Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The Cowboys are set to have a second interview with Brian Schottenheimer on Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys are taking things to a more serious level with one of their head coach candidates in Brian Schottenheimer. Around lunchtime on Tuesday, it was reported that the Cowboys are interviewing Brian Schottenheimer (on Tuesday as well) for the position for a second time. This is the first report of any candidate of the four interviewed so far to get a second interview. The #Cowboys are planning to have a second interview with their own OC Brian Schottenheimer today, per me, @TomPelissero and @SlaterNFL. After spending nearly four hours with Schottenheimer yesterday, Dallas brass sits down with him again. pic.twitter.com/fXLod0taVI — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 22, 2025 The other three candidates to be interviewed to date are Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier, but as noted there have been no reports of any of them getting a second interview. This would suggest that Schottenheimer has the inside track on all of them, especially given how quickly everything has come together here. Consider the timeline of Schottenheimer events relative to the opening: Monday, January 20th: It is noted he is the betting favorite for the job Tuesday, January 21st: It is reported he would get an interview, and then he ultimately did interview. After the interview it was reported that the interview in question was also done with the Cowboys considering him for offensive coordinator as well Wednesday, January 22nd: Second interview reported and scheduled for same day Schottenheimer’s first interview reportedly lasted four hours. How long will the second go Will it end with an offer? Is this really going to happen? It certainly seems that way.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images It is possible that Donovan Wilson has played his last snap for the Cowboys. Donovan Wilson has had an unpredictable career in Dallas, rising from draft obscurity to a prominent starting role. But the safety’s future is in doubt as potential salary cap savings and a ready in-house replacement make it hard to see him getting a seventh season with the Cowboys. Wilson is a hard-hitting, occasional play-making safety who’s been a full-time starter in Dallas over the last four-plus seasons. Taken near the end of the sixth round in the 2019 NFL Draft, Wilson moved up the depth chart in 2020 and remained prominent even after the Cowboys added veterans Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker in 2021. They often worked as a trio in Dan Quinn’s defense, with Kearse playing a nickel linebacker role. Things became more traditional in 2024 after Kearse was not re-signed, making Hooker and Wilson the starters with Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell as intriguing, young backups. A year later, Wilson is now the veteran at risk of not being retained. With one year left on his contract, Wilson is scheduled to count $8.65 million against Dallas’ 2025 salary cap. The Cowboys can get back $5.35 million if they make him an outright cut or $7 million with a June 1st designation. It’s put Wilson in a neck-and-neck race with OT Terence Steele for the team’s most likely cap casualty this offseason. But while Steele has some mitigating factors given the team’s overall landscape at offensive tackle, Wilson doesn’t have the same traction at safety. Granted, Dallas isn’t without offseason business at safety. Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas are both entering free agency, albeit not with unrestricted status. Thomas is the key figure here, having shown much more potential as a future starter. With only two years of accrued NFL seasons, having spent his rookie season only on the practice squad, Thomas will be an exclusive rights free agent. Dallas can essentially offer him any amount, though they may not lowball him too severely if they want to preserve a future relationship. Still, Thomas isn’t likely to get much more than about $1 million for 2025. The idea of replacing Wilson with Thomas as a starting safety could make sense on multiple levels. Thomas has generally shown comparable talent to Wilson when playing. He would also be much more affordable for two more years between the ERFA contract and being a restricted free agent in 2026. And while he finished 2024 on the injured list with his knee, Thomas is expected to be fully recovered well before the next campaign. Still, Dallas isn’t exactly flush with other safety options. Bell will be a restricted free agent and the Cowboys aren’t likely to pay him $3 million or more for one of the RFA tenders, which will allow him to test the open market. Israel Mukuamu is also a free agent now that his rookie deal is up. So right now, Wilson and Malik Hooker are the only safeties officially under contract for next season. Also, it’s worth noting that Dallas’ overhead at safety is much lower than many NFL teams. The $7 million per year that Hooker and Wilson each make is a fraction of the $18-$21 million in annual salary for the likes of Antoine Winfield Jr, Derwin James, and Budda Baker. Of course, they’re also not nearly as impactful on the field as those stars. But that does give some perspective on why the Cowboys may not feel too bad about keeping Wilson at his current salary, even with the cap relief potential. Going into next season with Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, and a re-signed Juanyeh Thomas as your core safeties leaves just one or two roster spots to fill at the bottom of the depth chart. It’s not a bad way to go with so many other needs to address, but the question is if they feel they can handle other business without that $5 million chunk they could get by cutting Wilson. That’s what puts him in the crosshairs and, with Thomas ready for a bigger role, makes him the Cowboys’ most likely salary cap casualty.