The NFL world was erupting with chaos on Saturday with new head coach hires flowing in: Ben Johnson to the Bears, Mike Vrabel to the Patriots, Aaron Glenn to the Jets, Liam Coen to the Jaguars, and… Pete Carroll to the Raiders? All of these, no matter how interesting, were relatively competent coaches who had a chance of coaching these teams. However, one team was still dragging their feet on selecting the next head of “America’s Team”… the Dallas Cowboys. At last, late Friday night the infamous Jerry Jones finally announced the hire to the media… would it be Deion Sanders? Robert Saleh? Kellen Moore?
Nope. Brian Schottenheimer.
Will Bloemendal ’27 put it best: “Who???”
The hire was not well received, to say the least.
Stephen A. Smith, a longtime Cowboys critic, said in an ESPN video: “For me to have ammunition to laugh at them […] I mean, they’re just giving it to me… It’s like an early Christmas!”
Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News said in his article: “Why Brian Schottenheimer is the biggest ‘who cares’ hire in Cowboys history”, on January 24th, 2025: ”This was the biggest ‘who cares’ hire the team has ever made. In other words, this was Jerry Jones at his best, which, for Cowboys fans, generally means the worst.”
On X, Dez Bryant, a former Cowboys receiver, boiled down the feelings of every Cowboys fan, saying: “Somebody is getting sabotaged. Smh [shaking my head].”
Brian Schottenheimer, age 51, is the son of well-known NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who coached for the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. Brian will be the 10th head coach in Dallas Cowboys history.
Schottenheimer was hired as the Dallas Offensive Coordinator in 2023 after Kellen Moore was fired. The reason for the vacancy: Head Coach at the time Mike McCarthy needed to keep his job after another playoff loss, so he shifted all the blame on Moore. McCarthy convinced Jones to fire Moore. Kellen Moore was the OC (offensive coordinator) for four years; of those years when starting QB Dak Prescott was healthy, he had the 6th,1st, and 4th best offense. After being fired from Dallas, Moore went to be OC at their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. In his two years at Philly, Moore has had the 7th best offense two years in a row.
Another example of Jones’ ineptitude.
Schottenheimer was promoted to OC in Moore’s absence, but was not allowed to call plays. That responsibility was left to McCarthy. In other words, the guy that is now the head coach of the Cowboys could not be trusted to call plays.
Any alarm bells going off yet?
Jones has a history of going through head coaches faster than a fire in a forest. To recap:
It started when he bought the team in 1989. Wanting fresh blood, he fired 18-year head coach Tom Landry, and not very gracefully. This was the man who had built the franchise from the ground up, and how did he handle it? He located Landry at his favorite golf course and quickly delivered the news, leaving Landry in tears. This sparked hatred of Jones for most Cowboys fans right off the bat. Not only that–wanting to be the GM, he fired longtime GM Tex Schramm and head of scouting Gil Brandt. Schramm and Brandt were geniuses: they helped establish the scouting system that every NFL team uses today.
In Landry’s place, Jones hired Jimmy Johnson from the University of Miami (FL). Johnson performed a miracle, turning the team from 1-15 to winning the Super Bowl in just four years. Johnson won the team the big game in 1992 and 1993, turning the team from a dumpster fire into a dynasty. However, there were disagreements behind the scenes. Jones still wanted to be the GM and have influence in the team, but Johnson argued with him, saying that he was incompetent (not wrong). Despite all of his great work, Jones and Johnson agreed on a settlement of his contract and Johnson walked away.
Having messed up a chance to become a dynasty with one of the greatest coaches in the world at the time, Jones found his new head coach in Barry Switzer, the head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Switzer missed the Super Bowl in ’94 but came back and won it in ’95, and it looked like the team could thrive without Johnson.
Not so fast.
The team crumbled the following two years, falling to 10-6 and then 6-10. Switzer resigned, knowing he had messed up a chance for many more Super Bowls. In his place, Jones hired Chan Gailey, the OC of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gailey seemed to turn the team around, delivering a 10-6 record, but fell to 8-8 the following year. Despite the miniscule dropoff, Jones was quick to pull the plug.
