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Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is reportedly a candidate to be promoted to head coach following Mike McCarthy’s departure.
Speaking Tuesday on her Scoop City podcast (beginning at the 33-second mark) Dianna Russini of The Athletic mentioned Schottenheimer as a candidate for the Cowboys’ head coaching job, along with Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, both of whom already interviewed with the team.
While Schottenheimer does indeed appear to be an option for the Cowboys, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show (h/t On3.com’s Thomas Goldkamp) that Schottenheimer is the favorite for the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching vacancy.
Schefter added that the Cowboys hadn’t yet interviewed Schottenheimer or approached him about being the team’s head coach as of Monday.
Schottenheimer, who is the son of late former Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington and San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer, has never served as a head coach at any level.
However, the 51-year old has been in coaching since 1997, spending most of that time at the NFL level and much of it as an offensive coordinator.
Schottenheimer was the OC of the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks before getting promoted from coaching analyst to Cowboys OC in 2023.
In his first season as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator, Dallas ranked fifth in the NFL in total offense and led the league in scoring. Quarterback Dak Prescott also had the best season of his career, throwing for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions en route to finishing second in NFL MVP voting and being named a Second Team All-Pro.
The Cowboys suffered an embarrassing playoff exit, though, falling to the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
On the heels of three consecutive playoff appearances, the Cowboys took a step back this season, going 7-10 and missing the postseason.
Prescott’s health undoubtedly played a big role in the team’s struggles, as he missed the final nine games of the season with a hamstring injury.
Schottenheimer did well to get solid play out of backup Cooper Rush, though, as Rush posted a 4-4 record as the starter and completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 1,844 yards, 12 touchdowns and five picks.
Russini suggested that the most sensible option for Dallas may be Moore, who was the team’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022.
Moore has played a big role in helping the Eagles reach the NFC Championship Game this season, and his run-heavy play-calling allowed running back Saquon Barkley to become the ninth player in NFL history with at least 2,000 rushing yards in a season.
Should Cowboys owner Jerry Jones choose Moore or another candidate to succeed McCarthy, it sounds as though Vegas may be the destination for Schottenheimer.
The Raiders have finished below .500 and missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, and they fired head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco following a 4-13 showing this season.
Vegas’ glaring weakness is the quarterback position where veteran Gardner Minshew and second-year man Aidan O’Connell struggled to deliver consistently strong performances.
Schottenheimer would have his work cut out for him with the Raiders, but given legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s status as the franchise’s minority owner, it may still be a desirable job for the longtime OC.