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The latest news around the Dallas Cowboys Cowboys interviewing OC Brian Schottenheimer for head coaching position – Kevin Patra, NFL.com The Dallas Cowboys decided their fourth interview for a head coach would be an in-house candidate. The Cowboys are interviewing offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer for their head coaching gig, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater reported on Tuesday, per sources informed of the situation. The 51-year-old Schottenheimer spent the past two seasons as the Cowboys offensive coordinator. He joined Dallas in 2022 as a coaching analyst. The son of Marty Schottenheimer, Brian has extensive assistant coaching experience. His first NFL gig came in Washington as QB coach in 2001 under his father. Since then, he’s worked as a QB coach or OC for seven organizations. His first OC job came in 2006 with the New York Jets, a position he held for six seasons. He joined St. Louis in 2012 as the Rams offensive coordinator for three seasons. He also led the Seattle Seahawks offense for three seasons from 2018 to 2020. Schottenheimer has never been a head coach or interim. If Jerry Jones landed on Schottenheimer, it would provide some continuity for Dak Prescott and the offense after Mike McCarthy’s exit. Cowboys coaching candidate profile: Brian Schottenheimer – David Howman, Blogging the Boys Here is a great breakdown of what you should know about Schottenheimer. Familiarity with Dak Prescott, others One of the biggest motivators for Jerry Jones in considering Schottenheimer, according to reports, is his familiarity with Dak Prescott and other players on the roster. Schottenheimer is said to be well-liked within the locker room, and his relationships with players is believed to make for a smoother transition than hiring an outside candidate. Of course, the counterargument to this notion is that the Cowboys should have just done what it took to retain Mike McCarthy if the concern was having a coach the players like. After all, Prescott and several other players publicly voiced their support for McCarthy. Nevertheless, Schottenheimer’s hire would likely serve as a continuity hire. This may allow the team to hold on to Mike Zimmer at defensive coordinator, as well as Al Harris and several other promising assistants on the coaching staff. Offensive continuity In that same vein, Schottenheimer would almost certainly be hired with the idea of offensive continuity in mind. While he didn’t call plays the last two years, Schottenheimer was heavily involved in crafting the offensive game plans with McCarthy and therefore would likely keep things more or less the same offensively. It’s unclear if Schottenheimer, who hasn’t called plays in four seasons now, would look to call plays as a head coach or bring in someone as a coordinator to call plays for him. Either way, though, don’t expect a Schottenheimer coaching staff to introduce a ton of change offensively. In some ways, that’s a good thing. The Cowboys finished the 2023 season second in EPA/play and third in offensive success rate, and Prescott was the MVP runner up in his lone full season running the Texas Coast offense. Even this year, with so many injuries on offense, Rico Dowdle hit 1,000 rushing yards and CeeDee Lamb topped 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight year despite missing the final two games. Nick Saban endorses Deion Sanders for Cowboys head coaching vacancy – Matt Galatzan, DallasCowboys on SI A legendary college coach thinks Deion Sanders would be ready to take on the NFL. However, there is one notable omission from that list – Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. And if you ask legendary college football head coach Nick Saban, Sanders is the man for the job. “Me and Deion… I want him to get that job,” Saban told The Pivot podcast in a recent appearance. ”I have a tremendous amount of respect for Deion Sanders. First, he’s a great person, and he’s done a great job of marketing the program to create a lot of national interest. “He’s always been successful, whether it was at Jackson State, high school, or now in Colorado. His teams have always been well coached.” To his credit, Saban does have a point. In just two years with Colorado, Sanders has turned the Buffaloes from one of the worst programs in the nation, into a fringe Big 12 title and College Football Playoff contender. Before that, he also led Jackson State to a 27-6 record in three seasons, winning two SWAC conference titles in that time. He also was a two-time SWAC Coach of the Year and took home the SI Sportsman of the Year Award in 2023. Who are the Dallas Cowboys projected to pick in the first round of the NFL Draft? – Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Who the Cowboys pick in the first round seems to be between two guys. Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News Selection: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State The Cowboys can’t mess around with this position after not doing much to address it last offseason. Ezekiel Elliott is gone again, which should remind them it’s time to reach for a special back in the first round for the first time in nine seasons. Jeanty will deliver as a dynamic, explosive workhorse in their new offense. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA Today Selection: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri Any attempt to infuse Dallas’ offense with more playmakers will surely have to come through the draft. Will Jerry Jones be able to resist taking top running back and homegrown product Ashton Jeanty in this spot? Burden might be a more reasonable option for the range, and his electric ability in space could provide an immediate lift if he’s utilized correctly. Josh Edwards, CBS Sports Selection: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State Unless Dallas hires Deion Sanders as the head coach and drafts Shedeur Sanders, the Cowboys will be bringing back Dak Prescott next season. When Prescott was at his best, he had a pass-catching running back to take some of the pressure off of him. Ashton Jeanty

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The Dallas Cowboys are making a mess of the Brian Schottenheimer interview process. The Dallas Cowboys announced Tuesday evening that they completed an interview with Brian Schottenheimer for their vacant head coach position. It marks the fourth one, with Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier as the others. Reports and rumors were all over the place on Tuesday relative to Schottenheimer with things reaching a critical mass when 105.3 The Fan’s Shan Shariff noted that an offer for him could be in the works. That may or may not be true, but if it is factual then there is a possibility that it is for something other than head coach. Right after the team announced the completion of the interview, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported that the Cowboys are considering Schottenheimer for head coach or offensive coordinator. The #Cowboys just completed their interview with Brian Shottenheimer. I’m told he is being considered for both the HC and OC position. “Talking about everything” per source informed. The interview lasted well over 3.5 hours — Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 22, 2025 If this sounds strange it is because it is. You see, Schottenheimer was just the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys and was so for two seasons. He did not call plays in that time as Mike McCarthy did, but the truly strange thing is that he is being evaluated for two roles and theoretically having to interview for the one that he has held for two years. Obviously on some level it makes sense for Schottenheimer to have to interview all over again considering a new head coach will be running the team. But with that being the case it would make sense for that person to be the one interviewing him and not the front office. This whole process remains very difficult to make sense out of. Imagine if Schottenheimer is told that he is not head coach material but that he can be the team’s offensive coordinator (again) and that this decision is being made before a head coach is properly in place. Now imagine being someone asked to take the head coach position with an offensive coordinator in place (Wade Phillips if you are reading this then we know that you literally know what that’s like) and also potentially to take on your future successor as well, if you buy all of the Jason Witten talk. This appears to be meddling upon meddling which is the only thing constant with the Dallas Cowboys these days.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Brian Schottenheimer is, apparently, a real possibility for Cowboys head coach The Dallas Cowboys head coaching search was rocked on Monday with the sudden appearance of Brian Schottenheimer, current offensive coordinator, as the odds-on favorite to be the next head coach in Dallas. Tuesday morning brought news that the coach, who doesn’t call plays, will in fact interview for the job. So what does this mean? Schottenheimer’s candidacy has seemingly come out of nowhere, but it suddenly feels like a very strong possibility. Let’s take a dive into Schottenheimer’s background and what his head coaching tenure might look like. NFL royalty As has been pointed out many, many times throughout Schottenheimer’s coaching career, he’s the son of legendary coach Marty Schottenheimer, who sits seventh all time in career wins, just 50 wins behind the great Tom Landry. The elder Schottenheimer coached for roughly three decades with four different head coaching stints. He led the Browns for five seasons, the Chiefs for ten seasons, Washington for one season, and the Chargers for five seasons. His tenure with both the Browns and Chiefs saw at least four consecutive playoff appearances and a combined three trips to the conference championship game, though Schottenheimer never managed to win a Super Bowl. It was Schottenheimer’s final season running the Chiefs that saw his son join the