Late on January 24th, the Dallas Cowboys announced the promotion of Brian Schottenheimer to Head Coach. This announcement comes on the heels of a narrow coaching search that included only four official candidates after the unexpected departure of Mike McCarthy. Two of those candidates were former NFL head coaches Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier. The other two also happened to be the Cowboys two most recent offensive coordinators: Kellen Moore and Brian Schottenheimer. The team’s hiring process can fairly be described as lackluster. Rather than conduct a thorough coaching search, Jerry Jones chose to surround himself with familiar faces. Some may call this malpractice, others may say Jerry’s just being Jerry. However we choose to evaluate the process, one thing reigns true. History will ultimately judge the decision based on its results, not its process. With that said, what do the Cowboys have in Brian Schottenheimer?
How Did He Get Here?
Brian Schottenheimer is the son of longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Prior to coaching, the younger Schottenheimer was the backup Quarterback for Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators. Schottenheimer got his official coaching start in 1997 with the Rams as a quality control assistant on Dick Vermeil’s staff. In 1998, he joined his father’s staff in the same role with the Chiefs. This staff also included Schottenheimer’s future boss and predecessor, Mike McCarty. The younger Schottenheimer then spent the next two seasons in college ranks as a position coach (Syracuse Wide Receivers and USC Tight Ends) before rejoining his father in the NFL as Washington’s Quarterbacks coach in 2001. He then followed his dad to San Diego, serving as the Chargers Quarterbacks coach from 2002-2005 under offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. With the Chargers, Schottenheimer worked directly with future NFL legends Drew Brees and Philip RIvers.
New York Jets (2006-2011)
Prior to the 2006 season, Brian Schottenheimer was named the Offensive Coordinator of the New York Jets under Eric Mangini. He served under Mangini from 2006-2008. In 2006, the Jets finished 10-6 and made the playoffs as the offense improved by nearly 5 points per game from the year prior. The 2007 offense regressed amidst an injury riddled season from starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, before propelling to a Top 10 unit in 2008 after the addition of Brett Favre. Despite the offensive success, the Jets missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season and Mangini was fired.
Schottenheimer was considered for the Jets head coaching position in 2009, but they ultimately decided to hire Rex Ryan. Ryan elected to retain Schottenheimer as his offensive coordinator. He served under Ryan from 2009-2011. Despite having a rookie quarterback, the 2009 Jets made it all the way to the AFC Championship game on the coattails of the league’s best rushing attack. In 2010, the Jets returned to the AFC Championship game as quarterback Mark Sanchez took meaningful steps in his development, peaking with a 3 touchdown 0 interception performance against the great Bill Belichick in Foxborough. Unfortunately, Sanchez’s development and the offense’s performance in 2011 did not meet Ryan’s expectations, so Schottenheimer was let go after the season. After Schottenheimer’s departure, Sanchez regressed from 32 total touchdowns in 2011 to 13 total touchdowns in 2012 while the offense’s total scoring regressed by 6.0 points per game.
St. Louis Rams (2012-2014)
In 2012, Brian Schottenheimer accepted the offensive coordinator role with Jeff Fisher and the Rams. He served in this position under Fisher from 2012-2014. In 2012, the Rams scoring offense improved by over 6 points per game as quarterback Sam Bradford scored a career high 22 total touchdowns in 16 games. Despite Bradford missing the last nine games of the season in 2013, the Rams scoring offense still managed to improve upon 2012 by 3 points per game. Sadly, Bradford also missed the entirety of the 2014 season and the offense regressed from the year prior. Schottenheimer was let go following the season and the Rams offense regressed by nearly 3 points per game the following season.
