The Dallas Cowboys completed an internal interview with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Tuesday night in their search to replace former coach Mike McCarthy.
Schottenheimer is the first known internal candidate to interview for the head coaching job.
The 51-year-old Schottenheimer, son of the late NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, joined the Dallas staff as a consultant in 2022 and held the offensive coordinator title the past two seasons while McCarthy was the play-caller.
McCarthy took over play-calling duties in 2023 when the Cowboys and Kellen Moore parted ways. Moore, now the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, is among three external candidates Dallas has interviewed.
The others are former NFL head coaches Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier. Moore was the play-caller for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott from 2019-22.
McCarthy and the Cowboys parted last week after his initial five-year contract with the club expired. McCarthy interviewed with Chicago, but the Bears hired Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their coach.
McCarthy's first NFL coaching job was on Marty Schottenheimer's Kansas City staff in 1993.
The younger Schottenheimer cultivated a strong relationship with Prescott the past two seasons and would be a familiar face for a franchise QB going into the first year of a $240 million, four-year extension. It's the first NFL contract to average $60 million per season.
Brian Schottenheimer called plays as the offensive coordinator with the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and Seattle. His 12 seasons over those three stints were from 2006-2020.
Prescott had one of the best seasons of his career in his first year with the McCarthy-Schottenheimer combination, but the offense slumped early this season even before Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury. Dallas finished 7-10 to end a three-year run of 12-5 teams that qualified for the playoffs.
Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones had informal talks with Colorado coach Deion Sanders. The Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback played five seasons for the Cowboys and helped them win their last Super Bowl to cap the 1995 season.
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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