staff as an assistant. The quarterbacks coach at the time was none other than Mike McCarthy, which served to form a bond that later led to Schottenheimer finding his way to Dallas in the first place. Schottenheimer later went on to serve on his father’s staffs with both the Commanders and Chargers before striking out on his own. The last name Schottenheimer means a lot to those who have been around for a while, and it’s played a part in the younger Schottenheimer’s career, too. Not only as it relates to connections, but Schottenheimer has been around the game quite literally his entire life. Loads of experience Schottenheimer has been around for a long time and gained a ton of experience. Going back to his playing days, Schottenheimer attended the University of Florida and was the backup quarterback for three years. Head coach Steve Spurrier would later refer to Schottenheimer as the assistant quarterbacks coach during that time. After coaching quarterbacks under his father for the Chargers, Schottenheimer was named the offensive coordinator of the Jets by new head coach Eric Mangini. The Jets would go on to post winning seasons twice in three years, the final one working with Brett Favre at quarterback. Mangini was fired nonetheless, and new head coach Rex Ryan retained Schottenheimer. The next two seasons, Schottenheimer’s ground-and-pound offense helped lead the Jets to consecutive AFC Conference Championship games, falling short both times. Schottenheimer parted ways with the team after three years with Ryan as head coach, with the Jets wanting to embrace a more pass-happy offense for quarterback Mark Sanchez. Schottenheimer then joined the Rams as the offensive coordinator under new head coach Jeff Fisher. Schottenheimer’s first season saw career numbers for Sam Bradford, but the quarterback suffered devastating ACL injuries each of the next two years, ultimately leading to Schottenheimer’s departure. Schottenheimer spent a year as the offensive coordinator at Georgia before taking the quarterbacks coach job with the Colts, working to reinvigorate the offense around Andrew Luck. Two years later, he was hired as the Seahawks offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll, which kicked off a three-year span wherein Seattle ranked sixth in EPA/play and ninth in offensive success rate. It also included the best years of Russell Wilson’s career, statistically speaking. Schottenheimer was fired in Seattle, reportedly at the request of Wilson, and spent a year on the ill-fated Urban Meyer Jaguars staff before coming to Dallas as a coaching consultant. Reports indicated that he had been tapped as Dan Quinn’s top coordinator candidate when interviewing for the Broncos job, but Quinn ultimately remained in Dallas for another year, by which point Schottenheimer was promoted to coordinator in Dallas. Familiarity with Dak Prescott, others One of the biggest motivators for Jerry Jones in considering Schottenheimer, according to reports, is his familiarity with Dak Prescott and other players on the roster. Schottenheimer is said to be well-liked within the locker room, and his relationships with players is believed to make for a smoother transition than hiring an outside candidate. Of course, the counterargument to this notion is that the Cowboys should have just done what it took to retain Mike McCarthy if the concern was having a coach the players like. After all, Prescott and several other players publicly voiced their support for McCarthy. Nevertheless, Schottenheimer’s hire would likely serve as a continuity hire. This may allow the team to hold on to Mike Zimmer at defensive coordinator, as well as Al Harris and several other promising assistants on the coaching staff. Offensive continuity In that same vein, Schottenheimer would almost certainly be hired with the idea of offensive continuity in mind. While he didn’t call plays the last two years, Schottenheimer was heavily involved in crafting the offensive game plans with McCarthy and therefore would likely keep things more or less the same offensively. It’s unclear if Schottenheimer, who hasn’t called plays in four seasons now, would look to call plays as a head coach or bring in someone as a coordinator to call plays for him. Either way, though, don’t expect a Schottenheimer coaching staff to introduce a ton of change offensively. In some ways, that’s a good thing. The Cowboys finished the 2023 season second in EPA/play and third in offensive success rate, and Prescott was the MVP runner up in his lone full season running the Texas Coast offense. Even this year, with so many injuries on offense, Rico Dowdle hit 1,000 rushing yards and CeeDee Lamb topped 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight year despite missing the final two games. In other ways, offensive continuity is another black mark against Schottenheimer’s

