Why a call from Eagles’ Nick Sirianni to Brian Schottenheimer was abruptly shut down
When the Philadelphia Eagles let go of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo earlier this offseason, their search for his replacement was vast and wide.
In the 16 days between firing Patullo and hiring Sean Mannion, the Eagles conducted interviews with at least 17 candidates, but one interview request never had a chance.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni called Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer during that process to let him know that he would put in a request to interview Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams. Since it was a lateral move, the Cowboys had the right to block that request. That decision was an easy one for Schottenheimer.
“It was funny,” Schottenheimer said at the NFL Combine on Thursday. “Because when Nick [Sirianni] called me, there’s different ways you can do it. You can send in slips and different things like that. Nick, of course, called me. He said, ‘I got a question to ask you. I want to send a letter in for Klayton.’ I said, ‘Uh, don’t bother, buddy. I’m going to have to deny you on that one.’ He said, ‘I’m not calling the plays.’ I said, ‘I’m going to have to deny you.’”
It was especially ironic since the Cowboys had just hired away the Eagles’ defensive pass game coordinator Christian Parker to be their new defensive coordinator. Even if the request was entirely about finding the right candidate, Sirianni didn’t get his chance at making a trade-off.
“Then, we started talking about our kids,” Schottenheimer said. “He said, ‘I would’ve done the same thing, but I had to ask.’”
Adams was hired as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator in Jan. 2025 after a successful stint as the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line coach. In his first season in Dallas, he helped put together the NFL’s second-most productive offense at 391.9 yards of offense per game.
“Look, Klayton’s a stud,” Schottenheimer said. “His energy is amazing. Again, Nick wasn’t wrong for trying ... Klayton’s the best. I love Klayton.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 3:36 PM.
