Troy Aikman Speaks Out: Why Brian Schottenheimer’s Controversial Hire Might Be Exactly What the Cowboys Need

When Brian Schottenheimer was named head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in January, it sent a jolt through the NFL world — and not the good kind. His appointment was met with widespread skepticism, even confusion. After all, Schottenheimer wasn’t being considered for the top job anywhere else in the league. He wasn’t even widely seen as a rising star. And the Cowboys? They had interviewed just three other candidates before pulling the trigger.

It didn’t look like a bold move — it looked like a desperate one. Fans and analysts alike questioned the decision, wondering if owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys front office were settling for familiarity over innovation. For weeks, the hire hovered like a cloud over the franchise’s offseason plans.

But Cowboys legend Troy Aikman recently stepped in to offer a perspective that might change the narrative — or at least complicate it.

“I’m pulling for him. I think he’s obviously high energy, very positive,” Aikman told reporters. “Sounds like everyone in the building really was hoping that he would be named the head coach.”

Aikman’s comments weren’t just a vote of confidence — they were a window into what’s happening behind the scenes in Dallas. It’s one thing to impress the media during a press conference. It’s something else entirely to earn the trust and support of an entire organization from the inside.

Schottenheimer, it seems, did exactly that.

The former quarterback-turned-broadcaster knows Schottenheimer well, dating back to his days with the San Diego Chargers. “Hudson Houck, the offensive line coach there at the time, had been with the Cowboys for a number of years,” Aikman recalled. “And Brian was reaching out about some things that we did back when I played. He was genuinely interested in learning the deeper coaching points.”

That kind of curiosity, humility, and willingness to learn often flies under the radar — but not to someone like Aikman.

Still, as Aikman pointed out, culture and energy only go so far. Schottenheimer, like every other head coach in the league, will be judged by a far more brutal standard: wins and losses.

“Can he win ballgames?” Aikman asked — rhetorically, but pointedly. That’s the question hovering over Schottenheimer’s tenure before it even truly begins.

And yet, there’s something to be said for an organization rallying behind its new leader. For a franchise that’s been desperate to recapture its former glory, internal alignment might be the first real victory in years.

The games haven’t started yet. The jury’s still out. But if culture matters — and in today’s NFL, it absolutely does — then maybe, just maybe, the Cowboys knew exactly what they were doing.