Brian Schottenheimer carrying over 'a ton' from Mike McCarthy in first year as Cowboys head coach

Brian Schottenheimer spoke highly of former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy during the 2025 NFL Combine on Thursday.

McCarthy hired Schottenheimer to his staff as an offensive analyst in 2022. He was eventually promoted to offensive coordinator under McCarthy’s leadership and has now taken over as head coach of the organization.

As Schottenheimer moves forward molding the Cowboys in his image, he revealed an interesting perspective when asked whether McCarthy’s influence will impact how he coaches in Dallas.

“Oh yeah, a ton. Mike is an incredible coach. I’ll put my fingerprint on it, for sure. But Mike is an awesome coach,” Schottenheimer said. “Mike and Jerry (Jones) had a lot of hard conversations and it ended up not working out. But I will never talk about Mike McCarthy in any way but hold him in the highest regard.

“He’s one of my best friends in football. An amazing coach, and an amazing mentor to me. And he’ll be back on the sidelines before too long.”

Schottenheimer’s comments may raise the eyebrows of some Cowboys fans. Nonetheless, Mike McCarthy has a record of 174-112-2 all-time and is 11-11 overall in the postseason. That includes his time with the Green Bay Packers and with the Dallas Cowboys and it makes him the 12th winningest coach all-time in the regular season and puts him in a tie for 11th in the postseason.

Of course, McCarthy helped build the roster that Schottenheimer is taking over. Arguably, he’s stepping into the best opening on the market that features a built-in, talent-laden roster that’s in “win now” mode.

Team owner Jerry Jones declared the Cowboys were “all-in” for the 2024 season, though injuries derailed them — particularly quarterback Dak Prescott, who suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9 but plans to be back by the start of OTA’s with no restrictions.

Along with Prescott, the Cowboys boast talent such as linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, receiver Brandin Cooks and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown — but they all missed time throughout the season with injuries.

Without having these pieces in place, Dallas finished 7-10 and eventually missed out on the postseason.

As many of these stars regain their health throughout the offseason, the Cowboys are still looked at as strong competitors in the NFC East, which features the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the conference runner-up Washington Commanders.