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Here is a look at Brian Schottenheimer’s career to date. The Dallas Cowboys are searching for a new head coach and one name that is picking up steam is Brian Schottenheimer, who has been the team’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons. Today, we’ll look at Schottenheimer’s coaching journey and how his various squads have done with him calling the plays. Schottenheimer started coaching in 1997. He spent his first nine years in the league split up between being an assistant in the NFL, a position coach in college, and a quarterbacks coach where he worked with his father, the great Marty Schottenheimer. After five years as a QB coach, he finally got an offensive coordinator position and started calling plays in 2006. New York Jets (2006-2011) One might think coaching for the Jets would be a nightmare, but Schottenheimer had some success in Jersey. In six seasons with New York, he worked under two head coaches, Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan. When transitioning from Mangini to Ryan, Schottenheimer was considered for the head coaching job in New York, but the Jets opted to go with Ryan. Schottenheimer stayed on as the team’s offensive coordinator. The Jets only had one losing season in those six years and went to the playoffs three times, twice advancing to the AFC Championship game. His quarterbacks were Chad Pennington, Brett Favre (for one season), and Mark Sanchez. Thomas Jones was his most successful running back as he put up seasons of 1,119 yards, 1,312 yards, and 1,402 yards during his three years with the Jets. Schottenheimer also had LaDanian Tomlinson for a couple of years, but he was north of 30 years of age. The Jets had a few years where they were a strong rushing team thanks to Jones, but weren’t much of a passing threat. A big part of that was due to his lack of weapons. At receiver, the Jets had guys like Jerricho Cotchery, Laveranues Coles, Braylon Edwards, and some former Pittsburgh Steelers in Santanio Holmes and Plaxico Burress. St. Louis Rams (2012-2014) After six seasons with the Jets, Schottenheimer joined Jeff Fisher in St. Louis. The Rams were terrible. Fisher spent five years as the Rams head coach, all losing seasons. He was fired late in the 2016 season and replaced by interim coach John Fassel. Schottenheimer got out after three years as the Rams didn’t have much talent around them. Their quarterback was Sam Bradford for a couple of seasons followed by a split between Austin Davis and Shaun Hill (both terrible). The rushing attack featured an older Steven Jackson, followed by Zac Stacy and Tre Mason. Their best receivers were Danny Amendola, Chris Givens, Kenny Britt, and Tavon Austin. Just as he did with the Jets, the running game was decent while the passing game left something to be desired, but both units were a step down with the Rams. In 2015, he called plays for the Georgia Bulldogs and from 2016-2017 he was the quarterbacks coach of the Indianapolis Colts under Chuck Pagano. Seattle Seahawks (2018-2020) He returned to the offensive coordinator role in 2018 with the Seattle Seahawks, working under Pete Carroll. Right away the Seahawks offense moved inside the top 10 in points scored. Seattle won 10+ games in each of his three seasons with the team and made the postseason each time. In Seattle, he had a lot more talent to work with. Chris Carson was his featured running back. He ran for over 1,100 yards in back-to-back seasons. He also had a good receiving duo featuring Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett, and then Lockett with D.K. Metcalf. And just like his previous two stops, the Seahawks were better at running the ball than passing. They finished top 10 in rushing all three seasons and were middle of the road in passing. Despite his early success in Seattle, things flattened out during his final season. Schottenheimer failed to make adjustments and didn’t offer much creativity. He was fired after the Seahawks were bounced from the playoffs. Dallas Cowboys (2023-2024) After some sleepless nights in Seattle, Schottenheimer joined the Jacksonville Jaguars passing game coordinator for one season where they finished dead last in points scored. He joined the Cowboys staff as a consultant in 2022 before taking over as co-offensive coordinator with Mike McCarthy after Kellen Moore left. In Dallas, it’s been a mixed bag. In 2023, the offense started terribly but started putting things together after their bye week. They ended up finishing as the top-scoring team in the league. They had a healthy Dak Prescott for a full season, the only instance of that over the last five years. CeeDee Lamb was a star and Brandin Cooks helped give them a nice one-two punch. This past season, the passing attack again struggled early, but it never got better largely in part due to a season-ending injury to Prescott midway through the season. The running game wasn’t good in either year. Last year they had Tony Pollard, but he didn’t look like the same player he was before his foot injury suffered in the playoff game against the 49ers. And last year the running game was a hot mess. They didn’t know what they wanted to do early on, but then things finally started to come together later in the year when Rico Dowdle became the workhorse back. Rankings as Offensive Coordinator Overall, his teams weren’t very good early on as the talent with the Jets and Rams wasn’t the same as what he had with the Seahawks and Cowboys. Schottenheimer has had good rushing teams for the most part. Sadly, his two years with the Cowboys were one of his weaker seasons. His passing game hasn’t looked nearly as strong as he’s finished outside the top 10 in every season except one during his time as offensive coordinator. The good news is that one time was recently with the Cowboys. What type of head coach he’d