Brian Schottenheimer offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates with Ezekiel Elliott #15 after he scored a touchdown (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Gerald McCoy wants fans to wait before they make their conclusion on the Dallas Cowboys hiring Brian Schottenheimer to be their next head coach.
The Cowboys will move forward with their former offensive coordinator as their new head coach after parting ways with Mike McCarthy. The move was surprising to many, considering Dallas had been linked with another one of their former coordinators in Kellen Moore, who is currently with the Philadelphia Eagles leading into Super Bowl LIX. Another popular name mentioned for the Cowboys job was Hall of Fame legend and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.
However, McCoy is reserving judgment on the move, pointing out how people want “instant gratification” when it comes to everything these days. The former six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection is best known for his nine seasons spent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he had a brief stint with the Cowboys during the 2020 offseason.
“We're in a time of instant gratification,” said McCoy in a one-on-one interview with RG. “ You have to be able to captivate people right away. That's the time we're in. If you don't hire a coach that people think, 'Oh, this is the guy right now, I know his name,' then people are going to be upset.
“People make a huge deal out of it,” McCoy continued to say. “We haven't even given this guy a chance. We don't even know what he's capable of, and they're writing him off.”
The Cowboys are a team that annually has high expectations. That in large part has to do with the presence of longtime team owner Jerry Jones, who is seeking to win a Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.
While McCoy is obviously giving Schottenheimer a chance before he passes judgment, he does acknowledge a big reason why the Cowboys hired the longtime offensive coordinator is because Schottenheimer already knows how Jones likes to operate.
“He hired somebody in the building who already knows how the Cowboys' operation works,” says McCoy. “He's worked with the offense, he knows the players, he knows the time frames of everything. He's been in Dallas, he knows everything and how Jerry wants him to run it.”
Again, it boils down to Jones wanting full control over the Cowboys operation, something that dates back to when he parted ways with his former head coach Jimmy Johnson after the 1993 season.
McCoy also mentions how Jones prioritized hiring an offensive-minded guy since he recently handed out big contracts to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
“ I'm gonna hire somebody who I believe the strength of my team is my offense,” said McCoy of Jones' outlook. “Let me take care of the offense, I need a guy who can do that. Now I need a guy who's familiar with the territory of the Cowboys, who's been in this building and knows what that star means.
“These are all the things that Jerry went with, but essentially he went with somebody that he knows can run this thing the way he wants it to be run,” McCoy continued to say.
The 51-year-old Schottenheimer first served as an offensive coordinator with the New York Jets in 2006 and has served in a variety of offensive coaching capacities since. Schottenheimer arrived with the Cowboys in 2022, and they ranked fourth in points scored. During the 2023 season, Schottenheimer – as the offensive coordinator – led Dallas to the No. 1 ranking on offense.
McCoy once again hammers home that Cowboys fans and observers should give Schottenheimer a chance and not dismiss him just because he's not a big name.
“I'm not going to just write him off,” McCoy continued to say. “Because those people – coaching legends such as Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin – weren't them before they started winning. I'm going to give him a chance and see what happens.”
We'll see if the Cowboys are able to bounce back under Schottenheimer's lead, but they certainly won't be lacking in star players with Prescott, Lamb and Micah Parsons back in the fold.
DJ Siddiqi
