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Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer: How Jerry Jones’ coach search ended with ‘as big a risk as you could take’

Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer: How Jerry Jones' coach search ended with 'as big a risk as you could take'

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones pushed back hard on the notion that his decision to promote offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to be his next head coach was one made out of comfort. 

“I know I get my proverbial ass kicked over needing people in my comfort zone. Without this thing being about me in any way, if you don’t think I can operate out of my comfort zone, you’re so wrong,” Jones said. “It’s unbelievable. This is as big a risk as you could take: no head-coaching experience. … You just heard him reference his osmosis, his family. Anybody in this room that doesn’t believe the apple doesn’t go far from the tree has missed it someplace down the road. … I like his baggage. I like his baggage. I like his experience.”

However, the longer he talked at Schottenheimer’s introductory press conference Monday, the more he made it appear that way. Jones has long known both of Schottenheimer’s parents — the late Marty Schottenheimer and his wife, Pat, who was in attendance Monday along with Schottenheimer’s wife, two children and extended family. 

Marty was an NFL head coach for 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1984-1988), Kansas City Chiefs (1990-1998), Washington (2001) and San Diego Chargers (2002-2006). Jones got to know Marty and Pat while serving on the league’s competition committee together. Seeing that Schottenheimer learned from his father was a significant factor in Jones’ decision to hire his son. 

Schottenheimer being in the Cowboys’ building as a consultant in 2022 on Mike McCarthy’s staff and then as the offensive coordinator the last two seasons also gave him a leg up over other prospective hires. 

Relationships with the Jones family and with current players were also highly valued in this decision. Quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, wide receiver Jalen Brooks, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, offensive lineman Brock Hoffman, left guard Tyler Smith, tight end Luke Schoonmaker, cornerback Josh Butler and cornerback Caelen Carson all showed up to Monday’s press conference. 

“We know what osmosis is and what Schotty grew up around,” Jones said. “Not just from that, but we knew frankly from the standpoint of Schotty. …Schotty might never have been in our mirror or in our view had he not joined us to be with Mike [McCarthy] as a consultant three years ago and been a coach. I’ve sat in handfuls of meetings with Schotty. I’ve listened. I’ve watched him have deference to his head coach. I’ve watched him have deference to experience, guys like [defensive coordinator Mike] Zimmer, guys last go around. I’ve watched him bite his lip sometimes when he didn’t necessarily agree with that direction. But he bit his lip as his daddy would have told him to bite your lip and have deference to the head coach. … I’ve particularly been a part of seeing what’s brought his players in here today. Guys like Dak. I know that Schotty is no stranger to these guys. I know he’s no stranger to this building.”

The key players in the hiring process were Jones and his three children, who are all co-owners of the franchise: Stephen (Dallas’ COO), Charlotte (Dallas’ Chief Brand Officer) and Jerry Jr. (Dallas’ Chief Sales and Marketing Officer). 

Schottenheimer takes over as the Cowboys head coach having 25 years of NFL coaching experience — including 14 seasons as an offensive coordinator, 12 of which involved calling offensive plays. Notably, he didn’t call plays in 2023 or 2024 as the offensive coordinator with McCarthy retaining that power as the head coach. 

“What I would say for the fans is that yes, to some it might be couched as a less than glamorous hire,” Jones said. “What I would say to you is I’ve got here taking shots.

“This was risky, this is risky. But by the same token, how often can you take a risk when someone has had almost 30 years of being around coaches, being around players. That’s two-thirds of his life and then the rest of it, growing up in a football-oriented, NFL-oriented family if you will. I think it might make something special.”

The Cowboys notably didn’t interview two of the NFL’s top candidates this hiring cycle in former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator/now-Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and former Lions defensive coordinator/now-New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn (a former Cowboys corner). Jones’ and his son Stephen’s reason for that was simple: they believe they have their own offensive wizard in Schottenheimer. 

As for Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who has been a player, position coach and offensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Schottenheimer won that comparison because of his 25 years of NFL coaching experience. 

“He is uniquely qualified to coach our team, he’s uniquely qualified to coach Dak,” said Jones, who debunked rumors that Prescott himself influenced the coaching hire. “There’s no question about it, it has risk. I like taking the risk. I want to ride this horse.”

The Cowboys owner also made it clear he didn’t seriously engage in talks with two Cowboys greats in Deion Sanders and Jason Witten to be the franchise’s next head coach. 

“Just a conversation about the team and where he is. His boys. That type of conversation,” Jones said when asked about his phone call with Sanders about the job. “I’ve talked to a lot of coaches, and Deion has a job.” 

“There have been, I’ll just leave it at that,” Jones said when asked if there have been recent conversations with Witten. He denied talking to Witten about being on the Dallas coaching staff. “The answer is no.”

Jones was also afraid to lose Schottenheimer if he wasn’t able to call the plays, and he had discussions about Schottenheimer calling plays before officially parting ways with McCarthy. Jones and his family agreed that there would have been “some heartbreak” if they made a decision that led to Schottenheimer not being around to call the plays. 

“Let me say this, we wanted Brian to call the plays,” Jones said. “We cherish his relationship with our players. We want him to call the plays. As my mind and our mind would drift around to alternatives, I believe he doesn’t have to speak for this, but I believe if he doesn’t call the plays, he’s probably not with the Cowboys.”

The Cowboys believe they can “continue to hang around the rim” of Super Bowl contention while maintaining some of the culture established by McCarthy and Schottenheimer, as Dallas recorded three consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021-2023. The franchise took a step back this past season, but a lot of that could be attributed to injuries to Prescott (hamstring tear), cornerback DaRon Bland (foot stress fracture), edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), edge rusher Micah Parsons (foot), cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and Overshown (knee), just to name a few.

“We had a few challenges this year on the injury front, and that’s why we think we do need to keep some continuity,” Stephen said. “Certainly every team, when they’re looking for a coach out there, is looking for what’s in the best interest of the quarterback. …. That’s how you win in this league. I think we’ve got one of the best, if not the best, in terms of our quarterback. He’s the ultimate leader, and we just have to continue to put the pieces around [him]. … I know our fans. They’re not going to believe, and there’s going to be pressure until we get the job done. Certainly we didn’t get the job done this year, and our ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl.”

“The continuity through change,” Schottenheimer said. “I know the players, I know the building, I know our strengths, I know our weaknesses, I know our issues. The more and more we got into conversations sitting around and just discussing different things, I want it even more. Here we are.”

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Author: Garrett Podell
January 27, 2025 | 7:16 pm

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