Cam Newton predicts Brian Schottenheimer one-and-done, Cowboys tanking for Arch Manning, Nick Saban

Cam Newton wasn’t all that impressed by the Dallas Cowboys‘ decision to promote offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach earlier this week.

That is, until he went down a bit of a rabbit hole and realized Jerry Jones‘ ultimate plan.

During a Thursday morning discussion on ESPN‘s First Take, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn suggested Jones hired Schottenheimer just to have the Cowboys tank in 2025, secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and select Texas quarterback Arch Manning as the new face of America’s Team. Oh, and maybe then hire former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to replace Schottenheimer.

“I think they’re tanking for Arch. Make it make sense. Coach Schottenheimer has one-and-done written all over him,” Newton said on Thursday morning’s First Take. “Ok, why do you want one and done? You get the first pick of the draft. Not only that, I’m going to go back into my godfather bag and say, ‘Ok, Jerry Jones is a businessman, and he’s going to get into his Don Corleone mentality and he’s going to give him a deal he can’t refuse. Who? Nick Saban. Go get Nick Saban as your head coach and Arch Manning as your No. 1 pick.’”

First Take host Stephen A. Smith had to take a minute to absorb Newton’s suggestion, but couldn’t find many flaws in his conspiratorial thinking.

“I don’t know that he’s wrong,” Smith reacted. “(Newton) might be on to something. I don’t know.”

The other First Take panelists argued that Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who received a record four-year $240 million extension last September, isn’t likely to be on-board for any such tanking.

But Newton wasn’t deterred in his thinking.

“This is not about Dak Prescott (as much as) it’s about Coach Schottenheimer,” Newton rebutted. “Why is it about Coach Schottenheimer? Because Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, Micah Parsons. How are you going to control those stars? Because one thing I do know is every (position) coach is not a great head coach. … I’m going to give you one you know so well: Josh McDaniels. … To this point, Coach Schottenheimer, bro, you ain’t have a rep. Who are you?

“My point is, we’ve constantly seen a situation brew up in Dallas when CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott on the sideline had these types of things. We need an alpha (leading the Cowboys). Bill Belichick would never have allowed that. Nick Saban would’ve never allowed that. Those are coaches that could check stuff at the door. … Does Coach Schottenheimer have that?”

While refusing to side with Newton’s wild suggestion, Stephen A. Smith acknowledged he made some interesting points, especially as it related to Jerry Jones‘ role as businessman-in-chief.

“Where Cam’s point is interesting is when he’s talking about the business of the Dallas Cowboys, what they’ve subjected themselves to, how many times they’ve made decisions that appeared to make no sense whatsoever. And we can’t sit here as a show, hell, as an industry, and accuse a franchise of caring more about winning headlines than games one minute, and then summarily dismiss what Cam is saying,” Smith concluded. “I don’t believe it either, … but what I’m saying is, if we watch the Cowboys next year and they’re stinking up the joint, and we see Dak and CeeDee on the sidelines arguing with one another. And Micah goes down and suddenly the defense forgets how to play, and then the coach is making one mishap after another, wait a minute now. We saw that this year with Mike McCarthy. It’s not entirely implausible is all I’m saying about what Cam brought up.

“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that’s the Jerry Jones I know, I don’t believe that’ll happen. But I’ll be damned if I’m not watching and saying to myself that I’m going to keep an eye on this. Because, excuse me, the Mannings are the Mannings. They’re the first football family of the National Football League. And for … America’s Team, in Dallas, Texas, and he plays at Texas? Oh lord. … Anything’s possible is all I’m trying to say.”