Morning After: Cowboys Hire Schottenheimer As Next Head Coach

After several weeks of mystery and chaos, the Cowboys stay in-house for 10th coach.

Wow. I guess they really went and did it.

The Jones Boys have hired Brian Schottenheimer as the 10th head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and there will be no more speculation.

It started with a week of “Mike McCarthy will be back,” until the coach decided he preferred to exit the scene rather than accept the terms presented.

Then, we went through three straight weeks of various hot rumors of building belief on the outside. Is it Deion Sanders? Perhaps Robert Saleh? Probably Kellen Moore when he is available, right? Then, early this week, a groundswell of support in the building itself that both Stephen Jones and Dak Prescott were really pushing for Brian Schottenheimer. There was a moment late when it perhaps stretched to Pete Carroll, but there are more than a few insiders that would tell you how unlikely it is that Carroll would be willing to take this job. Rather, more likely, an endorsement for his friend and former coordinator, Schottenheimer? Absolutely, as he has been endorsing him for a long time.

The decision late in the game seemed to come down to two first-time head coaches who both have a very similar resume. Both are former offensive coordinators for Prescott; Moore and Schottenheimer. And in the end, it appeared that the lean was to the guy they had in their building over the current OC of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, that could obviously be a stretched narrative, but aren’t they all around here in this moment in time? Do we really think we will every get a clear re-telling of a job search that never felt like one that was intelligent, thorough, or terribly creative?

Of course not. And if you were expecting any of those things, then you are either the most optimistic fan on your block or you have not been paying much attention.

This organization – and more importantly the man who controls every inch and dollar of it, Jerry Jones – prefers familiar and comfortable over sweeping changes and discomfort. And this is seen best in the unwillingness to offer the steering wheel or spotlight to someone new and fresh. The comfort and familiarity with dictating terms and staffs to a head coach who is generally neutered is how things are designed in Dallas and this goes all the way back to when Bill Parcells to the family to take this job and shove it.