Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Schottenheimer

Ex-Cowboys star Dez Bryant predicts team won’t see success under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was brutally honest this week when asked about his former team’s choice for new head coach, saying he believes the team will not be successful under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

Bryant, who spent the majority of his NFL career in Dallas from 2010 to 2017, did not appear to be sold on Schottenheimer, who took over for Mike McCarthy after spending two seasons as offensive coordinator.

FILE – Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown with teammates including guard Jonathan Cooper (64) against Washington at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 30, 2017. (Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

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“I’m an energy person,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports ahead of Super Bowl LIX.

“I don’t know the coach, so I can’t say he’s gonna do good – I can’t wish good or bad on him. But my energy is telling me that it won’t be successful. I just think it’s going to be too much for him.”

Schottenheimer, 51, takes over amid much speculation. Despite a lengthy career as an assistant coach, next season will be his first at the helm. But during his introductory press conference with owner Jerry Jones, Schottenheimer explained that he was finally ready for the job.

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer and owner Jerry Jones speak to the media at a press conference at the Star on Jan. 27, 2025. (Tim Heitman-Imagn Images)

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“I’ve had some opportunities when I was a much younger man, that I didn’t feel like I was ready,” Schottenheimer said. “I’m ready now. I know what I want. I know what it looks like.”

But Bryant believes there are outside factors that Schottenheimer might not be prepared for.

“I think it’s bigger than him just being the head coach. I don’t think he can deal with the scrutiny of the fans, you get what I’m saying? Us Cowboys fans, us Texans – we love our football. We’re ready to win. Cowboys ain’t won a Super Bowl since the ’90s. I was a fan playing for the hometown team, so I get it.”

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Former Dallas Cowboys player Dez Bryant before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 26, 2022. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

“I don’t see success,” he added.

Bryant also noted that the offseason coaching pool had several coaching candidates he believes would’ve been a better fit in Dallas.

“There were guys that could take this team to the next level, and I feel like we let it slip though our fingers to have a shot at success.”

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Schottenheimer becomes the seventh coach since the last time the Cowboys reached an NFC championship game — in the 1995 season on the way to their fifth Super Bowl title. He replaced McCarthy, who parted ways with the organization after three straight 12-5 seasons.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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February 7, 2025
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: Hiring Brian Schottenheimer is ‘as big a risk as you can take’

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was sitting right next to Brian Schottenheimer, his new head coaching hire, on Monday when he said what a lot of fans and various team alumni were thinking when the news broke.

This hire is a big risk.

Schottenheimer was introduced as the Cowboys’ next head coach after Jones’ decision to not re-sign Mike McCarthy, who had Schottenheimer as his offensive coordinator this past season. The hire, as well as the process Jones and the organization went about making it, has been blasted by fans and experts alike.

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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaks to the media at a press conference at the Star. (Tim Heitman-Imagn Images)

Despite Schottenheimer being to his right, Jones responded to those critics on Monday.

“I get my proverbial a– kicked over needing people in my comfort zone,” Jones said to reporters, via The New York Post. “Without this thing being about me in any way, if you don’t think I can’t operate out of my comfort zone, you’re so wrong it’s unbelievable.

“This is as big a risk as you can take. As big a risk as you can take. No head coaching experience.”

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Not much of a vote of confidence from that quote during what’s usually an optimistic outlook on a new coaching chapter for a franchise.

But the tone changed from Jones when discussing Schottenheimer, who has loads of coaching experience even if he hasn’t run his own program yet. He began his career as an assistant for the Rams in 1997, and he’s worked his way up through various organizations, including serving as offensive coordinator for the Rams, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks and the University of Georgia. He’s also the son of famed NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer.

Jones pointed to the younger Schottenheimer’s family tree, while discussing his qualifications.

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer and owner Jerry Jones speak to the media at a press conference at the Star. (Tim Heitman-Imagn Images)

“We know what osmosis is and we know what Schotty grew up around,” Jones explained, per NFL.com. “Frankly, from the standpoint of Schotty, those X hairs crossed. Schotty might never had been in our mirror, our view, had he not joined us to be with Mike as a consultant three years ago. … I’ve sat in handful of meetings with Schotty. I’ve listened. I’ve watched him. I’ve watched him have deference to his head coach. I’ve watched him have deference to experienced guys like [defensive coordinator Mike] Zimmer. … I’ve watched him bite his lip sometimes when he didn’t necessarily agree with that direction. But he bit his lip, as his daddy would have told him to bite your lip.

