Jerry Jones has often said that he’d write a check for whatever it cost to get the Dallas Cowboys another Super Bowl. The team’s owner and general manager has a net worth of around $17 billion. His team is worth over $10 billion, more than any other sports franchise in the world.
“It would be embarrassing, it would be shocking if you knew the size of the check I would write if you guaranteed me a Super Bowl,” Jones has said. “It would be obscene. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do financially to get a Super Bowl.”
It’s certainly difficult to believe that following Friday night’s announcement that their next head coach will be Brian Schottenheimer.
You can’t fault the longtime offensive coordinator for taking the job. There’s a part of him that was probably surprised when things started shifting in his direction over the last few days. Schottenheimer has been on NFL coaching staffs for 25 years. His father was a successful NFL head coach. He’s never been a head coach. How could anyone in his situation pass up this opportunity?
GO DEEPER
Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer as next coach
It’s concerning that the process of finding their next coach did not appear to be a smooth one. Despite knowing for several months that a new coaching hire could be necessary, it seemed like the Cowboys were left scrambling.
Judging by their formal interviews with Schottenheimer, Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier, a notable high-priced hire didn’t appear to be part of the plan. There is a salary cap on what teams can spend on players. There is not one on coaches. Dallas did not interview top coordinators like Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn. It doesn’t sound like there was any real interest in Bill Belichick or Mike Vrabel before they took their current jobs.
There was some discussion with Deion Sanders the day the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy decided to part ways, but nothing serious. And there couldn’t be a more opposite move to Sanders than making Schottenheimer the 10th head coach in franchise history.
For the record, Schottenheimer could go on to be an outstanding head coach. No one envisioned the success Dan Campbell has had in Detroit when he was talking about biting off kneecaps in his opening news conference. The players like Schottenheimer. He brings a lot of energy. He keeps continuity on offense. He seems like someone who is easy to work with.
But for a team that recently became the only NFC franchise not to reach the conference championship game in the last 15 years — Dallas’ last trip has been almost twice as long as the other 15 teams — the expectations were higher when they decided to move on from McCarthy.
Maybe they shouldn’t have been.
Outside of re-signing their own stars, like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys have become a conservative franchise. There are rarely any aggressive moves to add veteran talent to the roster. The coach they just hired was not drawing head coaching interest outside of Dallas. Most would think a Cowboys coaching search would at least include the top candidates from around the league. Does Jones believe he is smarter than the other 31 teams? What reason would he have to feel that way?
Sometime this year, Netflix is going to release its docuseries on Jones called “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.”
According to Netflix, it will be about, “A man who bet it all. A series of calculated risks. A team meticulously designed for greatness. … What began as a daring purchase led to the assembly of the iconic ’90s football team.”
Times obviously change. It’s highly unlikely that the Jones who was winning Super Bowls would have made this head coaching move. But the 82-year-old Jones is much more conservative. This might not be the best move to get the franchise a sixth ring, but it keeps continuity and to Jones, it probably feels safe.
That’s not exactly what you’re expecting from the world’s most valuable sports franchise, one that will be watching two of its biggest rivals play Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.
Jones’ approval rating was probably at its all-time lowest when he purchased the franchise and immediately fired Tom Landry. Winning three Super Bowls in four years has a way of making your critics go away. But they’re certainly back and might be stronger than ever. This latest coaching move is the type of decision that leads to many on social media typing: “These aren’t serious people.”
Right now, that’s tough to argue against.
(Photo of Brian Schottenheimer: Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)
