Jerry Jones’ search for Mike McCarthy’s replacement didn’t take the Dallas Cowboys owner very far.
The Cowboys are hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach, the team announced Friday.
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones told ESPN. “He ain’t no assistant anymore. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
Schottenheimer is scheduled to be introduced as head coach at a news conference at noon ET on Monday.
Schottenheimer, 51, interviewed with the team on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. The Cowboys formally met with only three other candidates – former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier – in what was the smallest group of interviewees for any of the seven vacancies in this cycle.
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Colorado coach and former Cowboys great Deion Sanders spoke with Jones regarding the vacancy, but talks never advanced beyond that initial stage.
Schottenheimer served as offensive coordinator for the team for the last two years after McCarthy parted ways with Moore and took over play-calling duties. The Cowboys ranked first in scoring in 2023 at 29.9 points per game, but the unit finished just 21st this season after quarterback Dak Prescott was lost for the remainder of the season to a partial tendon avulsion of his right hamstring suffered in November.
McCarthy and the Cowboys parted ways following a 7-10 season, with Jones saying the search to find a replacement would begin ‘immediately.’
The Cowboys’ hire leaves the New Orleans Saints as the only team remaining with a head coaching vacancy.
Who is Brian Schottenheimer?
The son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, a longtime NFL coach, Brian Schottenheimer has held the position of offensive coordinator for three other NFL teams – the New York Jets (2006-11), St. Louis Rams (2012-14) and Seattle Seahawks (2018-20). He coached under his father in stops with the Kansas City Chiefs (1998), Washington (2001) and San Diego Chargers (2002-05).
Prior to being hired by the Cowboys, he was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing game coordinator under Urban Meyer.
Prior to this week, Schottenheimer had not interviewed for a head coaching position with an NFL team since 2013, when he met with the Jaguars.
This story was updated with new information.