From the get-go, Jerry Jones took his sweet time to make a decision on Mike McCarthy and doing so caused the Dallas Cowboys to miss out of key candidates for the head coaching gig.
As many of you have probably already heard, doing all of that caused them to also lose Al Harris yesterday to the Chicago Bears staff, and made Jerry make the most uninspiring hire since Dave Campo in 2000, maybe because there was just simply nobody left to hire!
My Thoughts
Before I get into maybe the worst hire for head coach I have ever seen, I hate that the Dallas Cowboys let Al Harris leave!
Harris was the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach from 2020 to 2023, then was promoted to assistant head coach in addition to his previous role in 2024. The former All-Pro cornerback has overseen some historic seasons from Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland over the past few seasons and is highly regarded around the league.
Going from the Cowboys to the Bears was once considered a major downgrade, but Harris saw a better opportunity in a better situation in Chicago. It was no guarantee he would remain under a new head coach in Dallas anyway.
Honestly, I was hoping that he would be made into the defensive coordinator for this team, but it just was not in the cards clearly.
Reports have been sent out that Mike Zimmer may not keep that job from a year ago, and it could be former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. Crazy times we are seeing right now with the Dallas Cowboys, huh?
Brain Schottenheimer
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones told ESPN. “He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
I can’t begin to tell you the anger and uneasiness I have about this hire. I understand that maybe he is liked in the locker room, but this team could not have just kept him as the OC?
You have a guy who has been with nine different NFL teams in his career and has only gotten TWO interviews to be a head coach, yet Jerry had no problem making this move.
Again, one more time, so it sinks in, Schottenheimer has been coaching since 1997, been around nine different franchises, and has a famous last name. The fact he hasn’t been a HC anywhere before is a huge red flag.
Not only did they hire him, and lose Al Harris, they also lost John Fassel earlier in the week.
This coaching staff went from half-way decent to one of the worst in all of football in a week.
Did Fassel and the special teams have it’s problem, sure, but let’s not forget that he helped both KaVontae Turpin and Aubrey become All-Pro players from the USFL. The Cowboys scored three touchdowns on kickoff or punt returns. They were only one of six teams to score off of a punt in the league.
This morning’s post is more of a reaction post because it is still very raw to see what is happening right now.
I want to hear your thoughts, both Brain and Dak are locked in for the next four years, and we may see the Cowboys struggle in a lot of games this season because they have a lot of moving parts, but a head coach who has no prior experience doing so.
I don’t see this team getting anywhere near the 12 win mark again anytime soon.
Expect the Cowboys to draft a running back with an early pick in the draft now based on the track history of Schottenheimer, but they are going to need a lot more than just that if they expect to win any games in 2025.