Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images Brian Schottenheimer is the new head coach of the Cowboys… and we are trying to be as optimistic as we can. After days of speculation and a general feeling of inevitable dread from the fan base, the Cowboys made it official: Brian Schottenheimer is replacing Mike McCarthy as the head coach. Needless to say this hire is not popular among fans, and there are very few people who feel good about the process that led to this decision, as well as the decision itself. That said, Schottenheimer is not entirely without his merits. The son of coaching legend Marty Schottenheimer, one of just seven coaches with 200 career wins to his name, Brian Schottenheimer has some positive attributes. If you’re looking for a moderate amount of copium after the news, here are four reasons why this is a good hire. Good relationship with Dak Prescott, offense The main selling point from the moment Schottenheimer became a public candidate for the job was his standing within the locker room. The players apparently like and respect Schottenheimer, just as they did McCarthy, and Schottenheimer especially has a strong relationship with Dak Prescott. Obviously the connection between your head coach and quarterback is important, so Prescott’s approval is a big deal. Schottenheimer has also been there for three years, with two of them playing a large role in the formation of the Texas Coast offense when McCarthy took over play-calling. Prescott’s lone full year in that scheme saw him put up the best year of his career and finish second in MVP voting. That’s nothing new for Schottenheimer, either, as we detailed earlier. He’s been the coordinator for career years from Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, and Russell Wilson before as well. Multiple coaches around the league have described Schottenheimer as someone who gets the most out of his quarterbacks. How does Brian Schottenheimer compare to Kellen Moore as a head coaching candidate? Asked around + broke it down on today’s episode of Inside Coverage… Full conversation with @YahooSchwab & @jasonfitz : https://t.co/gVxPm944oJ : https://t.co/wLbFH4Ie93 pic.twitter.com/5DSTBJLe40 — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 23, 2025 The Cowboys are, of course, contractually tied to Prescott for the foreseeable future and the quarterback will be coming off a season-ending injury to start 2025. Keeping some level of continuity for Prescott, and doing so with a coach he already knows and likes, is objectively a positive. Deep connections to build his staff Schottenheimer has been coaching for nearly three decades at this point and worked with 10 different franchises and eight different head coaches. On top of that, he has a long list of connections by way of his father, too. When it comes to building out a coaching staff, Schottenheimer will have plenty of names to call. Oftentimes the concern with rookie head coaches is just that: their rolodex of names is too limited. One reason that so many Bill Belichick disciples have failed in their own head coaching ventures is because their network of coaches is essentially limited to just one coaching tree. Even Sean McVay owes much of his early success to the arranged marriage of veteran coach Wade Phillips coming on as his defensive coordinator. That won’t be an issue for Schottenheimer. He has a long list of names to reach out to and is well-respected around league circles. Even if there are coaches he doesn’t personally know, Schottenheimer likely knows someone who can make a connection on his behalf. Familiarity with how the Cowboys operate The number one criteria for being the head coach in Dallas is being able to work with Jerry Jones. By that I mean being comfortable with an owner who also calls all the shots, but will occasionally be hands-off and delegate to others, and then also randomly decide to take control of the wheel and even publicly contradict you on the radio. Simply put, most coaches are not interested in putting up with that. It’s why Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn were never going to be serious candidates in Dallas, regardless of when the Cowboys had their opening. McCarthy didn’t fully understand what he was getting himself into when he took the job either, and after five years of those working conditions, it absolutely played a part in the coach deciding to walk away. Schottenheimer, though, is fully aware of that power dynamic now. He’s observed McCarthy the past three seasons and seen things up close and personal. Whereas any external candidates, such as Pete Carroll or Robert Saleh, would be coming in practically blind, Schottenheimer is doing so with eyes wide open. He also already has a relationship with Jones, evident in his back-to-back interviews with the owner. Outside of Kellen Moore, whose own interview apparently didn’t even last very long, Schottenheimer is the only candidate out there who would take the job knowing exactly what he’s getting into and what to expect. That alone eases the learning curve significantly. Much needed chip on his shoulder Schottenheimer is not naïve. He knows full well