On Friday, January 24th, the Cowboys hired their 10th head coach in franchise history in the form of Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer had served as the team’s offensive coordinator since 2023—a position that he has held for multiple teams in the past. While Schottenheimer is quite well-traveled and experienced, he has never been a head coach before at any level. He is also far less accomplished than Dallas’ previous coach, Mike McCarthy.
The move tells us that Jerry Jones and the front office opted against going after a big-name coach, instead choosing a candidate whom they were familiar with. Schottenheimer’s connection to the team will prove advantageous from certain perspectives, but can he really be the right guy to bring this iconic franchise its’ first Super Bowl title in 30 years?
Breaking Down Schottenheimer’s Resume
Brian Schottenheimer is the son of late, great Marty Schottenheimer, whose long and illustrious coaching career included stints with the Browns, Chiefs, Chargers, and more. Early on in his career, Brian Schottenheimer served as a quarterback coach on his father’s staff on multiple different teams, first with the Washington franchise and then with the San Diego Chargers.
Schottenheimer’s first job as an offensive coordinator came with the New York Jets, a spell which lasted from 2006 to 2011. After that, he became the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams from 2012 to 2014. Schottenheimer would fill the same position with the Seattle Seahawks from 2018 to 2020, before eventually landing with the Cowboys in 2023.
Schottenheimer has seen a considerable amount of success throughout his many years as an NFL OC. He was at the helm of the Seattle offense that set their franchise record for points scored in a season with 459 back in 2020. However, he has never been tasked with leading a team before, let alone the league’s most popular and most scrutinized franchise.
Was Schottenheimer A Good Choice?
It would be unfair to immediately suggest that the hiring will be a failure without even giving Schottenheimer a chance. With that being said, the move will come off as underwhelming to most. Schottenheimer was an in-house guy who had served in a prominent role with the team in the past two seasons. While he did have his fair share of successes in the last two campaigns, there are also several points that could be subject to criticism, particularly concerning last season.
The play of Dak Prescott regressed during the 2024 season before he ultimately suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. The Cowboys’ offense as a whole was worse in 2024 than it was in 2023 in many aspects. For one, Dallas only scored 350 points in 2024 as opposed to 509 in 2023. The team’s yards per game also dipped significantly from 371.6 in 2023 all the way down to 328.4 in 2024. Furthermore, the Cowboys’ rushing offense was completely nonexistent last season, ranking 27th in the league in yards per game.
The hire feels like Jerry Jones wanted to go with the safest route possible by choosing a candidate that would not interfere with his control over the team’s decision-making. Options such as Deion Sanders, Pete Carroll, or Bill Belichick would have shaken up the power structure far more than the Joneses are comfortable with. Above all else, the move is a sign that Jones cares more about preserving his authority over the team than he does about giving them the best chance to succeed.
Even as far as safe hires go, the Cowboys would have been better going with Kellen Moore, who is currently the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. Moore’s offenses in Dallas were more prolific and lethal than Schottenheimer’s offenses have been. Dallas even led the league in total offense twice during Moore’s tenure, while Schottenheimer’s offenses have finished 5th and 17th. As of right now, it will be hard for Cowboys fans to get excited for the future.
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