Brian Schottenheimer will wake up Thursday morning with a responsibility that in his 28 years of coaching he has never had to do:
Call a regular-season game as a head coach.
It didn’t come easy for the second-generation head coach from the bloodline of the great Marty Schottenheimer. While his father is the eighth-winningest head coach in NFL history, Brian had to earn the seat at the end of the table the hard way.
From being a college assistant to one-year experiments in the NFL to successful and unsuccessful stints as a coordinator, Schottenheimer thought his time to become a head coach passed him by long ago. But in a surprise decision by owner Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys took a swing on Schottenheimer this offseason when they signed him to a four-year contract.
In the months since the hiring, the world has come to learn more about Schottenheimer’s journey. The coaches who developed and mentored Schottenheimer — including Pro Football Hall of Famers, Super Bowl winners and college football national champions — say they believe he will be successful in Dallas.
But to get a full scope of how and why the 51-year-old finally made it here, it’s necessary to go all the way back to the beginning.
After a long coaching career, Brian Schottenheimer finally landed his first head coaching job with the Dallas Cowboys. Andrew Dieb USA TODAY NETWORK
Developing an unexpected identity
In 1991, Brian Schottenheimer was not only known as the 17-year-old kid of Marty Schottenheimer, but one of the top prep quarterbacks in the country.
With offers from some of the top programs in the nation, Schottenheimer led his Kansas high school team, Blue Valley, to its first state championship in school history with a 12-0 record, winning three playoff games by a combined eight points. Schottenheimer helped set the standard for a program that would win five more state titles in the next two decades.
Soon thereafter, he made the short trip west to play for the Kansas Jayhawks.
But while his dad was in the middle of his decadelong tenure in nearby Kansas City with the Chiefs instilling what affectionately was called “Martyball,” his son was developing some other ideas in his Lawrence dorm room.
See, “Martyball” wasn’t just a slogan. It was an identity, a way of football life.
Run the football. Impose your will. Protect the football. Then, run the football again.
On first and second down, the whole stadium — shoot, the whole world — knew you were going to run the ball. If you found your way into a third down situation, only then would you maybe break out a quick slant or hitch to move the sticks. Then, right back to the ground.
It was meant to physically and mentally wear down an opponent, and it was successful for his father. In his 10 seasons in Kansas City, Marty’s philosophy helped lead the Chiefs to two rushing titles and five top-five finishes in the league in team rushing. While Brian was leading his high school team to a state title behind more than 2,000 passing yards in 12 games, Marty’s squad finished third in the NFL in rushing in 1991.
Brian spent just one season with the Jayhawks before declaring that he would transfer after the 1992 season. He had become infatuated with complex passing concepts, and only one coach in the country offered what he desired at the time.
Florida Gators safety Lawrence Wright celebrates with coach Steve Spurrier after the Gators beat Florida State for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, 1997, in New Orleans. Allen Eyestone USA TODAY NETWORK
Studying with Steve Spurrier
“There’s two ways to be successful in life. Do it like everybody else does it and try to outwork them. Or do it differently.”
Steve Spurrier spends his time these days rooting on the Florida Gators from his home in Gainesville. While the glory days have come and gone — and come and gone again — for Florida, most still see him as the king for a Gators program that was once just a novice to the national stage.
Some didn’t see the vision before the program finally broke through in 1996 for its first national championship, but Brian Schottenheimer did when he decided to move to Gainesville.
“He wanted to transfer to Florida,” Spurrier recalls. “He picked Florida, and offensively we were one of the best in the country. I guess he wanted to be a ball coach. So, hopefully he learned a little bit of how we were doing it down here.”
Schottenheimer had just two touchdown passes in three seasons with the Gators. But in the revered 1996 season in which he backed up Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, he threw the first touchdown of the year in a blowout win over Southwestern Louisiana.
“He didn’t play a whole lot, but he did play the first game,” Spurrier said. “We didn’t score on the first two possessions, so I told Danny, ‘Come sit on the bench a while. Schotty, you’re in.’
