The Dallas Cowboys’ fanbase was resoundingly disappointed by the hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as their head coach on Friday. Jerry Jones caught flak from every direction when he announced the move. And Saturday night, one of his former superstars joined the chorus of boos.
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Michael Irvin blasted Jones for picking Schottenheimer as the Cowboys’ next coach on YouTube. “The Playmaker” informed fans he doesn’t know Schottenheimer well, but is certain Jones missed a chance to change the trajectory of his franchise by failing to lure “Coach Prime” away from Colorado.
“Here’s my issue. We lost an opportunity here. I don’t know what will happen with Coach Schottenheimer… but Jerry [Jones] is a shrewd, shrewd businessman. And this opportunity, I’m shocked he did not see. I was pushing for Deion Sanders to be the next head coach… and I still stand ten toes down on that push.”
Irvin believes the “sickness” he dealt with the past few days was a sign of pending doom. He was at a restaurant when he learned the news and said he felt “something was coming down crazy like this.” Now, in his mind, Dallas has certified this era as a dark age for the organization.
Irvin has spent the past few weeks advocating for Sanders to come coach in Dallas. He clearly believes the Cowboys need new blood in their front office and Sanders would have been the perfect choice. But it seems Jerry Jones is not yet ready to let up control.
Michael Irvin: This decision was “critical mass”
Dallas is already watching two of its rivals fight for a Super Bowl berth on Sunday. The Cowboys could have taken two steps forward to being in that position themselves in 2025. To Irvin, Schottenheimer’s hiring actually pushed them another step back.
“We have two NFC East teams in the NFC Championship game… our enemies on all fronts. And they’re holding a position that we haven’t held in 30 f***ing years. The longest drought by any NFC team… you bring in someone that was already inside as the head coach. You lose things there that you can’t grab back that I worry about… we’re losing ground.”
Dallas hasn’t played for an NFC title since Irvin’s heyday. He’s frustrated at the franchise’s inability to make deep playoff runs. He knows fans feel the same way, and is confident they will leave if something doesn’t change soon.
“Right here, right now is critical mass. It was time to bring someone in here that could shake things up and grab this last leg of Cowboys Nation… life expectancy is 100 years.”
Irvin is also worried the Cowboys’ brand he helped build will come undone without playoff success. He wants Dallas to remain “America’s Team” forever. And he’s fearful about the NFL’s modern dynasty scooping that distinction away.
“In 10 years, that would have been a generation that knows nothing about a championship from the so-called ‘America’s Team.’ And worse yet, that generation has seen total domination from… the Kansas City Chiefs, who in that span, is running up on winning three in a row… not only are you losing football games… you’re about to get our moniker snatched off our backs.”
It’s possible Jones knows something we don’t and that Schottenheimer is the right man for the job. However, it’s rare to see an offensive coordinator go 14 seasons in that role without receiving head coaching buzz. Jones went out on a limb with this choice. And it’s more likely that branch breaks beneath him than allows him to fly to new heights.
