After finishing a disappointing 7-10 in 2024, the Dallas Cowboys’ brass, led by Jerry Jones, decided to go in another direction at head coach this offseason. The Cowboys parted ways with Mike McCarthy after days of reports and rumors after the regular season ended.
Dallas interviewed multiple candidates for their head coaching vacancy, ultimately settling on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. It wasn’t the most appealing hire by the Cowboys, and it wasn’t Jones’ first choice, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
"Schottenheimer wasn’t the initial favorite to replace Mike McCarthy. He had been in the building the previous three seasons, including the last two as offensive coordinator. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thought of Schottenheimer as more likely to be the team’s next offensive play caller. The more conversations they had during the coaching search, the more Jones thought he had found his next play caller and head coach."
Given how long the Cowboys took to decide on McCarthy, they were out of the running for guys like Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and Mike Vrabel. All three guys were considered the top head coaching candidates.
Then there was Kellen Moore, who had a lot of ties to the Cowboys as a coach and player. But the Cowboys locked in on Schottenheimer, which led Moore to take the head coach job with the New Orleans Saints.
Nonetheless, it’s interesting to hear that Jones didn’t see Schottenheimer as a head coach at first, given that he spent the last three seasons in Dallas as a consultant and OC and has many years of coaching experience.
That said, the Cowboys owner believes in Schottenheimer’s vision enough to allow him to be an NFL head coach for the first time in his career. The 52-year-old Schottenheimer already has the respect of players in the locker room. Hopefully, that’s a good sign of things to come in 2025.