“They were blitzing. I called a hitch pass, and Schotty went one-two-three, dodged about four guys and threw it about 50 yards for a touchdown. He came back and I said, ‘Good job. Good job. All right, Danny you’re back in the game.’”
From the classroom to the practice field to even his very limited — and Spurrier emphasized “very limited” — opportunities in games, the Head Ball Coach always saw coaching qualities in the son of a head coach he had respected for so long.
“He had a wonderful attitude about everything,” he said. “He was right there with the leaders. He never missed a weight room event or a class. He was a guy you never had to worry about doing everything the right way. He was preparing himself to be a coach. There’s no question about that.”
Dick Vermeil speaks after unveiling his bust during the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement Aug. 6, 2022, in Canton, Ohio. Scott Heckel USA TODAY NETWORK
Starting at the bottom with Dick Vermeil
After graduating from Florida in 1997, Schottenheimer was able to land his first job as an assistant for the St. Louis Rams under Hall of Fame head coach Dick Vermeil.
Vermeil was a longtime friend and coaching foe of his father.
“Besides being in heaven,” Vermeil said. “Marty ought to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hopefully, one day he will be.”
Despite the close familial relationship, the younger Schottenheimer’s hiring had nothing to do with his bloodline. Vermeil saw something in the young offensive mind that made him jump at the opportunity to break Schottenheimer into the workforce.
“I didn’t hire him because he was Marty’s kid,” Vermeil said. “I hired him because every time I was with him, there was no way to misjudge what he was going to end up being. It was well-defined early on that he was going to be a football coach.”
Vermeil had long known the concept of “Martyball” and what that entailed, but he sensed something different with someone whom some may have viewed as a disciple of that philosophy.
“His fascination with the game went beyond running the football and went into the intricacies of a passing game,” he said. “When he was deciding where he wanted to go to college, he was looking at what kind of passing attack they had and how he’d fit into it.”
It wasn’t easy early on. In his first six years coaching, he held six different jobs: assistant with the Rams in 1997, assistant with his father for the Chiefs in 1998, a jump to the college ranks as an assistant for Syracuse in 1999 and USC in 2000, his first position coach job in the NFL for his father as the quarterbacks coach for Washington in 2001, and then finally as the quarterbacks coach for the Chargers in 2002.
He would finally be able to sit in San Diego for four seasons under his father as he developed relationships with various coaches across the league. Arguably none made as big of an impact early on for Brian than Hall of Fame head coach Bill Cowher.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, right, embraces team president Art Rooney II during halftime against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 17, 2021, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Cowher was recognized for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Philip G. Pavely USA TODAY NETWORK
Cowher, who played for Marty in the 1980s with the Cleveland Browns, had a close relationship with the Schottenheimer family after Marty gave him his first job with the Browns as soon as he hung up the cleats. After seven seasons as an assistant under his tutelage, Cowher would take the Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching job in 1992 and retire in his hometown 14 years later with a Super Bowl ring on his hand.
“Marty always entrusted a lot of responsibility in me,” Cowher said. “Therefore, he’s probably my greatest mentor.”
In being around the family, Cowher saw Brian grow up from a teenager to a coach in the league alongside him.
“He’s always been his own coach,” Cowher said. “He’s always been an offensive guy. Marty was a defensive guy at heart. Brian had this infatuation with offensive football, and I thought it spoke volumes because Steve Spurrier was at the forefront of throwing the football and doing things that were uncharacteristic in the game and opening the game up. Brian loved that.”
While Cowher never coached with the younger Schottenheimer before he retired to become an NFL analyst for CBS, he had a front-row seat for his entire career. From helping guide him on his transfer to Florida as a player to seeing him land his first coordinator position with the New York Jets in 2006, Cowher smiles from ear to ear with great pride in talking about his mentor’s offspring.
When adversity struck after Brian Schottenheimer split ways with head coach Rex Ryan in New York in 2011, Cowher knew he’d be prepared. Although some could have made the case that he was ready to take the jump to be a head coach, that opportunity didn’t come.