that he’ll be stepping into this job without a single person in the fan base believing in him. Shoot, he may not even have the owner believing in him, but rather believing he’s the easiest path towards Head Ball Coach Witten. Schottenheimer also believes in himself. Only six coaches in NFL history have won more than his father, and young Brian was right by his side to watch it all unfold. He’s also had a wide variety of experiences, both good and bad, throughout his career. He was there when the Jets, led by Eric Mangini, oscillated from 10-6 to 4-12 and back to 9-7. He was also there when Rex Ryan took the same team to consecutive AFC Championship games. He became well-versed in Pete Carroll’s aggressive coaching style while also witnessing the decline of that dynasty, largely due to poor roster management as stars got older. He got a masterclass in dysfunction during his one season

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The latest and greatest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys is here. Dallas Cowboys hiring Brian Schottenheimer as 10th head coach in franchise history – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys The Cowboys chose Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach. The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach. It is Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer is an NFL legacy as the son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, so he has been around the game for a long time. He has been in and around the NFL for over 20 years and has served as the offensive coordinator for several teams, including the Cowboys over the last two years, but this is his first opportunity to be a head coach. While Schottenheimer did serve as OC for the last two seasons he did not call plays, head coach Mike McCarthy did. Clearly the front office is interested to see what he can do. Cowboys to hire coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach – Todd Archer, ESPN Can Schottenheimer can get the offense back on track, the way Archer suggests he did in 2023, when the Cowboys abandoned McCarthy’s caveman offense and came out with a high-octane offense after the bye? Schottenheimer has been an offensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams, Jets and Seahawks. He served as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing game coordinator in 2021 before coming to Dallas. In 12 years as a playcaller, Schottenheimer had four offenses finish in the top 10 in points per game and three times in the top half in the league in yards per game. His best three years came with the Seahawks when they finished sixth, ninth and eighth in points per game with Russell Wilson at quarterback. Though he did not call plays under McCarthy, Schottenheimer had a large role in the offense. Team sources say he helped jump-start the offense in 2023 after a slow start. The Cowboys, who scored 30 or more points in seven of their final 11 games, finished with the highest-scoring offense in the league (29.9 points per game) and were fifth in yards (371.6) that season. Matt Eberflus is the favorite to become Cowboys defensive coordinator – David Moore, DMN Late last night, Moore called Eberflus the prohibitive favorite to land the job, and a little later, Ed Werder jumped the gun by confirming the hire, only to then quickly issue a correction. Matt Eberflus was a highly regarded position coach in his time with the Cowboys. Chances are he’ll be welcome back to oversee the defense. Eberflus, who left Dallas to become the defensive coordinator for Indianapolis before using that as a platform to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears, is in discussions with club officials to return to the Cowboys as defensive coordinator, two people with knowledge of the potential staff told The Dallas Morning News. Corrected: Eberflus has emerged as a candidate to be the next DC and discussed the position but team will first conduct interviews as required by league rules before final decision, per source. https://t.co/eKjJSTOLJM — Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) January 25, 2025 Report: Jason Witten not currently part of Dallas Cowboys plan to build staff – Grant Grubbs, Newsbreak Witten’s name caused a lot of hand-wringing on social media over the last week, but it seems throwing out his name was more about engagement farming than anything even remotely close to what was actually happening in Dallas. While insiders speculated who will be joining Schottenheimer’s staff, NFL Network’s Jane Slater named one person who won’t be. “A source informed tells me the #Cowboys have not completed the process of hiring their defensive coordinator,” Slater wrote. “Matt Eberflus is certainly someone held in high regard and certainly part of the consideration however. “Not part of their considerations, according to two sources, Jason Witten on staff. While Jerry Jones has maintained a relationship with him and they have talked in recent months it appears my sense of him being part of the plan are unsubstantiated at this point and haven’t been discussed in fact.” Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris joining Chicago Bears staff, per report – Kellen Bulger, Dallas Morning News Al Harris is the latest member of the Cowboys coaching staff that won’t return in 2025. As the NFL coaching carousel continues to spin, the Dallas Cowboys lost yet another member of its coaching staff on Thursday, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that defensive backs coach Al Harris is set to join the Chicago Bears staff. Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris — a former Packers standout cornerback — also is joining the Bears’ coaching staff as Chicago’s Defensive pass game coordinator/DBs coach, per source. https://t.co/WJsYfGMyjF — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2025 Harris will be joining new Chicago head coach Ben Johnson’s staff. Johnson was recently hired by the Bears after multiple successful seasons as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator. Harris was a standout cornerback in the NFL and after his playing days was hired by Dallas in 2020 by his former head coach in Green Bay Mike McCarthy. Under Harris, multiple Cowboys secondary players saw career years. Perhaps most notably Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. Best NFL rookie classes: Ranking teams with most production – Aaron Schatz, ESPN The last two, maybe even three, drafts have not been great for the Cowboys, and the 2024 Cowboys rookie class is another one with low grades. 19. Dallas Cowboys First-round pick Tyler Guyton struggled with both knee and ankle injuries but managed to make 11 starts at left tackle. He was exactly league-average in pass block win rate (88.9%), ranking 30th, and slightly above average in run block win rate (75.7%). Cooper Beebe became the Cowboys’ starting center and was more impressive, ranking eighth in pass block win rate (95.3%) and 10th in run block win rate (70.5%) at the position. Tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford caught nine passes for 88 yards with good blocking. The leading defensive rookie was third-round linebacker Marist Liufau, who started

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images Matt Eberflus seems to be a potential defensive coordinator option for the Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys offseason finally has a direction. Their head coaching search came to an end on Friday night with the official hiring of Brian Schottenheimer, giving the offensive coordinator of the last two seasons his first ever promotion to the head coaching ranks of the NFL. The next order of business is filling out Schottenheimer’s staff as quickly as possible, which will require much more than just hiring a new OC and DC. Assistant head coach and secondary coach Al Harris got away to the Chicago Bears to join Ben Johnson’s new staff as passing game coordinator, and now a former Bears coach is reportedly in consideration to return to the Cowboys as defensive coordinator. Sources consider former #Bears head coach Matt Eberflus a prime candidate for the #Cowboys defensive coordinator job under new coach Brian Schottenheimer, per sources. Eberflus was a Cowboys assistant from 2011-17. pic.twitter.com/tIPvtLA6II — Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 25, 2025 The #DallasCowboys and Matt Eberflus have discussed the defensive coordinator opening and he is considered the favorite for the job heading into the interview process, per team source. League rules require a process. Eberflus is expected to be the guy at the end. pic.twitter.com/CPX8VMRTvn — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) January 25, 2025 Eberflus served as the team’s linebackers coach from 2011-15 and passing game coordinator from 2016-17. There was some positive buzz about Eberflus as a potential fast riser through the coaching ranks over this entire period of time working with the Cowboys linebackers, and he left Dallas to be the Colts defensive coordinator in 2018. In his first season with Indianapolis, Eberflus’ Colts defense shut out the Cowboys 23-0 at home in week 15. After three seasons of his first coordinator job, Eberflus was named head coach of the Chicago Bears. His midyear firing from the Bears this past season was very public and frankly embarrassing for the franchise, with the final straw being a Thanksgiving loss to the Lions marred by terrible late-game clock management. It was one loss as part of a bigger 10-game losing streak the Bears wouldn’t snap until the final game of the season at the Packers. The Cowboys clearly believe Schottenheimer gives them the best chance to rebuild a strong offense around Dak Prescott again, and could now be looking inward once again at a former coach to maintain the defense. Eberflus would be the second straight defensive coordinator for the Cowboys with previous coaching experience for the team, following Mike Zimmer’s one-year tenure. With Eberflus’ specialty as far as position coaching being linebackers, and the Cowboys finding some of their few bright spots from the 2024 season here in rookie Marist Liufau and Demarvion Overshown (who’s next season is in jeopardy after another knee injury), this is a reunion that makes some sense. We will see if, similarly to Schottenheimer’s freshly inked four-year deal, the Cowboys can drive this one “across the finish line”.