The Dallas Cowboys are the most iconic franchise in the National Football League, called America’s team and they are currently one of the most valuable franchises in pro sports. However, as many of the top NFL coaching candidates come off the board, it appears the Cowboys coaching search is heading towards an odd outcome.
When Dallas first parted ways with Mike McCarthy, who delivered three 12-win seasons as the Cowboys coach, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore emerged as the favorite to take over. Moore, a former Cowboys quarterback and then offensive coordinator, had everything team owner Jerry Jones wanted.
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Moore, age 36, immediately joined the Cowboys coaching staff as quarterbacks coach after his playing career ended in 2017. Two years later, Jones promoted him to offensive coordinator and then play-caller, viewing him as a top up-and-comer in the coaching world who could one day become the team’s head coach.
Moore left the Cowboys following the 2022 season, with McCarthy taking over play-calling duties while Moore became the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator. He took over play-calling for the Eagles in 2024, playing an influential role in the team’s NFC Championship Game. While he wasn’t highly-regarded as a head-coach candidate by most teams, many around the league believed he would be Jones’ guy to replace McCarthy.
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Instead, Cowboys’ reporter Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports reported on Thursday that the team was looking to “cross the finish line” on promoting current offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to become head coach. A deal was expected to be reached the following day.
Now, according to Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports, team officials are “hyper-focused” on naming Schotenheimer the next Cowboys head coach. Furthermore, the club’s tone has now shifted to how it can “build around Schotty” rather than just viewing him as a strong candidate to take the job.
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Schottenheimer, age 51, joined Dallas as a coaching analyst in 2022 under McCarthy. Prior to that, he served as the passing game coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Schottenheimer’s last experience as a play-caller came in 2020 with the Seattle Seahawks.
- Seattle Seahawks offense (2020): 28.2 PPG (7th), 5.7 yards per play (12th), 123.9 rush ypg (12th), 240.2 passing ypg (18th)
While the Seahawks’ offense fared well in terms of scoring and total yardage, it had its share of issues. Seattle finished the 2020 season ranked 27th in third-down conversion rate (38.42 percent). In addition, from 2021-’22, the Seahawks’ offense ranked just 13th in EPA per Play (0.013) while finishing 16th in Success Rate (44.8%). With the Seahawks’ offense imploding down the stretch, Schottenheimer was fired.
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The veteran coach is well-regarded for his ability to adapt his offenses to his personnel and he carries a strong league-wide reputation for his ability to work with players. However, his offenses are largely viewed as more “vanilla” and even lacked behind modern offenses back in 2022.
Notably, promoting Schottenheimer to head coach would seemingly be the cheapest available option for Jones. However, with other teams offering lucrative salaries to land top coordinators and assistants, it’s viewed as unlikely that savings will be used to spend heavily on the rest of the Cowboys coaching staff in 2025.
