Cowboys Rumors: Brian Schottenheimer Focus of HC Search After 2 Interviews
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IV
The Dallas Cowboys are working toward an agreement with Brian Schottenheimer to make him their next head coach, according to Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports.
"Look for the Cowboys to cross the finish line on hiring Brian Schottenheimer no later than Friday, possibly today," Hill reported Thursday.
NFL insider Josina Anderson added that "some of the head coach prospects" for the Cowboys job "have been told and/or are not expecting second interviews" as of Thursday afternoon.
Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein reported Friday that the Cowboys' conversations are "hyper focused" on Schottenheimer and that the "team's tone increasingly is how to build around Schotty, not whether they want to."
Jane Slater @SlaterNFLThe <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cowboys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cowboys</a> met with OC Brian Schottenheimer for more than 5 hours yesterday in what was their 2nd interview this week with him. When asked if this was imminent or whether news expected today, I was told "nothing as of yet" per a source informed. The wait continues.
Epstein reported Wednesday that discussions between Schottenheimer and the Cowboys were "heating up." Assuming he's hired within the next few days, the move wouldn't be coming totally out of the blue.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a fan who had Schottenheimer on their radar when evaluating the candidates to succeed Mike McCarthy as head coach.
Schottenheimer worked on the Cowboys' staff for the last two years as the offensive coordinator, but the 51-year-old has never been a head coach at any level. Whether he's even a good offensive coordinator is a matter for some debate. Only twice in 14 seasons have his offenses finished in the top 10 in yards.
105.3 The FAN @1053thefan.<a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWolchuk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZachWolchuk</a> went on an epic rant after learning that Brian Schottenheimer could potentially become the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cowboys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cowboys</a>' next head coach<br><br>Listen to the entire discussion with <a href="https://twitter.com/gavindawson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gavindawson</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanBroaddus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BryanBroaddus</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/EricChiofalo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EricChiofalo</a>: <a href="https://t.co/uF9S1EwrUW">https://t.co/uF9S1EwrUW</a> <a href="https://t.co/VKwaazLVEd">pic.twitter.com/VKwaazLVEd</a>
After McCarthy's exit, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on her Scoop City podcast (via RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys) that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was expecting the veteran coach to return. To that end, ownership "did not have a plan in place" for if McCarthy chose not to sign another contract.
That appears to be borne out with how the coaching search is playing out.
Concerns over Jones' stewardship of the franchise are nothing new.
We're approaching three decades since Dallas' last appearance in a conference title game, which is the longest stretch of any NFC team. Given all of the Cowboys' built-in advantages, that kind of futility isn't possible without terrible ownership or front-office malpractice. In this case, it's both because Jones is both the owner and general manager.
Hiring Schottenheimer might be crossing some sort of Rubicon. Moving forward, it's hard to see how you could have any faith whatsoever that Jones will ever guide Dallas to the top of the NFL again.
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