Why Cowboys hiring Brian Schottenheimer might not be a ‘missed opportunity’

Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin spoke for many Dallas Cowboysfans when addressing the team's in-house promotion of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach of "America's Team." 

Irvin had lobbied for a former Cowboys teammate to take over for Mike McCarthy, who parted ways with the team after an impasse in contract negotiations. 

"We missed an opportunity," Irvin said on his podcast. "I was pushing for Deion Sanders to be the head coach. And I still stand 10 toes down on that push."

Irvin went on to say that the Cowboys had fallen behind their NFC East rivals, as evidenced by the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders playing for the NFC Championship on Sunday. The Cowboys are the only NFC team that has not played in the conference title game in the past 30 years. The fan base has grown accustomed to a once-proud franchise not competing for Super Bowls.

The Cowboys certainly deserve criticism for not casting a wider net in their head-coaching search, interviewing just four candidates before settling on Schottenheimer when other teams interviewed twice as many coaches. Add in the fact that the Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, and it's fair to wonder why 82-year-old owner Jerry Jones didn't take a bigger swing once McCarthy was out of the picture.

That said, signing Schottenheimer to a four-year deal at a reasonable salary is a low-risk move for a family-run team that values continuity. Schottenheimer already has a good relationship with star quarterback Dak Prescott, who's coming off a season-ending hamstring injury. 

"One of the things about me taking over this prestigious position is we can hit the ground running pretty fast because I don't need to learn the