The NFL may be about macho masculinity and confrontation, but it’s also loaded with men whose careers are owed to fathers who all too often mitigate their guilt over never being home by giving their sons a leg up in a competitive job field.
The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly considering another daddy’s coach to be their head coach.
Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer being considered for an NFL head coaching job is a reason why so many Black coaches never really get a chance, as this type of nepotism remains a constant point of concern in the coaching community.
It’s hard enough to beat “Who You Know.” It is nearly impossible beat “Who Are You Related To.”
The Cowboys plan to interview Schottenheimer this week as a candidate to replace Mike McCarthy. If Brian’s last name is Scooterdriver, he’s not an assistant for the Cowboys. He’s probably never an NFL coach.
Schottenheimer is the son of the former long time NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who died in 2021.
Brian Schottenheimer was solid a high school quarterback in the Kansas City area when his dad was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, from 1989 to 1998. Brian was a scholarship player at Kansas and Florida, where he was a backup at both places.
Without his last name, he’s probably not a scholarship quarterback at a Big 8 school, or what was then a thriving SEC program. College programs will show favoritism for NFL names to curry favor, just in case.
Brian’s first coaching job was as an assistant with the St. Louis Rams. If you are an aspiring coach and your first job out of college is as an NFL assistant, the only reason you landed that job is you know the right person.
His father’s name was not a foot in the door but rather the guy who takes the door off the hinges. Three times Brian was an assistant on his father’s staff – Kansas City, Washington and San Diego.
By all accounts, Brian used his father as a short cut to jump start a good career; Brian, 51, has also made enough of a name for himself that teams hire him because he’s decent at his job.
Exactly none of these opportunities are his fault. A dad helped his son, who took advantage of the opportunities. Unlike some kids who squander these types of chances, or are a breathing embarrassment, Brian never did anything other than his job.
He would not be given an interview with the Cowboys without the support of members of the front office, and players, too. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is most assuredly signing off on this interview.
Other than longevity, there is also almost nothing on Schottenheimer’s resume that suggests he should be the head coach of the Cowboys.
The Cowboys are the 10th franchise he’s worked for; he was hired by former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy to be the offensive coordinator, and yet he wasn’t tasked with the responsibility of calling plays.
Depending on what lie/spin you believe, Schottenheimer was actually calling the plays in 2024. This happens sometimes; the head coach is the primary play caller, but his OC actually calls the plays with the understanding that his boss may say “Nope,” or “I want this here now.”
Schottenheimer is no different than dozens and dozens and dozens of men who litter NFL sidelines, and front offices. Or, for that matter, Hollywood and corporations all over the United States. They’re children of people in power who were handed a job by using an express lane without having to pay for it.
In 2007, the Cowboys hired the OG of daddy’s boy coaches, Uncle Wade Phillips. Wade’s first NFL coaching job was with the Houston Oilers, in 1976, when his dad, Bum, was the head coach. Wade went on to have a long and successful coaching career in the NFL, most notably as a defensive coordinator.
Wade is just one of many cases of nepotism in NFL coaching that has no real solution. Hiring your kid is not against the rules.
According to a report in the Defector, published in Jan. of 2022, the NFL “averages 3.4 coaches per team who are related to a current or former NFL coach, and the percentage of coaches at the supervisory levels—the ones with hiring power—is even higher. Eleven of 32 head coaches are related to a current or former NFL coach. There are 24 coordinators who are related to current or former coaches, almost a full quarter of them.”
Since then these stats haven’t changed much.
Do not expect Brian Schottenheimer’s interview with the Cowboys leads to him being named the head coach. He’s in the room for a reason, because he’s decent at his job, and because of his last name