After more than two decades as an NFL assistant, the last two of which were spent as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer was finally given his first shot as a head coach last January in the aftermath of America's Team parting ways with Mike McCarthy after five seasons.
Schottenheimer's first year as the lead guy obviously didn't go as well as he'd hoped, as the Cowboys went 7-9-1 and missed out on the playoffs for a second straight season. That said, though, Schottenheimer's offense certainly wasn't the problem, as Dak Prescott & Co. ranked second in the NFL in total yards, posting 391.9 per game, and seventh in scoring, putting up 27.7 points per contest.
On the other side of the ball, however, the Dallas defense, run by Matt Eberflus, ranked 30th in total yards allowed, surrendering 377.0 per game, and brought up the rear in scoring, ranking dead last by allowing 30.1 points per week.
Schottenheimer obviously deserves a portion of the blame, as one can only assume he had a say in bringing back Eberflus, who spent seven years with the Cowboys (2011-2017) as a linebackers coach and passing game coordinator. But Eberflus clearly had near-total control over his unit, which is why he was relieved of his duties two days after the regular season ended.
Schottenheimer obviously couldn't have been happy with Eberflus effectively costing him several victories in his first season in the big job, and he's now been given another reason to be angry with his now-former DC, as he didn't receive a very favorable position in a new ranking of head-coaching hires over the last five years.
Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer was ranked No. 21 in ESPN's ranking of head-coaching hires since 2021
Not including all of the turnover that's taken place during this current offseason, there have been 37 head-coaching hires made in the NFL since 2021.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently took the time to rank every single one of them, and Schottenheimer didn't fare overly well, ultimately ending up in the No. 21 position. And given Barnwell's explanation, Eberflus clearly cost his former boss a few spots, as did Jerry Jones for trading away Micah Parsons.
"Schottenheimer's ascension didn't exactly thrill Cowboys fans when he was promoted to replace Mike McCarthy in Dallas last offseason, but the 52-year-old was inoffensive in his first season as head coach.
"Put in a compromising position by ownership's decision to trade star edge rusher Micah Parsons just before the season, Schottenheimer did a solid job of handling an impossible situation. He also coaxed a career year out of receiver George Pickens, whom many saw as a liability heading into the season, and was the lead architect of the fifth-best offense by points scored per possession.
"Schottenheimer's defense was a disaster, which is why the Cowboys missed the playoffs, but it seems more realistic to pin that on coordinator Matt Eberflus."
An extra twist of the knife in these rankings is the fact that former Cowboys OC Kellen Moore ranked one spot ahead of Schottenheimer at No. 20, despite the New Orleans Saints going 6-11 in his first season as an NFL head coach.
Now, only having one year in his current role under his belt naturally put Schottenheimer at a disadvantage, as many others on the list have had several seasons to pad their respective resumes, including the top-ranked name on the list, that being Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions.
Cowboys fans can only hope new defensive coordinator Christian Parker can help Schottenheimer move his way up this list in the coming years.