“No one could be in a better position to handle that than Brian,” Cowher said. “I’m very proud of how he handled it. That was the same thing his father had always done. Take the hand that was dealt and make the very best of it.”
St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 14, 2014, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Kim Klement USA TODAY NETWORK
Hitting the coaching ceiling
When Jeff Fisher first heard about Brian Schottenheimer, it’s probably safe to assume that there was an eye roll or two.
“I remember Marty saying he wanted to get into coaching,” Fisher said. “I would think, ‘OK, there’s another coach’s dumba-- son.’”
Fisher laughs these days recalling those early thoughts. It wasn’t even 15 years later when Schottenheimer was a coaching free agent that a chance meeting brought them to the same Nashville diner one morning.
“I gave him a call just to talk and touch base,” Fisher said. “He told me he was living in Nashville. I asked where in Nashville, and when he told me the development, I was literally driving by it. We had breakfast the next day, talked a few more days, and I was really excited about Brian and what he would do offensively.”
Fisher had followed Schottenheimer closely during his time with the Jets and was enthralled with what he had installed offensively that helped push the team to back-to-back appearances in the AFC championship game. So, when Fisher landed the head coaching job for the St. Louis Rams — the same place Schottenheimer’s career had begun 15 years prior — he knew whom his choice would be for offensive coordinator.
“The thing that most impressed me early on was how he talked about players,” Fisher said. “He was about relationships, and that’s what I was about.”
Fisher was excited about pairing Schottenheimer with a young Sam Bradford. But after back-to-back ACL injuries and a revolving door of quarterbacks to fill his place, it never worked out for the duo in St. Louis. Schottenheimer left on his own accord in 2014, and Fisher was fired in 2016.
Still, Fisher holds memories from those two years close to him.
“The time we spent was extraordinary,” he said. “I knew within a couple of weeks on the practice field that this guy was a head coach. If I was going to hire a head coach, I would have hired Brian five years ago.”
Schottenheimer would then head back to the college game for a one-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Georgia before quickly bouncing back to the NFL. He worked two years under Chuck Pagano as the quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts as his way of building back his resume to what it had once been.
“He did an outstanding job for us in Indy,” Pagano said. “Really smart, a tremendous teacher and communicator, and so relatable to the players. He has great energy. He’s upbeat and positive every single day. And at the same time, he’s demanding in all the right ways.”
A three-year stint as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks put him firmly back on the map, but being a part of the Urban Meyer fiasco in Jacksonville in 2021 didn’t help anyone’s case toward working their way up the ranks.
Twenty-four years after first taking the job under Vermeil as an assistant in 1997, Schottenheimer was out of a job. He thought his days as a head coaching candidate had passed him by, and his father had just passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
But even at the lowest of lows, timing has its way of leading toward the right path.
A ‘secret weapon’ in Dallas
During his five years as head coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy mentioned multiple times how influential Marty Schottenheimer was for his career. So, when Brian was on the street in 2022, McCarthy quickly made the call to get him on staff.
But unlike any job he had in his career, Schottenheimer wouldn’t be a quarterbacks coach or an offensive coordinator or anything similar. He’d be working on the defensive side of the ball in Dallas.
For then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, it was the perfect piece to a successful unit.
“He was like a secret weapon to me,” Quinn said. “I asked Brian if he could look at every opponent, but do it from the view of their eyes. I don’t want to see how Brian would attack. If you were there with their players and their system, what would you do? To do that, he also had to know the Cowboys’ defensive system.
“He was in defensive meetings when we installed the defense. What a cool year to do a sabbatical and do something different. He could have been a quarterbacks coach or an offensive coordinator at a lot of different spots. But for one season, we got to be together.”
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) talks with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during training camp July 26, 2023, in Oxnard, Calif. Jayne Kamin-Oncea Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Spor
Schottenheimer made a quick impression in Dallas. When Kellen Moore parted ways with the team in 2022, it was only right for Schottenheimer to take the step back up as offensive coordinator.
