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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