The Cowboys are making the most overwhelming coaching hire of the offseason.
According to longtime Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS, Dallas is close to hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as the team's new head coach.
The move is expected to be completed by Friday at the latest, according to reports.
Hiring Schottenheimer will certainly be a controversial decision for America's Team after the departure of Mike McCarthy and the team's chaotic handling of the team's fairly small pool of candidates.
Schottenheimer, the 51-year-old son of former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, has zero head coaching experience but is stepping into perhaps the league's most high-profile job.
He was the offensive coordinator for the Jets from 2006 to 2011, the Rams from 2012 to 2014, the Seahawks from 2018 to 2020, and has held that role with the Cowboys the past two years.
The ironic part is that McCarthy has called the Cowboys' plays the past two seasons. In other words, the success or failure of Dallas' offense had more to do with McCarthy than with Schottenheimer.
Dallas could have kept McCarthy, but the teams were unable to agree on a new contract and they recently parted ways…only for the Cowboys to turn to McCarthy as their coordinator.
For all of McCarthy's issues, his transition from a Super Bowl-winning coach with 12 wins in the last three seasons to a first-time manager with no track record could bring some scrutiny to owner Jerry Jones. There is.
It would be a different story if the Cowboys were preparing to hire a top name on their coaching staff like former Lions coordinator and new Bears coach Ben Johnson, but Schottenheimer hasn't been seen at that level.
The Cowboys have had success thus far under an uninspiring coach in Jason Garrett, who is perhaps the template Jones is trying to follow as he moves up from coordinator to coach, but they are a top-tier team. They have an aging roster and are heading into an important offseason. 7-10 campaign.
Schottenheimer is familiar with quarterback Dak Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb, but the Cowboys need help across the board to compete in the tough NFC East.
The Commanders seem to have found their franchise quarterback in Jaden Daniels, the Eagles are perennial championship favorites, and the Giants are…oh, who are we kidding?
Hiring a coordinator whose offense hasn't wowed the league in order to catch up to this year's two NFC finalists is a bold move.
But Schottenheimer may not seek as much control over building a team at a lower cost as other more experienced candidates would have liked.
Jones has played a huge role in building the team, and there have long been questions about whether he would hire a coach who would challenge Jones' views and even celebrity status.
Dallas also interviewed Seattle assistant Leslie Frazier, former Jets coach Robert Saleh and former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who now holds the same position in Philadelphia. via Pro Football Talk.
