaching candidate for the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have committed Dak Prescott to a role in their head coaching decision. (Photo courtesy of Nick … (+)
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Dallas fans are a fickle bunch. They have a right to exist at this point. The Cowboys currently enjoy the longest NFC Championship Game drought since the Washington Commanders clinched their ticket to the title round last week. He has not played since the end of the 1995 season. To put that into perspective, Prescott was 2 years old at the time.
For Big D fans, this won’t be an appealing hire. Replacing Mike McCarthy with an internal hire wouldn’t exactly blow things up from a coaching standpoint after an ugly 7-10 season. It was also a slap in the face to Mr. McCarthy, a clear sign that Dallas’ upper management believed that Mr. McCarthy was solely responsible for their struggles. Obviously not.
But to Jones, this makes all the sense in the world. The outspoken owner recently revealed that he operates out of Dallas. He is the boss.
“I bought the team. The first thing out of my mouth…someone asked, ‘Did you buy this for your kids?'” I said, “He No,” I said. You bought it for me. ‘And I didn’t buy the investment,” Jones said in early January, via The Athletic, of relinquishing his role as chief decision maker. “I bought a profession, I bought what I was going to do.”
Hiring Schottenheimer would allow Jones to maintain this power with little backlash. The veteran assistant has never been a head coach in the NFL, despite having held several assistant roles since his days with the then-St. Louis team. Lewis Rams in 1997. Jones’ consolidation of power appears to be one common theme.
It’s a little surprising that the Cowboys had a relationship with six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick before he took over as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz recently reported that “Bill Belichick would have been interested in the Cowboys job, and it seems like Dallas would have been interested in him had they known the position would be available.” Ta.
Guys like Belichick and Pete Carroll will bring success that Schottenheimer didn’t have. On the contrary, they could be seen as a major internal threat to Jones’ power.
Schottenheimer’s experience includes serving as offensive coordinator for the New York Jets (2006-2011), St. Louis Rams (2012-2014), and Seattle Seahawks (2018-2020). In his 14 years as coordinator, Schottenheimer led a top-10 scoring offense five times, but finished within that range in total yards only twice.
Schottenheimer will bring a combination of experience and coaching pedigree. His father, Marty, was an NFL head coach for 21 years at four different locations.
From a purely on-field perspective, it makes sense for Dallas to seek an offensive mind. Quarterback Dak Prescott has a record four-year contract worth $240 million. We need to put him in the best position to be successful. Whether or not Schottenheimer should be drafted is clearly up for debate.
Could former NFL head coach Rex Ryan also head to Dallas with Brian Schottenheimer? … (+)
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One big name stands out as a potential coaching staff that Schottenheimer is assembling for the Cowboys. Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan recently said he would have been an NFL defensive coordinator last season, but the NFL refused to “spend cash.” There’s never a dull moment at Big D. That’s for sure.
One thing is clear here. Jones, 82, knows he needs to quickly hire a new head coach and staff. Dallas entered the 2024 season aiming for the Super Bowl, but only lost by double digits.
Meanwhile, major division rivals the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles are scheduled to battle it out in the NFC Championship Game.
If the Dallas Cowboys want to return to the glory days of the 1990s, changing the culture within the organization and the coaching ranks must be in the cards. Whether promoting an internal candidate like Brian Schottenheimer will do that is clearly an open question. Call me a skeptic.
