FRISCO, Texas — As Brian Schottenheimer walked to the stage to be introduced as the 10th coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, he passed five replica Super Bowl trophies that serve as a reminder of the franchise’s past.
Twenty-nine years have passed since the Cowboys’ last appearance in a Super Bowl or NFC Championship Game, which is the longest drought in the conference, but Schottenheimer told ESPN that they are a team that can win “quickly.”
“The objective and the main thing is we want to win the Super Bowl,” Schottenheimer said. “And my dad [longtime head coach Marty Schottenheimer] always talked about that. He said, ‘Well, why would you have any other goals? It should be about winning the Super Bowl and only one team [wins], but that doesn’t mean you don’t strive for that.’ And I think one of the things about me taking over this prestigious position is we can hit the ground running pretty fast because I don’t need to learn the decision-makers. I don’t need to learn the quarterback. I don’t need to learn how things work. And so, I feel like we’re kind of ahead of the curve with some of these other teams that made changes.”
This is Schottenheimer’s first stint as a head coach, though he said he interviewed with six other teams over the years. When he played at Florida, he said he kept a card noting the goal of being the NFL’s youngest head coach.
Now 51 after 25 years of experience as an assistant coach, he’s getting a shot at head coaching, with a four-year deal, though he’s far from the NFL’s youngest.
“I’ve had some opportunities when I was a much younger man that I didn’t feel like I was ready,” said Schottenheimer, the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator for the past two years. “I’m ready now. I know what I want. I know what it looks like.”
He convinced owner and general manager Jerry Jones he was the right guy to replace Mike McCarthy through a series of interviews last week, after the team had spoken with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, who had been head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones also had a conversation with Hall of Fame cornerback and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who has been named head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Moore was limited to one virtual interview that lasted around 90 minutes because of league rules involving teams still in the playoffs. Saleh’s interview lasted about four hours. Frazier spoke with the Cowboys for nearly six hours, according to executive vice president Stephen Jones.
Jerry Jones called it a “thorough, thorough process.”
“This is a risk,” Jerry Jones said of naming a first-time head coach, “but it’s not a Hail Mary.”
A number of players, including Dak Prescott, as well as assistant coaches who will remain under Schottenheimer, personnel and support staff attended the news conference, which lasted more than an hour.
Schottenheimer will call plays as head coach, which McCarthy did in his final two years. Jason Garrett called plays for his first three seasons as head coach (2010-12).
“I think we’ve got a lot of great pieces,” Stephen Jones said. “You ask, ‘Why Schotty?’ I think Schotty’s the perfect combination of keeping some continuity but also affecting change. We have to support that as well in terms of being behind him and doing the things he wants to do. … Is he going to do things differently than Mike? Absolutely, I’m convinced of that.”
But it was Schottenheimer’s approach that especially won over the Jones.
“I’m really good with the X’s and O’s,” he said, “but I’m great with people.”
Jerry Jones kept coming back to “osmosis,” pointing to Schottenheimer learning from his father. Marty Schottenheimer was a head coach of four teams: the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington and the San Diego Chargers. He is seventh in NFL history in wins. Three times his teams made the AFC Championship Game but could not get to a Super Bowl.
When Schottenheimer accepted the Cowboys’ offer Friday, he immediately called his mother, Pat, who was in attendance Monday.
“One of the things he said to his mama,” Jerry Jones said, “was, ‘Mama, I’m going get a chance to get what Daddy didn’t get — a Super Bowl — if it kills me. And the first one will be for him.'”
