Dallas Cowboys fans questioned Jones and the hire with Scottenheimer in his first head coaching role
JERRY JONES was seen fighting back tears as he gave a bizarre press conference while unveiling new coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Billionaire Jones, the team’s general manager and owner since 1989, left fans confused with his lengthy response.
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Jerry Jones was seen fighting back tears during Brian Schottenheimer’s unveiling as head coach
Schottenheimer is a first time head coach that was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys in the last two seasonsCredit: Getty
Schottenheimer has worked with numerous NFL organizations as an assistant in a variety of roles since 1997.
He has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2022, starting as a consultant, before being the offensive coordinator for the last two years under previous coach Mike McCarthy.
However, the 51 year old has never been a head coach until now.
Jones initially said: “I know that Shotty is no stranger to these guys.
“I know he’s no stranger to this building. I get my proverbial ass kicked over needing people in my comfort zone.
“Without this thing being about me in any way, if you don’t think I can’t operate out of my comfort zone, you’re so wrong it’s unbelievable.
“This is as big a risk as you can take. As big a risk as you can take. No head-coaching experience.”
But he then left viewers confused as he began to well up and offered a bizarre response.
He added: “I have a good background in the makeup of what a coach is.
“To think that you can make a decision in an interview and if you didn’t and had never communicated or had a visit, I wouldn’t dare have an interview unless I talked to many, many people that knew that person, and had those kind of life experiences. Knew their story.
“We know what osmosis is and we know what Shotty grew up around.
“Frankly, from the standpoint of Shotty, those X hairs crossed.
“Shotty might never had been in our mirror, our view, had he not joined us to be with Mike as a consultant three years ago.
“I’ve sat in handful of meetings with Shotty. I’ve listened, I’ve watched him.
“I’ve watched him have deference to his head coach. I’ve watched him have deference to experienced guys like [defensive coordinator Mike] Zimmer.
“I’ve watched him bite his lip sometimes when he didn’t necessarily agree with that direction.
“But he bit his lip, as his daddy would have told him to bite your lip.”
Fans and even journalists were critical of Jones’ answer, with one writing: “He hasn’t answered the question at this point so IDK man.”
Another wrote: “Jerry Jones is in tears during this press conference.
“I don’t know what is going on.”
Another wrote: “…he went on for several minutes without ever actually talking about Brian.”
Schottenheimer was not a highly desired option for needy teams this offseason and Jones – who confirmed Deion Sanders was never really in the running – has faced huge criticism for the hire.
He defended Brian’s lack of head coaching experience because of his father, Marty Schottenheimer, the 2004 Coach of the Year who won 200 NFL across a 21-year head coaching career.
Cowboys legend Michael Irvin also criticisied the move, stating: “We’re watching our rivals take center stage while the Cowboys fade into the background.
“This was a moment to bring in someone bold, someone who could reinvigorate the team and the fanbase.
“Instead, we got more of the same.”