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports Jason Witten may not wind up on the Dallas Cowboys staff after all. The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach as of Friday night and his name is Brian Schottenheimer. Time will tell what his staff ultimately looks like. It seems fair to say that the success of this team moving forward will largely depend on the hires made to support him. For now the only name that has been connected to the group in any way is former team staffer Matt Eberflus. One name that many have assumed will grace the staff when it is assembled is former tight end Jason Witten. While Schottenheimer ultimately was named head coach, at one point in time Witten was being connected to the job himself. To date Witten has no coaching experience at the collegiate or professional levels, and many have thought that a plan to groom him may be in place which would obviously require him to join an NFL staff, the Cowboys in all likelihood. There have been mixed feelings on this potential, many that fans have been vocalizing ever since Witten’s name first popped on the overall coaching radar. For what it’s worth, according to NFL Network’s Jane Slater, it seems like Witten may not be joining the staff after all. A source informed tells me the #Cowboys have not completed the process of hiring their defensive coordinator. Matt Eberflus is certainly someone held in high regard and certainly part of the consideration however. Not part of their considerations, according to two sources, Jason… — Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 25, 2025 Slater notes that Witten is not “part of their considerations” and adds that he and Jerry Jones have maintained their relationship. Perhaps there was never any legitimacy to the idea of Witten joining the Cowboys staff, whether as head coach or in some other capacity, or perhaps there has been an about face of sorts. Former players decorate team’s sidelines all of the time so the idea of Witten as a tight ends coach or something would certainly not be unheard of. It was the notion of him as head coach that seemed to have people up in arms. Schottenheimer is scheduled to have his introductory press conference on Monday at 12pm ET so it feels fair to assume we will get more information then. Obviously things could leak in the time being as well. We will be watching.

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images Brian Schottenheimer is the 10th head coach in Dallas Cowboys franchise history. The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach. It is Brian Schottenheimer. Cowboys are hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach, Jerrry Jones tells ESPN. “Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones said. “He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.” pic.twitter.com/JtGoltP1mC — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2025 Schottenheimer is an NFL legacy as the son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, so he has been around the game for a long time. He has been in and around the NFL for over 20 years and has served as the offensive coordinator for several teams, including the Cowboys over the last two years, but this is his first opportunity to be a head coach. While Schottenheimer did serve as OC for the last two seasons he did not call plays, head coach Mike McCarthy did. Clearly the front office is interested to see what he can do. The Cowboys moved on from McCarthy almost two weeks ago, eight days after the 2024 season ended. Everything really started to develop one full week after the parting of ways with McCarthy. The Cowboys spent the first week of their search getting things organized and through the weekend of the Divisional Round (and slightly beyond) interviewed Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier. Those interviews made them compliant with the Rooney Rule, just for the record. Schottenheimer’s name first took center stage on Monday morning when it was noted that he was the betting favorite to be the next head coach, something that felt like it popped up out of nowhere given the prior week’s events. On Tuesday morning it was noted that he was going to interview with the team. By the afternoon it was reported that an offer could come soon (at that time), and shortly after that it was reported that the interview was actually taking place on Tuesday afternoon marking quite the development across a single day. He would later interview a second time and clearly is what the team wants to do. Ultimately the team came to the conclusion that this is what they believe is in the best interest of the franchise which is why they chose to do it. Heavy speculation has been that the likes of Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray and/or Tashard Choice could join an eventual staff. Now that we know it is Schottenheimer’s staff, we will find out how much validity there was to those reports. Brian Schottenheimer is the newest head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Eric