The Dallas Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer, their offensive coordinator, as the team’s next head coach, announcing the move on Friday with a Jerry Jones message attached to it.
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones said, per ESPN. “He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
The hire comes at a shock to some and a surprise to many, as the Cowboys’ process this offseason has been a head-scratcher.
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Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 24, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 28-16. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Cowboys fans voiced their opinions on social media, and they weren’t too happy with their team’s choice.
“Hiring Brian Schottenheimer as head coach without even trying to talk to Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn or other top candidates is 1000% the same thing as not calling Derrick Henry and just signing Zeke,” one fan said on X. “Same. Exact. Thing.”
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To understand where Cowboys fans may be coming from, one must understand the odd process the team went through since the offseason began.
First, the dilemma for Jones and the rest of the organization was what to do with Mike McCarthy, the veteran head coach who went 7-10 on the final year of his deal without quarterback Dak Prescott for a good chunk of the season.
Players like Prescott and others publicly voiced their support for McCarthy, but the Cowboys moved on.
In doing so, though, they were already behind the 8 ball, as other head coach-needy squads were already out conducting interviews and getting their candidates in order.
When Dallas got their list together, it was an interesting group. Robert Saleh, the ex-New York Jets head coach who was fired midseason in 2024, came in despite not being high on anyone’s list except for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He eventually returned to the Bay Area to assume his old job as defensive coordinator under Kyle Shanahan.
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer looks on prior to the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
There was also Pete Carroll, who ended up returning to the NFL by taking the Las Vegas Raiders job. Kellen Moore, the former Cowboys offensive coordinator who is now with the Eagles, came in for an interview, as did Leslie Frazier, who serves as assistant head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
While these candidates all have their credentials, fans were not happy that top candidates like the ones mentioned above, who have all landed elsewhere, never came into the building.
Fox Sports’ David Helman broke down the situation from a Cowboys process perspective.
“We don’t know Brian Schottenheimer will be a failure any more than we know Ben Johnson will be a success,” he posted on X. “Coaching hires are weird & hard to predict.
“We do know that it REEKS of bad process to fart around for eight days with a head coach who needs a new contract, fail to retain him after missing an interview window for coveted candidates, bring in two former head coaches who are not in high demand, one outside assistant you already have a relationship with and *then* choose the guy down the hall who a) is not drawing interest elsewhere b) has not been a head coach c) has not called plays for you and d) has had mixed results when he has called an offense in the past.”
Finally, some feel Schottenheimer is similar to Jason Garrett, who took over the job after Wade Phillips, whom he worked under, was fired.
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during training camp at the River Ridge Fields. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)
“Quick, easy, CHEAP, and the Jones’ retain control just the way they like it,” one disgruntled fan wrote. “This team doesn’t want to win. It’s about attention. It’s about egos. Cowboys fans are exhausted with this clown show.”
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Schottenheimer joined McCarthy’s Cowboys staff in 2022 as a coaching analyst before replacing Moore as offensive coordinator in 2023. His first year in the position was also Prescott’s best season, as the team went on to win the NFC East before flopping in the Wild Card Round to the Green Bay Packers. The team had the fifth-ranked offense that season.
Schottenheimer, the son of decorated NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, has almost three decades worth of coaching under his belt, spending time with the Jets, Rams and Seahawks before joining the Cowboys. He served in an offensive coordinator role for each of those teams.
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