The Dallas Cowboys are heading into a new season, but their head coach isn’t anyone knew. During the offseason, Jerry Jones promoted former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the head coach position after saying farewell to Mike McCarthy.
Many NFL analysts and experts were surprised by the move, because Dallas appeared to be interested in former coordinator Kellen Moore, who’s heling get the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl LIX and has a recent track record of success. The Cowboys job was also linked to Hall of Fame great and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.
But, they went with Schottenheimer, and some aren’t happy about that. One guy who does think it’s the right move, though, is former defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
Brian Schottenheimer is Already Familiar With the Team
“We’re in a time of instant gratification,” McCoy said in an interview with RG that published on February 3. “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 added that he believe a major reason why the Cowboys hired Schottenheimer is because he already knows the ins-and-outs of the Cowboys and Jones.
“He hired somebody in the building who already knows how the Cowboys’ operation works,” McCoy said. “He’s worked with the offense, he knows the players, he knows the time frames of everything. He’s been in Dallas, he knows everything and how Jerry wants him to run it.”
Schottenheimer also knows how to work with Cowboys star players Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
“I’m gonna hire somebody who I believe the strength of my team is my offense,” McCoy stated. “Let me take care of the offense, I need a guy who can do that. Now I need a guy who’s familiar with the territory of the Cowboys, who’s been in this building and knows what that star means.”
He added, “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.”
Brian Schottenheimer is Going Back to His Pete Carroll Days
Schottenheimer says he has a clear vision for how he’s going to serve as the Cowboys’ head coach.
“I go back to my days with (NFL coach) Pete [Carroll],” Schottenheimer said according to the Dallas Cowboys’ press page. “I think if you go back and you look at some of the things we did in Seattle, obviously, the starting point for me would be things that our players do well. You’re always going to start with that. If your system’s not flexible enough to do what your players do well then you’re probably in the wrong business.”
He added, “We’re going to do a great job of marrying our runs and our passes and make those look the same. I’m proud to say at two different times in my career as a coordinator, we led the league in rushing, and they go hand in hand. The running game and the action pass game go hand in hand.”
The Super Bowl is this Sunday, featuring the Chiefs against the Eagles.