“You go around to the countless number of coaches that Schotty has served on staff with and been around. The countless players. How often do you have someone that has 25 years of working through the human relationship?” Jones added.

Schottenheimer is said to have a great relationship with Cowboys franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, which will be critical in making this work post-McCarthy. Prescott was one who said toward the end of the season, as he was rehabbing from a surgically-repaired hamstring, that he would champion McCarthy returning as head coach.

Schottenheimer owns the keys to “America’s Team” now, and he knows how big of a responsibility it is leading this Super Bowl-hungry team back to the playoffs.

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But he now knows his owner believes what’s been put out there on social media: He’s a risky hire. It’s up to Schottenheimer to prove the risk was worth the reward.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025
Fans roast Cowboys for hiring Brian Schottenheimer as next head coach: ‘Clown show’

The Dallas Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer, their offensive coordinator, as the team’s next head coach, announcing the move on Friday with a Jerry Jones message attached to it.

“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones said, per ESPN. “He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

The hire comes at a shock to some and a surprise to many, as the Cowboys’ process this offseason has been a head-scratcher.

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Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 24, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 28-16. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Cowboys fans voiced their opinions on social media, and they weren’t too happy with their team’s choice.

“Hiring Brian Schottenheimer as head coach without even trying to talk to Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn or other top candidates is 1000% the same thing as not calling Derrick Henry and just signing Zeke,” one fan said on X. “Same. Exact. Thing.”

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To understand where Cowboys fans may be coming from, one must understand the odd process the team went through since the offseason began.

First, the dilemma for Jones and the rest of the organization was what to do with Mike McCarthy, the veteran head coach who went 7-10 on the final year of his deal without quarterback Dak Prescott for a good chunk of the season.

Players like Prescott and others publicly voiced their support for McCarthy, but the Cowboys moved on.

In doing so, though, they were already behind the 8 ball, as other head coach-needy squads were already out conducting interviews and getting their candidates in order.

When Dallas got their list together, it was an interesting group. Robert Saleh, the ex-New York Jets head coach who was fired midseason in 2024, came in despite not being high on anyone’s list except for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He eventually returned to the Bay Area to assume his old job as defensive coordinator under Kyle Shanahan.

Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer looks on prior to the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

There was also Pete Carroll, who ended up returning to the NFL by taking the Las Vegas Raiders job. Kellen Moore, the former Cowboys offensive coordinator who is now with the Eagles, came in for an interview, as did Leslie Frazier, who serves as assistant head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

While these candidates all have their credentials, fans were not happy that top candidates like the ones mentioned above, who have all landed elsewhere, never came into the building.

Fox Sports’ David Helman broke down the situation from a Cowboys process perspective.

“We don’t know Brian Schottenheimer will be a failure any more than we know Ben Johnson will be a success,” he posted on X. “Coaching hires are weird & hard to predict.

“We do know that it REEKS of bad process to fart around for eight days with a head coach who needs a new contract, fail to retain him after missing an interview window for coveted candidates, bring in two former head coaches who are not in high demand, one outside assistant you already have a relationship with and *then* choose the guy down the hall who a) is not drawing interest elsewhere b) has not been a head coach c) has not called plays for you and d) has had mixed results when he has called an offense in the past.”

Finally, some feel Schottenheimer is similar to Jason Garrett, who took over the job after Wade Phillips, whom he worked under, was fired.

Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during training camp at the River Ridge Fields. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)

“Quick, easy, CHEAP, and the Jones’ retain control just the way they like it,” one disgruntled fan wrote. “This team doesn’t want to win. It’s about attention. It’s about egos. Cowboys fans are exhausted with this clown show.”

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Schottenheimer joined McCarthy’s Cowboys staff in 2022 as a coaching analyst before replacing Moore as offensive coordinator in 2023. His first year in the position was also Prescott’s best season, as the team went on to win the NFC East before flopping in the Wild Card Round to the Green Bay Packers. The team had the fifth-ranked offense that season.

Schottenheimer, the son of decorated NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, has almost three decades worth of coaching under his belt, spending time with the Jets, Rams and Seahawks before joining the Cowboys. He served in an offensive coordinator role for each of those teams.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

January 25, 2025