Dallas Cowboys owner and president Jerry Jones has been subjected to immense scrutiny after promoting their offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach. However, a former conference foe has some even-keeled takes on his decision.
Gerald McCoy Defends Jerry Jones for Hiring Brian Schottenheimer
Gerald McCoy believes that NFL fans are being too dismissive of Jones’ decision to elevate Schottenheimer. He attributes this to their need for “instant gratification,” as he told RG.
“We’re in a time of instant gratification,” McCoy said. “ You have to be able to captivate people right away. That’s the time we’re in. If you don’t hire a coach that people think, ‘Oh, this is the guy right now, I know his name,’ then people are going to be upset.”
McCoy also believes that even if Schottenheimer doesn’t lead them to instant success it is not a referendum on his ability to coach the Cowboys in the long term. He believes that Jones’ rationale in appointing Schottenheimer is sensible and has a real chance of working out.
“These are all the things that Jerry went with, but essentially he went with somebody that he knows can run this thing the way he wants it to be run. Is that going to lead to success? I don’t know, but what I’m not going to do is write off Schottenheimer.”
“We haven’t even given him a chance because his name is not Deion Sanders, because his name is not Mike Tomlin, because his name is not Aaron Glenn or Ben Johnson. I’m not going to write off Schottenheimer because his name is not Bill Belichick.”
“I’m not going to just write him off. Because those people — coaching legends such as Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin — weren’t them before they started winning. I’m going to give him a chance and see what happens.”
McCoy’s calls for rationality are what the media landscape needs in an environment thriving off of negativity around the Cowboys. Many teams across many sports have seen success by promoting internal hires at the right time. Schottenheimer may not have a CV that jumps off the table, but it is clear that he has his positives.
Schottenheimer has had a rather low-profile time working as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. In eight of his first nine seasons as an offensive coordinator, Schottenheimer’s teams ranked 13th or lower in scoring offense, with only the 2008 New York Jets (ninth) finishing in the top 10.
However, he coordinated four consecutive top-10 scoring offenses between Seattle and Dallas before the 2024 Cowboys fell off, which can be attributed partly to injuries. Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks in 2019 when Russell Wilson had arguably his most productive NFL season. He also seems to have meshed well with Dak Prescott, judging from their 2023 production.
- Prescott’s QB+: 2023, 90.7 (second); 2024, 65.6 (30th)
- Cowboys’ Offense+: 2023, 83.7 (fourth); 2024, 68.2 (23rd)
Schottenheimer is the third head coach hired by Jones without previous head coaching experience in the NFL or college. The first two hires had mixed results. It seems that Jones isn’t afraid to see if the third time’s the charm!