Here's what Aikman had to say about the idea of Schottenheimer taking over in Dallas.
Question: What do you think of Schottenheimer as an offensive coach, and as a potential head coach?Advertisement
Aikman: "Well, I like him a lot. I'm familiar with Brian, of course, we go back a little bit, back when he was coaching for his father. He was on the staff with the Chargers, with Hudson Houck. And I had some conversations with him, many years ago, about some offensive philosophy and things of that nature. And, you know, he goes to Seattle. He was the offensive coordinator there. I thought a lot of him when he was with the Seahawks. And then, of course, with Dallas, his role has been a little bit different.
"But I like him a lot. Heck of a guy. Been around coaching, of course, his entire life, with his father, Marty. And beyond that, I don't know that a lot of people know a lot about him. In the last couple of days is when I heard his name being mentioned. That's probably like most people, and he's kind of emerged as the dark horse.
"So that's about it. Yeah, beyond that. What kind of job would he do? What would his style be? All of that, I really couldn't answer for you."
Question: There's a thought that Jerry would like him as a head coach for the sake of continuity, familiarity, having the same system for Dak -- do you think that's the right approach, or is this team more in need of a jolt?Aikman: "Well I do think it's important that Dak feel comfortable with whatever the offense is gonna be.
"You know, back in, I guess it was '98, we had [offensive coordinator Norv Turner] for three years, and then we had Ernie [Zampese] for four I believe, and it was the same offense for seven years. We won three Super Bowls. And then when Chan Gailey was hired in '98, the offense was totally changed, and it was not a good fit. Wasn't a good fit for me, wasn't a good fit really for a lot of our players. And I say that because what we had done for seven years was essentially tossed out the window. So our passing game, our timing with the receivers, my drops, how that synced up with everybody else, was night and day. And it was frustrating at times for me with some of the things that we were doing within the passing game.
"And so with that, I do think it's important that for Dak,
who's going nowhere, that he feel good about what they're doing offensively, that CeeDee Lamb and the others that are a part of that do as well.
"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
I go back to what I've said before, though, when looking at the head coach, I think at the top of the list, he has to be
the head coach. Not everyone who walks into the room commands the room the same, and that's true whether you're talking about head coaches or if you're talking about a dinner party. But especially when you're talking about professional athletes who are getting paid what they're getting paid, there needs to be somebody who, when they walk in, people know he's in charge. And I don't believe personally that you can sacrifice that.
"Whether it's a good offensive fit or it's a good defensive fit, whatever that might be, the most important thing is that he be a head coach for the entire team. And if Brian can do that, and he checks most of the other boxes, then I think that's great. If he doesn't check that box, then I think being a good fit offensively or for continuity purposes with Dak, that wouldn't be as meaningful to me."
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