The Dallas Cowboys brought in Brian Schottenheimer for a second interview yesterday which begs the question: Does Jerry Jones want a head coach or a puppet?
Because it sure seems like the latter to many outside of The Star.
It also seems like Jones wants to name himself the head coach but can’t figure out how to do it without getting mocked off the planet.
The Cowboys’ coaching search has seemed unserious from the beginning. They never bothered to interview the top candidates, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.
Even the interviews they have conducted seemed more targeted to satisfying the Rooney Rule rather than finding the franchise’s 10th head coach.
When Jones next camps out in front of a microphone, perhaps some intrepid reporter who isn’t a fanboy will ask this question.
Jerry, will you have a headset on up in the owner’s box to communicate directly with Coach “X” during the game?
The Leading Candidates
As of this writing, it seems Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Schottenheimer are the top finalists.
Jones’ dalliance with Deion Sanders seems to be a fading memory. If Robert Saleh or Leslie Frazier had hit it out of the park, Schottenheimer wouldn’t have even drawn a first interview.
Which one of the two Jones’ eventually hires will tell us something about how the next two-three years will play out.
Moore Is Less Prescott
If it is Moore, one hopes he has figured out why he has been successful in Philadelphia after failing in Dallas and Los Angeles.
Moore has a running back, and he has been leaning heavily on Saquon Barkley this year. That’s why the Eagles are playing in the NFC Championship game on Sunday.
Moore has a running back, and he has been leaning heavily on Saquon Barkley this year. That’s why the Eagles are playing in the NFC Championship game on Sunday.
Moore, hopefully, will want to bring the focus on the running game to Dallas, taking the pressure off of Dak Prescott, who clearly cannot handle said pressure.
Notice the Eagles’ success with a reduced passing attack? The Cowboys might also flourish with a similar approach.
A Schott In The Dark
But if Schottenheimer lands the job, then all bets are off.
The unproven hire might come in wanting to run the ball more too. Or he, like far too many others, might actually believe Prescott is the second coming of Joe Montana.
That’s assuming Schottenheimer would actually be calling the shots on his own.
Ever since buying the Cowboys, Jones has treated the franchise like a hobby, and he’s only getting worse as he gets older.
It’s like watching the Oakland Raiders near the end of Al Davis’ life. A sad decline I got to watch first hand while covering sports in the Bay Area.
Remember Davis’ dogged devotion to JaMarcus Russell?
Recall the press conference where Davis read the letter he sent to his then coach instructing him to start Russell.
Because Davis just knew Russell was an elite quarterback?
It was sad to watch then. It’s even sadder to watch it happen all over again.
Jones is on the Davis Decline path these days and no one will be able to tell him otherwise.
The Raiders still haven’t recovered from the damage he did at the end and that over a dozen seasons ago.
Mainly because his son, Mark Davis, is just as bad as his father. He just doesn’t have the excuse of being too old to fall back on.
Neither will Stephen Jones when he eventually assumes the reigns in Dallas.
And he’s not any better at this than Mark Davis is.