Cowboys legend Michael Irvin criticizes team's head coach pick: 'We lost an opportunity here'
The Dallas Cowboys made the stunning decision to hire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as the team’s head coach after the team split from Mike McCarthy and rumors swirled about Deion Sanders’ interest in the job.
Schottenheimer is the son of the legendary Marty Schottenheimer and spent the last two seasons as Dallas’ offensive coordinator under McCarthy. He was also the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 2006 to 2011, the St. Louis Rams from 2012 to 2014 and the Seattle Seahawks from 2018 to 2020. The Cowboys will be the first team he will serve as head coach.
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Not everyone was thrilled with team owner Jerry Jones’ decision on Schottenheimer. Fans made their opinions known on social media.
Cowboys legend and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin was unhappy as well.
"Here's my issue. We lost an opportunity here. I don't know what happened with coach Schottenheimer and the Cowboys, but Jerry 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 10 toes down on that push," he said in a video posted to his YouTube channel.
He pointed to the NFC Championship being between two NFC East teams – the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
"Let me break it down," he said. "We have two NFC East teams in the NFC Championship game being played tomorrow. All eyes on them. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders. Our enemies on all fronts. And they’re in a position that we haven’t held in 30 f---ing years. The longest drought by any NFC East team, 30 years.... You bring in someone who's already inside for head coach. You lose things there that you can't grab back that I'm worried about."
Irvin expressed concerns about the Cowboys losing their standing in the conference.
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"We’re losing ground in the NFC.... It was time to bring somebody in here that could shake things up and grab this last leg of Cowboys nation," he added. "If we've got 30 years right now, and life expectancy is 100 years, that means by math one third of Cowboys Nation has never felt or lived the glory of a championship story. Don't even know about it. How the hell can they pass something down when they don’t even know about it?
"Worse yet, that generation has seen total domination from a team named the Kansas City Chiefs, who in that span is running up on winning three in a row. So not only are you losing football games over here and opportunities over here and divisions over here, you’re about to get our moniker snatched off our backs."
It’s unclear how serious the talks between the Cowboys and Sanders were. It gained interest among fans, but Sanders was clear about his love for the Colorado football program.
For now, Sanders stays in college and Dallas embarks on a new journey with a new coach.
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