Next on the chopping block was Dave Campo, the team’s DC (defensive coordinator). This time, Jones was a bit too hesitant to fire Campo, waiting until three straight 5-11 seasons. After Campo was Bill Parcells, who gave fans their best chance in years. He went 10-6 his first year, giving fans hope, before missing the playoffs two straight seasons. His last chance was in 2006, where he went 9-7 and made the playoffs. However, in the wildcard game, with a 19-yard game-winning kick set up to send the Cowboys to the divisional for the first time since 1996, a young Tony Romo fumbled away the snap and lost them the game. Disheartened, Parcells retired following the end of the season.
Landry was head coach for the franchise’s first 18 years. By this point, under the Jones administration, they had gone through five in the same amount of time.
Next up was Wade Phillips, the Chargers DC, who seemed like a good hire. He led the team to the playoffs two of his first three seasons. However, it all fell apart in 2010, when he started the season 1-7. Jones did something he had never done before: fire a coach mid-season. The replacement was OC Jason Garrett, who would finish the season 6-10. Little did Jones know, Garrett would become the second-longest tenured coach in Cowboys history, behind only Landry. Will Schottenheimer be the same? Unlikely.
Aside from his year as interim head coach, Garrett spent nine years as HC for the Cowboys. There was nothing illustrious about it. Four of those seasons he went 8-8, and he only made the playoffs three times. After another 8-8 season in 2019, Jones’s patience ran out and he fired Garrett. Next up was McCarthy.
McCarthy opened up his Cowboys career with a 6-10 season after starting QB Dak Prescott was injured, which gave him a bit of an excuse. The following three seasons he took the Boys to three straight 12-5 records… and three straight early playoff losses. It all came to an end this season, where he sputtered to a 7-10 stop and Jones let him go, allowing Schottenheimer to take the reins.
You might be wondering why I’m telling you all this. There’s a famous saying that goes, “those who never learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” In my eyes, that’s Jones in a nutshell. The Schottenheimer hire is the cherry on top.
Year after year, Jones hires mediocre coaches that will keep the team alright and maybe even get them a good season before losing in the playoffs early. The only exception: Jimmy Johnson. However, after Johnson disagreed with Jones GM skills, Jones got rid of him and swore to never hire anyone like him again. The only problem: guys like Jimmy Johnson are the only ones who will get you Super Bowls. If you want evidence for that, look back at all the dynasties of the NFL. The Patriots had Belichick. The Chiefs have Reid. Both of them are Hall of Fame-level coaches. Never, ever, ever, will people put Andy Reid and Brian Schottenheimer in the same category.
I’m not trying to discredit Schottenheimer. I’m sure he’s a competent coach who knows his way around an offense. He is NOT a Super Bowl level coach. In my mind, he’s not worthy to be an NFL-level head coach. He’s what guys like Chan Gailey, Wade Phillips, and Mike McCarthy were: almost therapists for Cowboys fans. They reassured you, “Yeah, don’t worry about it! Us Cowboys will get you a 10-win season and make the playoffs! We will always be at the top of the league, and hey– we’re always close to getting that sixth Super Bowl win! Everything will be OK.” When the old therapist stops cheering you up, Jones brings in a new one. Problem solved!!!
My prediction is Schottenheimer will struggle quite a bit next year: he’s a first-year coach with a kind of rebuilding team, so you can expect that. After that he will be in the middle of the pack for a season or two. Nothing crazy. Maybe make the playoffs once. Then the team will fall apart, he’ll get fired, and the cycle will continue…
The thing is, Jones fully knows this. He has to at some point, no matter how football-incompetent he is. The problem is that he doesn’t care. He knows that no matter what he does, he will always be the owner of “America’s Team.” The money will always still be flowing in. And he will inevitably be one of the most famous team owners in NFL history. Ever heard the saying “bad publicity is still publicity?” It’s something Jones lives by.
Now, the big question: will it ever end? Will the Cowboys ever rise from mediocrity?
Not with Jones. The owner is the heart and soul of a franchise. If the heart has something wrong with it, the whole organization is rotten to the core. We’ve seen that this year with the controversies about Jets owner Woody Johnson. We’ve even seen it this year with the Commanders: now that former owner Dan Snyder is gone, the team is excelling. We need to get rid of Jones.
Fire him, somehow. Convince him to retire, even; it won’t be enough. Even after Jones is no longer at the reins, we know he will pass down ownership to his kids, Jerry, Jr., Stephen, and Charlotte. If there will ever be prosperity in the Cowboys organization again, Jones needs to sell the franchise. Otherwise, there will be one or two Schottenheimers every decade coaching the Cowboys. On and on for the rest of time.
