Blogging The Boys
Coaching changes are at a fever pitch in the NFL right now, but it’s yet to affect Brian Schottenheimer’s staff going into year two.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer is busy finding his next defensive coordinator, but now his Dallas Cowboys may have to replace another coach on the offensive side of the ball. And they may need to do it very soon.
That’s because on Monday, the Miami Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley as their next head coach, and some believe a position coach on the Cowboys could follow him in order to get a promotion. Let’s break it down.
Steve Shimko could reunite with Hafley
Hafley, who is getting the top job in Miami after two years as defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, needs an offensive coordinator to lead things in the Dolphins. And Cowboys quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko makes a lot of sense for the position.
Shimko coached for Hafley at Boston College from 2020 to 2023. In that span, Shimko went from coaching tight ends, to quarterbacks, and lastly secured a position as offensive coordinator. In December, NFL insider Connor Orr mentioned Shimko as a candidate to be Hafley’s OC wherever the latter ended up at.
Cowboys would miss Shimko
Though not often discussed by the fanbase, Shimko is an important part of Schottenheimer’s staff, and he even is involved in play calling to some capacity, as shown in HBO’s Hard Knocks. In a scene from the Cowboys’ regular season loss to the Detroit Lions, Schottenheimer is shown asking Shimko for plays featuring CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens.
The Cowboys are still chasing a defense as good as it was under Dan Quinn, who was a former head coach, and could make a similar hire and big splash with fired Bills HC Sean McDermott.
This most recent change, McDermott leaving the Bills after nine seasons, has prompted some to wonder if the former Buffalo head coach would accept an interview for the Cowboys defensive coordinator role.
Sources tell NFL insider Adam Schefter that McDermott intends to continue coaching after being let go from his first head coaching job. With seven openings currently still up for grabs (excluding the Bills job), it is likely that McDermott will interview for at one of those openings.
Dallas is still searching for their next defensive guru and if McDermott doesn’t land the big chair, perhaps he’d take on a coordinator role. He worked his way up the coaching ladder on the defensive side of the ball. The caveat is that the Cowboys don’t appear to be searching for anyone who could jump ship for a head coach opening in the next couple of seasons....
