If you needed any more evidence that the Dallas Cowboys are a laughingstock, their hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach should do the trick.
It isn't so much that Jerry Jones settled on Schottenheimer, who hasn't garnered head coaching interest in over a decade and has a spotty track record as an offensive coordinator, but the farcical process that led Jones to the decision.
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Schottenheimer actually has the traits to succeed as head coach. On top of being an effective communicator who has strong relationships with his players, he is a natural player who doesn't struggle to command a locker room.
Of the four candidates that interviewed for the job. Schottenheimer was arguably the best. The process in terms of how Dallas landed on Schottenheimer, though, was a complete joke and insulting to fans who just want to root for a functioning franchise.
As if executing a classic Friday night news dump to announce Schottenheimer hire wasn't embarrassing enough, Jerry Jones released a truly baffling statement to ESPN to confirm the decision.
Cowboys' Jerry Jones already disrespected Brian Schottenheimer after hiring him as head coach
“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones said, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. “He ain’t Brian no more. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”
It's not worth trying to make heads or tails of whatever that is. One would think Jones would have had a more elaborate and thought-provoking statement ready after appointing the 10th head coach in the franchise's history, but that would be the actions of a properly-run team.
How can anyone read that statement and take the Cowboys' seriously?
They might have star players in all three phases of the game, but ownership does not care about winning. They spent the fewest amount of money in free agency last offseason and Schottenheimer will surely check in as one of the NFL's cheapest coaches in terms of annual salary once the sun sets on this ever-fluent coaching carousel.
More than anything, Jones loves when the Cowboys dominate conversation. Well, Jones was so thrilled about how hiring Schottenheimer would be perceived that he announced it on a Friday night when the NFL news cycle is sound asleep relative to the other six days of the week.
Jones is running out of cards to play to keep fans invested in the team. His unserious approach is now being called out on a national level. If Jones' biggest fear is fan apathy, he is dangerously close to crossing that bridge, if he hasn't already crossed it.
It is clear now that Schottenheimer was hired because he was cheap, has the support of players, worked with the team before and, most importantly, will allow Jones to remain the evil emperor without any pushback.