The Dallas Cowboys may have a major surprise up their sleeve. According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer has emerged as the betting favorite to take over head coaching duties for America's Team.
The on-again, off-again DraftKings betting odds for the Cowboys' head coaching job are back on. And Brian Schottenheimer is the new favorite, at -250. https://t.co/1Q65a1ILW2
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 20, 2025
The Cowboys are in need of a new head coach after allowing Mike McCarthy's contract to expire. McCarthy managed a 49-35 record over his five-year tenure with the team, but his 1-3 record in the postseason clearly left the organization wanting more.
The Cowboys have been linked to multiple splashy head coach candidates in recent weeks, including Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Schottenheimer would be a significantly less glamorous choice. He's 51 years old and has never been a head coach at any level. Prior to joining the Cowboys in 2022, he had three separate, unremarkable runs as an OC with the New York Jets, the then-St. Louis Rams, and the Seattle Seahawks. Over his 14 seasons as a playcaller, his offenses have only finished in the top 10 for yards gained twice.
Promoting Schottenheimer would be a profoundly underwhelming move for a Cowboys organization that has signalled its recent success isn't enough. He's not completely without virtue: His offenses vacillated from excellent to mediocre in his two years as Cowboys OC, falling from first in points scored in 2023 to 21st in 2024. Still, if maintaining what they already had was a high priority for the Cowboys, they should have just kept McCarthy.
Ultimately, Schottenheimer hasn't given fans much to get excited about in his long NFL career. If the Cowboys want to restore their status as the center of the NFL universe, they should aim much higher.
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