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Cowboys Hire Former Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer as Head Coach

Former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is moving up the coaching ranks.
Jon Alfano|
Aug 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on the field before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Aug 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on the field before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Four years after leaving the Seattle Seahawks, Brian Schottenheimer is moving up the coaching ranks.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Dallas Cowboys have hired Schottenheimer as their new head coach.

Schottenheimer spent the past two seasons as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator under Mike McCarthy, who parted ways with the team when his contract expired on Jan. 13.

Schottenheimer, 51, is an interesting choice, as he did not interview with any other teams this offseason. However, he interviewed twice with the Cowboys this week, gaining momentum after his second interview on Wednesday.

He also fits the trend of having previous experience with the Cowboys, which owner and general manager Jerry Jones clearly values.

Schottenheimer had a strong start as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator, as the team ranked first in scoring offense and fifth in total offense in 2023. This season was more of struggle, though, as Dallas ranked 21st in scoring offense and 17th in total offense en route to a 7-10 finish.

Granted, injuries certainly did not help his unit, as Dak Prescott missed half the season, but there were significant flaws with the offense outside of that.

In Seattle, Schottenheimer had an up-and-down tenure as offensive coordinator. His offenses generally ranked average to above average in most stats, but there were some stretches of poor play in the mix as well. The Seahawks fired Schottenheimer following a poor end to the 2020 season, citing "philosophical differences."

The Denver native previously served as the offensive coordinator for the then-St. Louis Rams (2012-14) and New York Jets (2006-11).

Other candidates the Cowboys interviewed include Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

They interviewed Frazier and Saleh in person, while they interviewed Moore — another of their former offensive coordinators — virtually as the Eagles go further in the postseason.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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