How Dallas Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay helped hire Brian Schottenheimer
With a coaching search now in the rearview mirror, Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay is turning his attention back to the upcoming draft class and an important cycle that lays ahead for a team in need of some holes to be filled.
The hiring of Schottenheimer had influence from McClay, as he was a part of the interview process as well as the decision process that included him giving his experience working with the former Cowboys’ offensive coordinator and how the hire could benefit his personnel department.
“My interaction with him started in his original role and how he grinded,” McClay said, referring to the 2022 season where Schottenheimer served as a consultant. “He was a really big part of the advanced process in helping the coaches get ready. He spent a lot of time talking to the pro [personnel] staff. You got a great feel for his understanding with personnel, how personnel is used, how he explains and overexplains what he’s looking for, but that’s important to our process. I feel really good about him going in.”
Of everything about the hire, McClay is most excited about the alignment that Schottenheimer will bring.
“I think the greatest part is being aligned from the top down,” McClay said. “That’s one of the commitments we all made sitting in there about what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it. He’s got a plan, he’s got a vision. We’re going to support that. We’re going to add good players. I have a great feeling about what Schotty and what he’s looking for.”
Even though the clarity of who would be the head coach was in flux for a few weeks, McClay and his scouting department remained consistent with how they evaluate certain players. With the hire now finalized, they can move forward with the vision that Schottenheimer will have for his roster.
“We’re process-based.,” McClay said. “Everybody is looking for good football players, but we’ve got to dig into the character and all that stuff. There might be little tweaks here and there depending once when we get the staff together, but we have an organizational philosophy now that we’ve talked about doing things consistently and the type of bodies we’re looking for.”
“As we get the rest of the coaches filled out, we’re going to sit down in front of them and figure it all out and talk about it and go find the groceries that they’re looking for.”
As for the draft class he and his team are scouting in Mobile, he is excited about adding potential depth to the roster, a need that became evident as injury ravished the team in 2024.
“You got to have depth,” he said. “The thing about the NFL, if you’re playing 17 games, you see how we’ve expanded the practice roster and all of those things, you got to have depth. You think about all of the injuries we had this year, we played 10 corners in a year. That’s the largest number I’ve ever played because of injuries. You can never cover yourself up all the way because you never know when they’re going to come, but the depth also increases competition.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM.