Georgia & Indianapolis (2015-2017)
Schottenheimer returned to the college ranks in 2015 serving as the offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia under Mark Richt. He oversaw a rushing attack that featured future NFL running backs Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. The two combined for over 2,200 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns. Despite a 9-3 record, Schottenheimer was let go along with the rest of the staff following the season. He then joined Chuck Pagano’s staff with the Indianapolis Colts from 2016-2017, serving as the Quarterbacks coach under offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
Seattle Seahawks (2018-2020)
In 2018, Brian Schottenheimer was named the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks under Head Coach Pete Carroll. In his first season in charge, the Seahawks offense finished Top 10 in scoring following a near 4 point per game improvement from the year prior. This happened in large part due to having the league’s number one rushing attack and highly efficient quarterback play. In 2019, the Seahawks offense became more pass happy as Schottenheimer “Let Russ Cook.” This was rewarded with an offensive unit that finished Top 10 in both yards and scoring as Russell Wilson was voted 2nd Team All-Pro. 2020 got off to a roaring start as the offense averaged 34.3 points per game over the first eight games on the coattails of Russell Wilson averaged 3.5 touchdowns and 318 yards per game during that stretch. However, the offense regressed in the second half of the season and averaged just 23.1 points per game as Wilson regressed to averaging just 1.5 touchdowns and 208 yards per game. Despite Wilson achieving a career high 40 touchdown passes and 4,212 passing yards, Schottenheimer was let go following the 2020 season. For what it’s worth, Russell Wilson has not eclipsed 30 touchdown passes nor 4,000 yards in any season since the 2020 season with Schottenheimer.
Jacksonville & Dallas (2021-2024)
Following his departure from the Seahawks, Brian Schottenheimer joined the 2021 Jaguars staff as the passing game coordinator under head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. He called plays during the latter half of the season after Urban Meyer was fired. During this time, the team scored 16+ points in 3 out of 4 games after doing so just once in the previous 7. After what can only be described as a disaster of a season, Schottenheimer joined the Cowboys staff in 2022 as a senior analyst working with Dan Quinn and the defense. He was promoted to offensive coordinator the next season following the departure of Kellen Moore. He worked closely with play caller Mike McCarthy in assembling the weekly gameplan. In 2023, the Cowboys finished 1st in scoring as quarterback Dak Prescott had a career year. The 2024 season did not go as well, leading to the eventual departure of McCarthy and the promotion of Schottenheimer.
Observations
There are a couple noteworthy observations from Schottenheimer’s coaching rise. One observation is the success of the running game. He has called plays for four units that finished Top 5 in rushing. This is a commitment that goes back to his father. Marty Schottenheimer was credited for a form of football referred to as “Martyball.” One of the core principles of Martyball is a dominant running game. There is nothing more demoralizing to a team than being unable to stop the run. Another observation is the tendency for his units to get “better” when he arrives and “worse” after he leaves. Despite a lack of top scoring units, Schottenheimer seemingly did the best he could with what he had. He made his units and his players better, which is oftentimes the tell of a good coach.
What To Expect?
While the Brian Schottenheimer hire implies continuity, he is his own coach. He’s going to do things his way… the best that he’s allowed. On the offensive side of the ball, expect the Cowboys to run the ball and build off the run with play action. Schottenheimer specifically referred to this as “marrying” their runs with their passes. He also mentioned a desire to utilize shifts and motions, as well as tempo. This could lead to the offense looking much different than what Cowboy fans have become accustomed to. Despite the success in 2023, one of the criticisms of Mike McCarthy’s scheme was that it was stale and lacked creativity. Schottenheimer has also shown a willingness to go outside his coaching tree for schematic ideas. During his time in Seattle, he would watch Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s offenses for ideas to recreate with his personnel. An infusion of motion, tempo, and play action could be what this offense needs. With that said, there should be a lot of carryover. Schottenheimer mentioned building a scheme that fits what the players do best, which means many core concepts that players such as Dak Prescott have thrived with should be a part of the new edition.
Despite the cloud surrounding the credibility of the coaching search, Brian Schottenheimer brings plenty of reasons for optimism. He’s an experienced coach who’s seen it all and been a part of both success and failure. He said all the right things at his introductory press conference. He’s a voice who Dak Prescott respects. He’s open to new ideas. Despite the doubters, I believe Schottenheimer has the makeup to be a successful head coach. Now he’s finally getting the opportunity to lead his own team. Only time will tell whether this hire will be a win or a dud in the scorecard of history, but in the words of Marty Schottenheimer, “expect to win.”
