The Dallas Cowboys will select their next head coach with an in-house option.
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys have agreed to a deal to make Schottenheimer the next head coach in Dallas, the team announced Friday.
Schottenheimer, 51, has been on the Cowboys’ coaching staff for the past three seasons and will serve as offensive coordinator starting in 2023. But for the past two years, former Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has handled offensive play-calling duties.
Still, Schottenheimer’s promotion coincided with quarterback Dak Prescott’s best season. The Cowboys quarterback finished second in MVP voting in 2023 and led the league in touchdown passes that year en route to the team’s third straight 12-5 season.
Schottenheimer will be tasked with improving the rest of the Cowboys’ roster and helping Prescott get back to that level after a disappointing 7-10 season in 2024. Prescott, who will be 32 when the 2025 season begins, missed the second half of the season. He returned in 2024 after undergoing hamstring surgery after struggling early in the season.
Prescott’s injury, along with several others, played a large role in why Dallas started the season 3-7, effectively ending any playoff hopes before Thanksgiving. The Cowboys elected to keep McCarthy until the end of the season, but announced on January 13, the day before his contract expired, that they were unable to agree to a new contract.
The Cowboys’ decision to part ways with McCarthy makes them the seventh team to have a head coaching vacancy this offseason, more than a week after the regular season ended. It was. As a result, Dallas missed out on early talks with several top coaching candidates, including Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.
However, Dallas did not conduct many interviews in its search for McCarthy’s replacement. Other candidates interviewed for Opening Day were former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore (who previously played and coached with the Cowboys), and Seahawks’ Assistant head coach Leslie Frazier was the only one.
There were also rumors that Colorado coach and former Cowboys star Deion Sanders was the frontrunner to be the opening pitcher. Despite reports of mutual interest, Sanders was never formally interviewed. Jones also met privately with former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
Although Schottenheimer has never been a head coach, he brings nearly 30 years of experience as an offensive assistant coach. He served as offensive coordinator for several other teams before joining the Cowboys in 2022, roles with the Jets (2006-11), Rams (2012-14) and Seahawks (2018-20). served as
Schottenheimer is also the son of decorated former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. The elder Schottenheimer was the head coach of four teams and had the ninth-most wins (205) in NFL history.
Want great articles delivered straight to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams, and players to receive personalized daily newsletters.
Get more from the National Football League Follow your favorites to stay informed about games, news and more
