FRISCO, Texas 鈥 Before Brian Schottenheimer was hired as the Cowboys' head coach, his time in Dallas began in 2022 as an analyst under now former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy hired Schottenheimer in a role to help defensive coordinator Dan Quinn plan for opposing offenses. The additional goal was to give Schottenheimer a reset after one season as the Jaguars' passing game coordinator in 2021. Evidently, the hire worked out well for all parties involved.
"He just needed a reset for his family, frankly I had just went through the same thing in '19," McCarthy said of Schottenheimer at NFL Owners Meetings. "I thought it was really good for him, personally, really good for his family, and look what it did. It springboarded him right back in as an offensive coordinator, I thought he did a great job for us, and so well deserving of his opportunity in Dallas. If there's ever been a guy that's ready, it's definitely Brian Schottenheimer."
The analyst role may not be the most glamorous, but it was one that McCarthy knew Schottenheimer could handle, and he delivered.
"I thought he was a tremendous asset for us," McCarthy said. "We got Ben McAdoo to do it the year before. To have that level of coach in that position was a true benefit, and I think he really enjoyed it. He enjoyed being on the defensive side of the ball. It was an opportunity for him to look through that lens for a year, and he gave Dan Quinn great input and was awesome doing it."
Schottenheimer credited McCarthy for the major impact he's had on his coaching career, beginning all the way back in 1998. Schottenheimer was an assistant for the Chiefs while McCarthy was the QBs coach, both working under McCarthy's mentor and Brian's father Marty Schottenheimer.
"Everything that I learned from quarterback play, quarterback fundamentals, decision making, its all Mike McCarthy and it gets passed down from Bill Walsh to Paul Hackett. Paul Hackett to Mike McCarthy. Now myself down to Steve Shimko, people like that. I owe a ton of this business to Mike." Schottenheimer said.
"Just him bringing me here to Dallas as a consultant and allowing me to stay involved in a year quite honestly, I was going to take a year off after getting fired in Seattle and getting to Jacksonville and surviving that experiment. I owe a lot to Mike. I got a chance to catch up with him at the combine which was great. And he was actually the first guy I saw in the meetings. Great to catchup."
As Schottenheimer goes into his second year as Dallas' head coach, McCarthy is back in a head coach's chair with the Pittsburgh Steelers, getting a chance to coach in his hometown.
When reflecting on his time as the Cowboys' head coach, McCarthy was appreciative of what occurred during his time in Dallas.
"Great experience. I think just like anything, especially the last couple of days, the people. There's some great people there, I really enjoyed working with them. Jerry, I got to see him on Sunday. I miss him in a lot of ways鈥" McCarthy said. "The family, the way they treat the people working there, it's definitely something I miss. I'm thankful for all my experiences."
"Starting was wild with the pandemic year, something I look back on it, I felt like I could've done a better job. We just had a lot of balls in the air. But I thought once we got the program going, I thought we kind of hit our stride there in the second year. I really liked the direction of the team when I left there, I liked the draft classes we had put together. I have nothing but great things to say about my experience in Dallas."
Now, it could only be a matter of time before teacher in McCarthy and student in Schottenheimer face off on opposite NFL sidelines.