“The first thing about Brian, he’s got real poise,” Quinn said. “He has a really strong inner game. He’s been through enough that it’s not going to rock him. When adversity comes, man, he’s down for it.”
“Once you’re around Brian, he’s a real heavy-hitter in coaching. He just has really strong leadership qualities about him. People gravitate toward him. Those are the qualities you need as a head coach.
Long-awaited opportunity
While it may have been a surprise to a lot of people when the Cowboys promoted Schottenheimer to head coach in January, to those that knew him best, it was expected all along.
“I was surprised that he hadn’t become a head coach sooner,” Vermeil said. “I let him know I was proud of him, that I was happy for him, that his dad is really excited about this opportunity.”
Cowher said: “It just reaffirms his presence in that building and how comfortable everybody must’ve thought of him. From that standpoint, I know who he is as a person and how they got to know him.”
While Schottenheimer made a strong impression in his two-day long interview with the team, it didn’t hurt that a couple of his strongest mentors went to bat for him in the process.
“Jerry Jones did call me,” Spurrier said. “He asked me about Schotty. I said, ‘Yeah, he’s ready. He’s certainly ready to take over.’ Sometimes you don’t know who is going to be a successful head coach until he becomes one. He’s certainly been up there long enough, and he’s ready to do it. I appreciate Jerry Jones for giving him the opportunity.”
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, left, talks with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 9, 2018, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Joe Nicholson USA TODAY NETWORK
Pete Carroll, who Schottenheimer worked under as offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020, also gave support for him in a phone call with Jones.
“He brings a ton of experience, a ton of background,” Carroll said. “Even from his pops, all the upbringing that he got there too. It’s really made him a great fundamental coach and he does fit with players. He makes sense to them.”
Quinn, now the head coach for the Washington Commanders, knows he will now have to face Schottenheimer twice a year. While those two days won’t see either hold anything back, it’ll be hard for Quinn not to root for him the other 363 days after their bonding experience just three years ago.
“It’s been long overdue for Brian to take a lead role,” Quinn said. “For him to do it there and I get to battle against him, it’s awesome. ... I wish him the best. But when we go battle, we battle. And then I wish him the best after that. He’s ready for this opportunity, he’s not going to miss it.
“He’s somebody that I care about, so I want to see him do well. I check in, and he knows if there’s anything he needs or support, I’m a phone call away. He doesn’t, though, he’s doing great. If I had to, I’d pick up that phone at 2 a.m., no doubt about it.”
While the Cowboys’ offseason has seen its fair share of dramatics, it is finally time for Schottenheimer to take his product to the field. With an offense that added a new piece in wide receiver George Pickens and is heading into 2025 with a seasoned quarterback Dak Prescott at the helm, the excitement is building for those who are in Schottenheimer’s corner.
“A lot of people are excited for him, but I’m really excited for Brian,” Fisher said. “He’ll put a stamp on that team. I think that’s what that team is missing.”
And along the way, just as they have for 28 years, his mentors will still be there for him. Cowher said he knows the busy schedule of a head coach. If it’s a Tuesday night when Schottenheimer may need a brain to bounce ideas off of, he will be waiting by his phone.
“Have a vision of what you want this football team to be,” Cowher said about the advice he would give. “Have the courage to make the decisions along the way that can get you to that.”
Vermeil said: “No. 1, be yourself. Be who you are. Never stop learning. Go to work every day to improve yourself and your team. To make your team better, you have to make yourself better daily.”
Brian Schottenheimer’s entire 28-year coaching career and his 51 years of life have prepared him for Thursday night. As the Cowboys travel to a hostile Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles, Schottenheimer will always remember it as the night that his dreams came to fruition.
With so many people that helped pave the way, his village will be watching closely as he embarks on the biggest journey of his career.
“When he gets to that very first game,” Cowher said. “He’s going to look up and say, ‘Dad, I’m finally here.’ His dad is going to look down and say, ‘Brian, remember son. You better run the football.’”