Let’s cut to the point: The Dallas Cowboys played an utterly embarrassing game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their Week 5 game on Thursday night at home, bumbling through a comedy of errors on both sides of the ball (mostly on defense, to be fair) to come away with a mistake-packed 24-16 defeat against a team that was 0-4 entering the game, and was starting rookie undrafted free agent Jalon Daniels, to boot. There are plenty of places to point the finger of blame, but more and more, that finger is being aimed at head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
And former Cowboys star receiver Keyshawn Johnson–never one to hold back on opinions–issued a full-on rants directed to owner Jerry Jones and team EVP Stephen Jones telling them that now is the time to dump Schottenheimer who, according to Johnson, should not have been hired in the first place.
The rant is worth reading/watching below (do keep the children away, though). But we’ll sum up what Johnson said here: “You got to get rid of that dude. He’s got to go. Meet with his ass in Frisco tonight and tell him you’re relieving him of his duties.”
Cowboys Hired Brian Schottenheimer in 2025
Schottenheimer is now 9-12-1 in his first year-plus as the Cowboys coach. He was something of a surprise hire when Jones picked him to replace Mike McCarthy last year–Schottenheimer is a football lifer, the son of Hall of Fame coach Marty Schottenheimer, but was an offensive coordinator who did not call plays under McCarthy. When the Cowboys hired him, he was not exactly having his door beaten down by other teams wanting him to be the head coach.
We’ll let Johnson take it from there: “Y’all hired a coach based on what? He got fired in Seattle with Pete Carroll. He’s (only) been a co-offensive coordinator, we’re not dealing with Sean McVay here. This ain’t no Kyle Shanahan. Hell, he ain’t Ben Johnson, he ain’t Todd Haley and Todd Haley hasn’t coached in the NFL in 100 years. But y’all hired him as if he is some genius of an offensive coordinator. …
“Y’all hired him based on his daddy’s last name is Schottenheimer. He ain’t his father. He is a long way from Marty and Marty ball, a long way from it. Y’all better wake up, Jerry and Stephen and the whole crew if y’all want to win a championship because you got to hire the right people, man. Y’all keep hiring the wrong people.”
Cowboys in NFC Championship Game?
Johnson also brought up former fellow Cowboys star receiver Michael Irvin, who has been hyping up Dallas for a trip to the NFC Championship game. There is time, of course, but that is hard to envision here after Thursday’s showing.
More Johnson: “NFC Championship game? Y’all can’t even beat a (expletive) opponent, let alone the championship game. I am so sick and tired of this. I had the Cowboys tonight. It’s crazy. Like, you lost to a rookie undrafted quarterback at home, favored by minus-10. That’s crazy. But I am supposed to think that y’all are gonna do something?
“I am sick and tired of the Dallas Cowboys. I am tired of the noise.”
‘Literally Time’ to Fire Brian Schottenheimer
Now, the Cowboys have been notably reluctant to fire people during the season–Jones did it once, to Wade Phillips, and he logs that as one of his big regrets as owner. Johnson does not care, though, as you might have guessed.
More Keyshawn: “All I am gonna say is this: (Expletive) the Cowboys. And I am gonna give some advice to Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones … I’m gonna give you advice. Get rid of that (expletive), man. Get rid of the coach. Get rid of the defensive coordinator, get rid of the coach. I understand y’all don’t like to fire people in season, I get it. But it’s time man. It’s literally time.”
Ex-Cowboys Star Rants for Jerry Jones to ‘Get Rid Of’ Brian Schottenheimer