Schottenheimer, Cowboys had ‘agreement’ in place

The Cowboys possess the 12th and 20th overall selections. They field an elite offense and a defense that could use more personnel upgrades, having allowed the most points in the NFL last season. The front office traded for EDGE Rashan Gary, and signed S Jalen Thompson and DT Otito Ogbonnia thus far this offseason, but the unit still has more needs. Regardless, Schottenheimer said that “if the best player on the board is clearly an offensive player, then we’ll certainly discuss that, and more than likely” draft that player, knowing Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The Cowboys’ offense is already set up for fantasy success, but adding another capable offensive lineman and/or another pass catcher can only help QB Dak Prescott put up points.

Prescott said he was enthused to continue working under Schottenheimer, who has served as the Dallas offensive coordinator over the past two seasons. “The simple conversation I had with (owner) Jerry (Jones), post the decision of Mike walking, was simply that, the continuity,” Prescott said. “They wanted to keep continuity. Obviously had a lot of success with this group, with these men, and knew this was important to me. And Shotty has been a huge factor in that, setting up the game plan, creating the game plan. If you wanted to find continuity in place, look no further than Shotty.” Prescott struggled in 2024, throwing 11 touchdowns over eight games before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury that all but ended the Cowboys season. In 2023, Prescott posted 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns in a Dallas offense that ranked third in success rate and second in EPA per play. The Cowboys in 2025 offense should look awfully familiar under Schottenheimer.

“I’m really good with the X’s and O’s,” Schottenheimer said, “but I’m great with people.” Cool. This was expected after the hiring. Schottenheimer finished second in points scored with the Cowboys as offensive coordinator in 2023, but of course, he did not call those plays. He hasn’t called plays in the NFL since the 2020 season with Seattle. The Seahawks used play-action at a top-10 rate in that season and had Russell Wilson finishing second in the NFL in quarterback scrambles while tying for the league lead in time in the pocket. Those statistics are colored by the quarterback, of course, but they give a few clues as to what to expect from Schottenheimer’s offense. Without significant free-agent additions, it will be hard to believe in Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb to rebound all the way back to 2023 form.

Schottenheimer held the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator position from 2023-2024, evidently earning Jerry Jones’ trust along the way. Schottenheimer was initially hired in former head coach Mike McCarthy’s third season at helm as a coaching analyst in 2022. Though Jones was unhappy with the Cowboys’ recent results, Schottenheimer somehow managed to escape Jones’ ire. Jones punctuated the hiring by saying “Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant. He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

The betting markets appear to have known all along. Just days after it was reported that Schottenheimer was the odds-on favorite to land the Cowboys’ head coaching job, despite having never been interviewed beforehand, the current OC appears primed to turn head coach at any moment. Schottenheimer is the son of former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose 200 career wins are good for eighth-most on the all-time wins list. Brian Schottenheimer, who first joined the NFL ranks as a QBs coach in 2001 has never held a head coaching position, and has underwhelmed at his last few stops as an offensive coordinator while with the Rams (2012-2014), Seahawks (2018-2020), and Jaguars (2021). He didn’t call offensive plays for the Cowboys in either of his two seasons as their offensive coordinator. Schottenheimer’s name didn’t emerge in the coaching conversations until people began linking him with the Cowboys. Now, it appears as if he’ll be the successor to Mike McCarthy barring an unforeseen change in plans.

After interviewing with the Cowboys Tuesday, Schottenheimer was brought in for a second interview, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. As the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, he has a lot of familiarity with Jerry Jones and company. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports Schottenheimer’s second set of conversations with the team ended Wednesday night. The 51-year-old is still in the mix and is the only head coaching candidate to make it to two interviews for Dallas so far. Jones has been working with familiarity in head coaching candidates with former Cowboys and current Eagles OC Kellen Moore also in the mix. The Cowboys have shown the most interest in Schottenheimer thus far.

Schottenheimer has been with the Cowboys for three years, serving as the team’s OC for the past two seasons under former head coach Mike McCarthy. This would be his first head coaching job in the NFL after being offensive coordinator for four teams over the past 18 years. Schottenheimer, 51, led the Cowboys to the second most points and the third most yards in 2023 before injuries doomed the team’s 2024 campaign. His work with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb could provide a seamless transition for the Dallas offense in the wake of McCarthy’s exit. Giving him the monumental task of replacing Mike McCarthy when he wasn’t even trusted to call offensive plays last year sounds like a dire idea.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk writes that Schottenhemier’s odds to become the Cowboys’ next head coach currently sit at -250 on the DraftKings sportsbook — the highest of any coach in consideration. This is interesting for a few reasons; among them is the fact that there’s no official report of Schottenheimer being interviewed by the team for the role. In addition to that, Schottenheimer has never been a head coach despite spending more than 20 years as a coach in the league, and some of his most notable offensive coordinator stints left a lot to be desired. As Florio points out, Schottenheimer “has never been a serious candidate to be an NFL head coach,” but he does provide some sense of familiarity for Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott. We’ll see what follows this latest development, but Scottenheimer feels like a long shot to get the job despite what the current odds suggest.

Schottenheimer was signed to the team in March 2022 as an offensive consultant, charged with working with the offensive coaching staff in a game-planning role. He now gets the in-house promotion following the departure of Kellen Moore for a franchise that continues to commit to a run-balanced offense. This move should continue that trend after Schottenheimer ran the league’s most run-heavy offense during his time in Seattle.

The guy who ran one of the NFL’s most conservative, run-heavy offenses while in Seattle will now work with both Dallas coordinators on “league trends.” It would be laughable if it weren’t tragic. Schottenheimer in 2021 took over play calling duties for the lifeless Jacksonville offense in the final weeks of the regular season, establishing the run as hard as ever. Hopefully for CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and the rest of the Cowboys offense, Schotty’s thoughts on game planning and “league trends” will be taken with a grain of salt.