The landscape of coaching for the Dallas Cowboys could have turned out very differently from how it is right now. As Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed in an interview, long before he joined Dallas as a coaching analyst, he was well on his way to becoming the head coach for the New York Jets.

Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Schottenheimer revealed the almost-but story. Since 2006, he had been drawing up blueprints as the Jets’ offensive coordinator. When Eric Mangini vacated the head coach position after the 2008 season, Schottenheimer threw his name in the ring.

“When they moved on from Eric Mangini, I ended up interviewing for the job. I’d been there a couple of years, and the offense was doing well. I ended up coming in second to Rex Ryan.”

Still, working under coach Ryan, Schottenheimer had a remarkable time all the way till 2011. As Schotty further added, “I love my time in New York. We had a lot of success. … Back-to-back AFC championship game. We took Mark Sanchez, his rookie year and second year, we won a bunch of playoff games on the road, and we were a talented team. We played hard.”

Schottenheimer’s tenure with the Jets was the first time he had stepped into the role of an OC. The success he had from that time set him up to draw up offenses for franchises all the way till the 2020 season, and again from 2023. But that first stint, as the coach noted, felt the longest.

In the interview, Schottenheimer noted that he holds the longest tenure as an OC for the Jets and joked that it felt much longer than just 6 seasons.

“I laughed this week, somebody asked me, I said, ‘I think I’m the longest tenured offensive coordinator in Jets history since the merger or whatever.’ and what I said is ‘six years as the OC is New York with the Jets is like dog years.’ So, I claim I was there for 42 years, call and play.”

Those six seasons (42 for Schotty) remain a defining phase even now as he shoulders his first head coaching gig with the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Jets’ head coaching interview marked a career milestone, there’s another defining story from Schottenheimer’s New York days. But it wasn’t something that happened in the building or on the field. It involved a raw fan moment that showed the kind of unfiltered feedback New York serves its coaches.

Brian Schottenheimer’s brutal fan reality check

On the 105.3 The Fan interview, Brian Schottenheimer noted, “There’s easier places to start than being an offensive coordinator in New York.”

When asked what the difference was between the New York and Dallas landscapes, Schotty noted that it was the fans. “The Jets fans, I mean, they are a hardcore, man, and that they want that team to be so good and they’re always willing to share their opinions.” Schotty then recalled a hilarious story involving donuts and an unfiltered fan.

One Saturday morning found Schottenheimer entering a Dunkin’ Donuts and walking out with more than snacks. “I don’t even think we were playing bad. It was year one. So, we ended up making the playoffs. But I walked into Dunkin’ Donuts and some guys walks up to me. I’m in line. He’s like, ‘your offense really sucks.’”

Schottenheimer, taken aback, tried to diffuse the situation, “Good morning. Can I buy you some donuts and then coffee? And he was just kind of like, ‘No, your offense sucks.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, you have a good day, sir.’” That was Schotty’s ‘welcome to NY’ moment: blunt and direct, no fluff. It’s something that’s even ingrained in the players themselves.

That moment is far from a one-off. It’s a daily reality for a city that lives and breathes football. The faithful demand accountability and keep coaches constantly aware that their work is under the microscope. You can only imagine how that crowd feels now, watching their team go 0-4 into week 5. For now, we look forward to Brian Schottenheimer leading the Cowboys against the Jets in Week 5, knowing that the script could have been entirely different.