Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jerry Jones said he decided to hire Brian Schottenheimer as Dallas’ coach and sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a $240 million, four-year contract because the Cowboys are in a win-now mode and should be competing for Super Bowls.

The Cowboys owner walked the red carpet Thursday night at the the NFL Honors and said he believed Schottenheimer was the right coach to lead the franchise to a Super Bowl title. The 51-year-old son of the late Marty Schottenheimer was promoted last month from offensive coordinator to be the 10th coach in the storied franchise’s history.

The Cowboys promoted him less than two weeks after parting ways with Mike McCarthy, who brought Schottenheimer in as a consultant in 2022. McCarthy’s contract expired after a 7-10 season.

Jones told The Associated Press that Schottenheimer’s football family lineage — Marty Schottenheimer went 200-126-1 in 21 seasons as an NFL coach — was a key factor in the decision.

“We called it osmosis, sitting around the breakfast table,” he said. “He made a young lifetime out of asking his father to help him, being around organizations so he could as much football as he possibly could. So, he’s no accident. But he’s actually had a lot of experience to be a first-time head coach. I thought we could bet on that.”

Schottenheimer was considered a favorite in the locker room. Jones defended the hire on Thursday night — much like he did at a news conference last month — and bristled at the suggestion that he made a conversative move by promoting a coach on the existing staff.

“It gives us some continuity but lets us have a new shot at it,” Jones said.

Schottenheimer was the ninth coach hired by Jones since be bought the team in 1989. He becomes the seventh coach since the last time the Cowboys reached an NFC championship game — in the 1995 season on the way to their fifth Super Bowl title. It’s the longest drought in the NFC without reaching the conference title game.

The Cowboys went to the playoffs three consecutive years with 12-5 records under McCarthy but were 1-3 in the postseason.

“The decisions I’m making are not based on rebuilding,” Jones told the AP. “They’re based on competing. And competing now. The decisions I made last year were based on competing now. Now they didn’t exactly work out. But I think I paid Dak more than anybody’s ever been paid in the NFL. That’s now. That’s not the future. We’re excited about our team’s ability to compete right now.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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