Sources indicate the Cowboys had real interest in Pete Carroll before deciding on Brian Schottenheimer

It seems the Cowboys had a very legitimate level of interest in Pete Carroll before choosing Brian Schottenheimer.

The Cowboys’ head coaching search was, predictably, one that took many twists and turns, but there was one that felt unusually sudden and random. Thursday evening, after four straight days of tea leaves and sportsbooks pointing to Brian Schottenheimer being the next head coach, a new name emerged: former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

The report only indicated that Carroll, who had spent the 2024 season out of coaching, had spoken with Jerry Jones regarding the vacancy. No formal interview had been set up, and it was unclear what might come of it, but the two sides had spoken.

The next morning, Carroll agreed to terms with the Raiders for their head coaching job. Carroll was announced as having signed a three-year contract with a team option for a fourth year. A day later, the Cowboys announced the hire of Schottenheimer.

The possibility of Cowboy Carroll didn’t even last a full 24 hours, at least in the public eye. However, multiple sources indicated to me that there was significant interest on both sides, and that this was part of a conversation that had been going on for some time.

Carroll first emerged as a candidate for the Bears, having interviewed in Chicago and reportedly discussing a succession plan as part of his candidacy, given that the Super Bowl winning coach will turn 74 just a few weeks into next season. Carroll also interviewed with the Raiders for their vacancy, but both franchises had their sights set on Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

Many expected the coaching carousel to take a while, as most teams were waiting on Johnson and fellow Lions coordinator Aaron Glenn. As such, Carroll and other head coaching candidates were essentially in a holding pattern.

Then, the Cowboys failed to come to terms with Mike McCarthy on a new contract. According to one source familiar with Carroll’s thinking, he had genuine interest in the opening. Just a few days after McCarthy parted ways with the Cowboys, Carroll made a phone call to Jerry Jones, and the two spoke for a considerable amount of time. The call reportedly ended on an open note; Carroll was still very interested in the Bears and Raiders jobs, and Jones had only really begun to build a candidate pool.

Then the Lions were eliminated from the playoffs, and every team’s timeline sped up. The Bears agreed to terms with Johnson on Monday, the Jets agreed to terms with Glenn on Tuesday, and the Raiders settled on Buccaneers executive John Spytek to be their new general manager on Wednesday. Just like that, Carroll was out of the running in Chicago but very much viewed as the favorite in Las Vegas, though it was still going to be Spytek’s call.

In between all of that, Jones brought in Schottenheimer for two interviews over two days. While speculation suddenly started to swirl that Schottenheimer was going to be the next head coach, that was not the sole purpose of these meetings.

Per a source familiar with the team, Carroll’s name came up in those conversations with Schottenheimer. The specifics were not made clear to me, but it was characterized as Jones feeling out a potential Carroll coaching hire via Schottenheimer, who worked as Carroll’s offensive coordinator for three seasons in Seattle.

Carroll ultimately fired Schottenheimer following the 2020 season, though reports quickly emerged in Seattle that the decision was heavily motivated by Russell Wilson. Carroll reportedly did not want to move on from Schottenheimer, but Wilson escalated his complaints above Carroll and ultimately won out. Earlier that year, Carroll had sung Schottenheimer’s praises and endorsed him as a head coaching candidate.

Schottenheimer, who spent most of the week’s consecutive interviews pitching his vision to be head coach, made it clear that he would only return to Dallas for a chance to call offensive plays. Per the source, he was open to doing so under Carroll, citing a positive working relationship between the two.

Jones came out of the meeting on Wednesday seemingly convinced of one thing: Schottenheimer must return in 2025. The coach’s mandate of calling plays effectively ruled out Kellen Moore, who seeks to call his own plays as a head coach, but Jones was also tantalized by the idea of bringing in Carroll, per the source. Another person aligned with the Cowboys camp insists now that Jones was sold on Schottenheimer’s vision early on, and that Carroll was not as high up on the list.

Flash forward to Thursday night, when news first broke about Carroll’s phone call with Jones about a week after it happened. Schottenheimer had effectively acted as a surrogate for Carroll – to the extent that Jones had asked about Carroll in the interviews with Schottenheimer – but no interview had been arranged for the coach himself. Meanwhile, the Raiders were getting close to making things official.

There was a brief moment of panic Thursday night, when some Raiders fans worried that Spytek – who had not yet been officially introduced as the new general manager – might renege to join fellow Buccaneer Liam Coen as the Jaguars general manager following Coen’s own change of heart in Tampa Bay.

At the same time, Carroll wanted to know his status with Jones and the Cowboys before making a decision on a Raiders offer. Speculations from some in Dallas are that the Carroll phone call news was leaked to try and speed up Jones’ process, but it didn’t work. In the end, Carroll did not feel the same sense of urgency from Jones that he felt from the Raiders. Once Spytek was officially announced Friday morning, Carroll opted to embrace their offer.

Per the source close to Carroll, a similar kind of contract structure – three years with a team option – was floated in the initial call with Jones, reflecting the concern around Carroll’s age. Given that a key point in Jones’ breakdown of discussions with McCarthy also centered around contract length, Carroll’s willingness to only have a commitment of three years led some to believe Jones would swoop in on the coach.

In the end, Jones took far too long in deliberations, unable to choose between pairing Carroll and Schottenheimer or just hiring Schottenheimer to the big chair. The Raiders were more aggressive in their pursuit of Carroll, and the coach decided to prioritize the team that prioritized him, even though Carroll was their second choice.