It should never have taken this long. Brian Schottenheimer might only be 52 years old during the 2025 season, but many other coaches have been made head coaches well before Schotty's current age. Additionally, the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator had significantly more experience than many others.
Seattle wasn't the first place Schottenheimer was an OC in the NFL. It was his third. He also didn't have a bunch of one-and-done positions. He was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets for six seasons, and the Los Angeles Rams OC for three. No one wanted to give him a head coaching job, however.
Even the Dallas Cowboys didn't truly want to. Dallas had a lot of drama with Mike McCarthy and decided not to move forward with him after five somewhat successful seasons. Dallas owner Jerry Jones might have flirted with the idea of hiring Deion Sanders, but he rightly passed. Instead, Schottenheimer was handed the job.
Former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer making the most of his long-awaited chance
Many might have expected Schotty to fail. Being the head coach for the Cowboys means a lot of attention and quite a bit of unnecessary background noise. Dallas seemed like a long-time also-ran compared to the Philadelphia Eagles.
With the presumption that Dallas would fail miserably in 2025, especially after the team gave away edge rusher Micah Parsons, and with Jerry Jones thinking he could still do a good job as general manager, Brian Schottenheimer might be looking for a job again soon.
After a poor start to the season, Schottenheimer and his Cowboys could have imploded. Instead, the head coach did something few thought he could do. He righted the ship, and Dallas has won three straight games after Week 13, including victories over the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
After Week 13, the Cowboys are 6-5-1 and firmly in the playoff hunt. They even have a chance at the NFC East crown.
Brian Schottenheimer might have been viewed as not a strong leader when he was with the Seattle Seahawks because he eventually let quarterback Russell Wilson take complete control of the offense and pass the ball too much. It hurt the team overall.
But in 2025, Schottenheimer has proven he knows how to lead. He might not be doing that with the Seahawks, but likely many Seattle fans hope he does well. It might be too bad that recent success is coming with the Cowboys, but after such a long wait, Brian Schottenheimer deserves something good to happen for him.