
After five years of Mike McCarthy, the Dallas Cowboys, owner Jerry Jones hired former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their next head coach. The Cowboys made three playoff appearances during McCarthy’s time, but never made it past the divisional round.
Jones made plenty of headlines with his early training camp comments, this time with his enthusiastic praise of his new head coach.
“He’s a gem, he’s a nugget that we rarely see that kind of experience, that kind of input when he was young,” Jones said. “And then turn around and be at the level he is, the age he is, and now then he gets to try it and he’s the coach, and this is the first time for it. I like those bets. I think there’s an extra amount of oomph that you get when it’s the first time.”
Jones said Schottenheimer “exceeded” what his expectations were for his former two-year OC.
“His people skills, his ability to communicate, really his understanding of his players creating, if you will, not only a principle but body language, play the game with enthusiasm,” Jones said on what sets Schottenheimer apart. “It’s physical, it’s tiring. You got to play above that, and you do that with a levity sometimes. You do it with sheer enthusiasm.”
Football runs in the Schottenheimer family, with his father Marty Schottenheimer having a storied coaching career. Jones says the “in-depth knowledge” Brian has is a credit to the football-centered upbringing.
“It’s called osmosis,” Jones said. “But in the case of him, his dad Marty did give him a lot of what he was about, because Marty was a natural teacher. And he taught everybody he was around, and so Brian benefitted from that. And then the fact that his dad led him towards being on all these staffs, around all these players, around all these coaches for almost 30 years, and he wasn’t the head coach, he’s just been around that many players, that many staff.”
Schottenheimer is experiencing his first training camp as a head coach and all that comes with it, from injuries to contract drama. The Cowboys kick off their season Sept. 4 having to watch their rival Philadelphia Eagles hang their Super Bowl banner at Lincoln Field.
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Author: Shanna McCarriston
July 29, 2025 | 3:50 pm
