The Cowboys may be closing in on hiring a hugely unexpected head coaching candidate, according to new betting odds posted Monday.
Dallas, who parted ways with Mike McCarthy earlier this month after the two sides failed to reach a contract extension, are in the market for a new head coach – with Deion Sanders among those previously linked to the job.
But the best bet for the job now appears to be Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who was deemed the favorite on Monday by DraftKings.
Schottenheimer, who has never been a head coach at any level, was given -180 odds of becoming Dallas’ head coach at one point, and moved to -250 later in the day according to multiple reports.
Kellen Moore, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys and Chargers and now holds the same role for the Eagles, was given the second-best odds at +250. He was previously the favorite.
Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was in third at +350, former Jets head coach Robert Saleh was at +450 and now-former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was at +550 – though he agreed to become Bears head coach afterwards according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Sanders was way back in seventh at +750, with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady also ahead of him at +650.
The odds appear to have been removed from DraftKings’ site as of Monday evening.
In Schottenheimer’s first year as offensive coordinator in Dallas (2023), the Cowboys led the league in points per game (29.9) and won 12 games.
This year, with quarterback Dak Prescott hurt for half of the season, Dallas took a step back and were 21st in points per contest.
More crucially, though, is the 51-year-old Schottenheimer’s lack of head coaching experience.
He has been an NFL offensive coordinator on four occasions including his stint in Dallas, and was also Jacksonville’s passing-game coordinator during the 2021 season.
It appears that the hire would have the support of Prescott, as ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio wrote that the quarterback ‘wants continuity’ and ‘doesn’t want to learn a new offense.’
Schottenheimer has also raved about Prescott in the past.
‘I love the man,’ Schottenheimer said. ‘I love the work ethic. He’s a tireless preparer. The way the guys follow him. The way he wants to be coached, the way he wants to be open-minded to trying different things from a fundamental standpoint.’
The Cowboys will hope whoever their new head coach is can help them bounce back from their 7-10 season this year.
