By Alex Al-Kazzaz
This morning, Cowboys fans woke up to some even more frustrating news; the promotion of Brian Schottenheimer to the head coaching position of the Dallas Cowboys. Could the Cowboys have done worse in their decision for the franchise's tenth head coach? Possibly. Are Cowboys fans and critics overreacting to this decision? Could Schottenheimer assemble a team that is Super Bowl material? Now the massive skepticism kicks in. Many view this move as a cheap hire.
Schottenheimer is the son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, who coached the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. Brian held positions under his father's leadership in Washington and San Diego. Brian has never been a head coach until now. He's been an assistant for 24 years in the NFL so far, and in those 24 years, 14 of them, he served as offensive coordinator with the likes of the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Dallas Cowboys. Aside from being the offensive coordinator, he's served as a quarterbacks coach.
The decision to name Schottenheimer as head coach is controversial. Many are justifiably concerned because he has no experience as an NFL head coach. Dallas interviewed the likes of former Jets HC Robert Saleh and former Cowboys and current Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. They also interviewed current Seahawks assistant coach Leslie Frazier.
This isn't the first time Dallas introduced a new head coach without head coaching experience. In 2000, Dave Campo became the head coach for Dallas after spending the previous five seasons as Dallas' defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in Dallas before that. Campo was successful as DC but went 5-11 in all three years as Dallas' head coach. Campo had never been a head coach when he landed the job in 2000 and it didn't work out for him and the organization. This whole situation is similar to Jason Garrett being named the official head coach in 2011 after spending half the 2010 season as interim head coach. Now the Cowboys organization is determined to try it again. But to Schottenheimer's credit, he's got the support of Dak Prescott.
Schottenheimer did not call the plays when McCarthy was in charge. For now, it's unclear who will be the playcaller for the 2025 season. Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has reportedly been hired as Dallas' new defensive coordinator. Eberflus did work in Dallas from 2011 to 2017, but his recent spell as head coach in Chicago was terrible, so clearly, Cowboys fans are unhappy about that, as well.
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