6-Year Jets Play Caller Lands Brand New Gig With Cowboys

A key former New York Jets coach has received the ultimate promotion this offseason.

The Dallas Cowboys announced on Saturday, February 4 that Brian Schottenheimer has been named the team’s new offensive coordinator.

At the end of January, the Cowboys agreed to “mutually” part ways with their former OC Kellen Moore. He was quickly hired by the Los Angeles Chargers for the same position.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones already announced that head coach Mike McCarthy will be calling plays for the Cowboys in 2023.

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Ex-Jets OC Brian Schottenheimer Finally Gets Back on the Horse

Schottenheimer was hired by the Cowboys ahead of last season as a “football analyst” and now will be promoted to the OC role.

It’ll be the first time Schottenheimer has held that title since 2020 when he spent three seasons as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator.

The 49-year-old is the son of legendary football coach Marty Schottenheimer. He has been coaching football since 1997 and has spent time both at the collegiate and professional levels.

This will be the fifth different time during his career that he has held the OC role:

• 2006-11 (Jets)
• 2012-14 (St. Louis Rams)
• 2015 (Georgia)
• 2018-20 (Seahawks)
• 2023 (Cowboys)

One of Schottenheimer’s most prominent feathers in his cap is from his time as the Jets play caller. He was hired for that position in 2006 and lasted through the 2011 campaign.

That run was highlighted by back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Gang Green hasn’t been back to the playoffs since and still holds the NFL’s longest active playoff drought in the league at 12 seasons and counting.

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Mike LaFleur Couldn’t Copy Brian Schottenheimer With Jets

There is some connective tissue if you squint between those glory days AFC Championship teams and the last two years of Jets football.

A team built around a rookie quarterback with a play-caller in the midst of their first gig.

Of course, those championship teams were built on experience versus this current group which was overflowing with youth. However, Schottenheimer was able to make some things happen with Mark Sanchez while Mike LaFleur struggled to do the same for Zach Wilson.

LaFleur left the team this offseason and now the Jets are turning to an experienced hand in Nathaniel Hackett.

We likely won’t see what he can do with a youngster since Wilson is likely set for a QB2 or QB3 role in 2023. However, Wilson’s development behind the scenes under the watchful eye of Hackett will be a key thing to watch.

The Jets have been adamant throughout the early portion of this offseason that they prefer a veteran quarterback to run this offense.

With a veteran presence, the Jets should be able to establish a nice floor on offense. If that can be paired with the elite defense people experienced during the 2022 season perhaps this team could make another magical surprising run to the playoffs and beyond in 2023.

The next domino to fall is who the heck will be starting at quarterback and the answer to that question should be delivered sooner rather than later.

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