Canha-Imagn Images The Cowboys reportedly held an interest in Mike Vrabel. As of the time of this writing the Dallas Cowboys remain on the hunt for their next head coach. Assuming they don’t have one by Friday at close of business, they will have gone two weeks into the process. It took the Cowboys an entire week to figure out that they were going to need a head coach, though. Dallas infamously took the first week of their offseason to figure things out with Mike McCarthy and ultimately came to the conclusion that the two needed to part ways on the eighth day of their offseason. Waiting so long cost the Cowboys in several ways. They were unable to request a virtual interview with staffers from the teams who held the top seeds in each conference and ultimately Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn got head coaching jobs (with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, respectively) without Dallas ever getting a formal interview. But waiting also cost the Cowboys with another candidate. Just an hour or two after they made their McCarthy decision the New England Patriots held a press conference to introduce Mike Vrabel as their new head coach. They interviewed him and others and decided on Vrabel and landed him all in the time that Dallas figured out the McCarthy situation. We can argue that New England always had the inside track on Vrabel due to his history with the organization, but according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Robert Kraft sensed that Jerry Jones and the Cowboys would be interested and pounced. Shout out to Bleacher Report for the transcription: “The Dallas Cowboys, too,” Russini said on her Scoop City podcast (12:00 mark). “A lot of people don’t know that. Guess who knew that? Robert Kraft knew that. Robert Kraft knew the Jones family had an interest [in Mike Vrabel].” Having an interest is one thing and may not be the biggest deal in the world. But it underscores how the Cowboys going about the McCarthy decision, and everything subsequently, has been a broken overall process. Whether or not Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn were the right choice for Dallas is a matter any of us can debate. Again though, the Cowboys made conscious decisions that directly compromised their ability to even interview any of them. You simply cannot operate that way if you are trying to win.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images Do we think the Cowboys will create salary cap space and use it? Don’t for a second believe the Dallas Cowboys are as cash-strapped as they suggest heading into the 2025 offseason. Despite Stephen Jones’ claim insisting that the roster building this year will be “really, really tight”, the Cowboys could make room for spending. In fact, a couple of reports suggest Dallas could create upwards of $100 million in salary-cap space. Mike Fisher recently shared a simple path the Dallas Cowboys could take in five easy steps using round numbers to create $100 million in salary-cap space. By “flipping the switch” on Dak Prescott’s and CeeDee Lamb’s contracts, signing Micah Parsons to an extension, and money carried over from 2024, this path looks absolutely doable for the Cowboys. These are all normal NFL front-office practices – standard tools available on the total box – and added up, Dallas’ three moves will have created $40 mil (Dak) + $20 mil (Lamb) + $10 mil (Parsons) + the $30 mil (carryover)… And these three players will be taking up just 25 percent of the cap room and the Cowboys will have a rather astounding $100 million in 2025 cap room! Another report from Pro Football Network goes into a little bit more detail about how the Dallas Cowboys can create more salary-cap space in 2025 with a few contract restructures and an extension for Micah Parsons. Main restructure/extension candidates for the Cowboys Dak Prescott (2025 Cap = $89,896,666) – conventional restructure could open $37,196,000 in cap space (no option to add void years). Trevon Diggs (2025 Cap = $13,897,056) – conventional restructure could save $5,872,500 and as much as $6,264,000 with a void year CeeDee Lamb (2025 Cap = $35,450,000) – conventional restructure could open $20,544,000 in cap space (no option to add void years). Terence Steele (2025 Cap = $18,125,000) – conventional restructure could save $9,060,000 and as much as $9,664,000 with a void year Micah Parsons (2025 Cap = $21,324,000) – the final year of his deal, so no conventional restructure, but could open up $16,123,200 with an extension or adding void years If these numbers are accurate, and the Cowboys make all of these moves, this would free up close to $90 million worth of salary-cap space and that’s not even including the $25 million carried over from 2024 or money saved from potential salary-cap casualties. That’s a lot of moolah! So again, buy into the Stephen Jones insistence roster building will be “very, very tight” this offseason for the Dallas Cowboys if you want, but the numbers speak for themselves. The Cowboys should have more than enough salary-cap space this year to do just about whatever they want in free agency. The only question is… will they?