The Dallas Cowboys hiring Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach was the opposite of a needle-mover.
Not only has Schottenheimer never held that title in his career, but the Cowboys glossed over the hottest commodities in this year's cycle, including Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and Liam Coen. They also waited too late to express interest in Pete Carroll and lost out on Mike Vrabel by taking a week to come to a decision on Mike McCarthy.
With all of that said, Schottenheimer has impressed early in his tenure. His vision for the offense proves he learned from McCarthy's biggest flaws as a play-designer and the coaching staff he assembled is highly exciting.
Schottenheimer hit home run after home run during the hiring process. Between Matt Eberflus (DC), Klayton Adams (OC), Conor Riley (OL coach) and Aaron Whitecotton (DL coach), Schotty and the Cowboys deserve praise for landing most of their top targets.
Unfortunately, Dallas let one get away in the form of Tashard Choice, who has since agreed to join Dan Campbell's staff in the Motor City.
Cowboys get embarrassed as coaching target Tashard Choice agrees to join Lions
The Detroit #Lions are expected to hire Texas’ Tashard Choice as their new running backs coach, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports https://t.co/qOetA1jj8s pic.twitter.com/z9cD0K3Tv1
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 13, 2025
A former fourth-round pick by the Cowboys, Choice interviewed to become Dallas' running backs coach and was considered the favorite for the job. However, Choice chose to return to the Texas Longhorns and the Cowboys swiftly hired Derrick Foster as RBs coach.
Choice was well-compensated by Texas and reportedly would have had to take a pay cut to join Dallas. It would have taken Jerry Jones sweetening the pot (offer Choice more money) in order to poach his former RB from Austin. Predictably, Jones stood at the plate with the bat on his shoulder and looked at strike three right down the middle.
It is important to note that Choice will reunite with Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Choice recruited Gibbs and coached him at Georgia Tech. That was definitely an appealing perk of the Lions gig, but the Cowboys were first to knock on his door. It came down to money.
Choice is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks. He's an elite recruiter and has an unteachable ability to connect with players. The Longhorns reportedly gave him a raise after he interviewed with Dallas to express how much they value him.
This isn't to say that Foster wasn't a good hire by the Cowboys. However, local media strongly intimated that Choice was the team's top choice (pun not intended).
Again, coaches do not count against the salary cap and Dallas is the most valuable professional sports franchise in the world. They could have easily wielded that power to land Choice, but Jones historically has not paid a premium for coaches (see the Schottenheimer hire).
The Lions outbid the Cowboys. Imagine saying that five years ago. It's an embarrassing look, albeit not a surprising one.