Does Jerry Jones Know What He Is Doing with the Brian Schottenheimer Hire?
On Friday, January 24th, the Dallas Cowboys announced they promoted their offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, to be their next head coach. Brian Schottenheimer is the son of longtime NFL head coach and defensive mastermind in the 1980s and 90s, Marty Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer’s hire has garnered some mixed emotions from the media and fans. A lot of questions have been asked, but there is none more important than, is Brian Schottenheimer capable of achieving the success that the recent Dallas Cowboys head coaches have struggled to find?
Fans seem to think not. It has been no secret that a lot of Cowboys fans have been growing tired of Jerry Jones, and this recent hire has them as furious as ever. There were plenty of names in the mix to be the next head coach. The Cowboys were the second to last team to fill their head coaching vacancy; only the Saints are left. With how much time the hire took, along with the name attached, it just seems the only thing going on in the Dallas Cowboys front office is uncertainty without a plan.
Besides his name, nothing really jumps out to you when looking over Schottenheimer’s coaching career. He has been an offensive coordinator for several teams, including the New York Jets, the then-St. Louis Rams, the Seattle Seahawks, and, of course, the Dallas Cowboys. He also spent time as a quarterback coach with a few other teams. In his career as an offensive coordinator and a quarterback coach, he often saw his offenses finishing in the bottom third of the league. His most notable experience is the time he spent with Russell Wilson in Seattle under head coach Pete Carroll. From 2018-2020, the Seahawks had three solid seasons, however, Wilson was sacked an egregious amount and even had his career-high in interceptions in 2020 with 13. He also had a year to remember with a great offense in 2023 with the Cowboys, but it was followed up this year with a flawed team and a poor showing.
Schottenheimer has been put in a position to thrive as head coach for the first time in his career. The Dallas Cowboys are in talks with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus to come in as a defensive coordinator. This would be a huge get for the Cowboys, as Eberflus is thought of as a great defensive mind. With the Cowboys star power of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons still intact, winning games is never out of the question. Cowboys fans have their doubts, but they hope Schottenheimer can shock the league and take America’s team back to the Super Bowl.
