From darkhorse to betting favorite, Brian Schottenheimer lands head coach interview with Cowboys
On Monday morning, buzz began to circulate as Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer shot to the top of the list of candidates as a -250 favorite to become the next head coach in Dallas, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
While Schottenheimer hasn’t yet interviewed (he might not need to) for the job, his name has been atop the list of in-house candidates since five-year head coach Mike McCarthy and the team parted ways last Monday. While that in-house list doesn’t necessarily inspire optimism, there has been a desire from important voices at The Star in Frisco to keep continuity as much as possible through an impending coaching change.
That support has specifically resided on the offensive side of the ball, which has Schottenheimer’s name bubbling as we head into week two of the coaching search in Dallas.
Through it all, the Cowboys are still conducting interviews. On Monday afternoon, the Cowboys are scheduled to speak with Seahawks associate head coach Leslie Frazier. It will be their third sit-down after meeting with Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore on Friday and former Jets head coach Robert Saleh on Saturday.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Schottenheimer will interview for the job as soon as this week.
Who is Brian Schottenheimer?
The son of NFL coaching legend Marty Schottenheimer, Brian Schottenheimer has spent 14 seasons as an offensive coordinator in the NFL including the last two years with the Cowboys after he joined the staff in Dallas in 2022 as a consultant.
His other stops have included the St. Louis Rams (1997, assistant), Kansas City Chiefs (1998, assistant), Syracuse (1999, wide receivers coach), USC (2000, tight ends coach), Washington Redskins (2001, quarterbacks coach), San Diego Chargers (2002-2005, quarterbacks coach), New York Jets (2006-2011, offensive coordinator), St. Louis Rams (2012-2014, offensive coordinator), Georgia (2015, offensive coordinator), Indianapolis Colts (2016-2017, quarterbacks coach), Seattle Seahawks (2018-2020, offensive coordinator) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2021, passing game coordinator).
Throughout his time as a coordinator, only his time in Dallas has seen him not call plays. He has been responsible for five top-ten scoring offenses and two top-ten total offenses in his 14 seasons as a coordinator. In his time in Dallas, he has gained respect by many, including quarterback Dak Prescott, for his attentive coaching style and open offensive mind.
He comes across as detail-oriented and cerebral, on an off the field, based on his weekly sessions with the media during the season. His experience in coaching dates all the way back to his childhood watching his father and his uncle, Kurt, command NFL locker rooms.
Is he a realistic hire?
There is in-house support for Schottenheimer to get the job, no doubt. And one long-tenured figure in the building thinks he will be the guy that ownership lands on.
But how that support stacks up against names like Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh and even Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is where realism comes into play a bit more. There is still an overwhelming feeling that Moore is the leader, and some believe that Saleh is closing in following a strong interview on Saturday.
The basis of the entire search, though, is that multiple voices and opinions are coming out of The Star when the reality is that the voice and opinion of Jerry Jones is the only one that matters. Now, Jones has shown in the past to use the opinions around him to form his own, and this will certainly be one of those cases. Just don’t be so sure that Schottenheimer’s support will be strong enough to sway Jones into hiring a first-time head coach who hasn’t called plays in five years.
One thing that could be playing into Schottenheimer’s favor is a growing feeling that the search could wrap up sooner rather than later despite a known previous intention to make it an extensive search. With Moore coaching at least one more week in Philadelphia, that would obviously bode well for the other candidates in the mix. Schottenheimer has a lot of support from offensive personnel and the desire for continuity certainly leaves him at the front of mind.
In all, this buzz has me believing that this will lead to Schottenheimer sticking around, but as offensive coordinator for whichever head coach does end up landing the job. If it’s a defensive-minded pick such as Saleh, Glenn or Frazier, then it would allow Schottenheimer to take the reins of calling plays once again, something he desires out of whatever shakes out in the coming weeks.
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
