Cowboys introduce Brian Schottenheimer with one-hour press conference

The Cowboys announced the hiring of coach Brian Schottenheimer last Friday night. At times, Monday's press conference felt like it might last until next Friday night.

In an hour that seemed more defensive than celebratory, more defiant than congratulatory, owner/G.M. Jerry Jones, co-owner/chief operating officer Stephen Jones, and Schottenheimer talked through (and often around) a variety of questions.

For Schottenheimer, it's a dream come true. It should be. He's a 51-year-old career assistant who seemed to have missed his window to become a head coach years ago.

For Cowboys fans, it's a potential nightmare. And Jerry seemed to be keenly aware of the criticism as he tried to word-buffet anyone listening toward the heaping bowl of chicken salad.

"It might be couched as a less-than-glamorous hire," Jerry said, "what I would say to you is I've got here taking shots."

And Cowboys fans who heard that likely took another.

It's hard to find anything tangible in 60 minutes of sound that would explain why Mike McCarthy is gone — and why McCarthy's offensive coordinator got promoted into McCarthy's job.

Jerry defended the decision as the culmination of a "thorough, thorough process." The Cowboys interviewed Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier, Kellen Moore, and Schottenheimer. They created some buzz by making it known that they spoke to Deion Sanders and Pete Carroll, although neither was officially interviewed.

No, it wasn't thorough. The question is whether it will work better than the last regime.

And it's obvious that the decision was driven in large part by the fact that quarterback Dak Prescott is under contract, that the commitment for cap purposes lasts three more years, and that Dak wanted continuity in the offense.

"Certainly every team when they're looking for a coach out there is looking — you know, what's in the best interest of the quarterback?" Stephen Jones said. "Certainly that played a role here. Dak's not making any coaching decisions nor does he want to, but I can tell you every team who made a coaching decision was looking at how they saw [it] for the quarterback."

There was one comment that raised my own eyebrows. Stephen, at one point, referred to "this drought that people say we're in, in terms of a championship game or a Super Bowl."

Yes, people say it. Because it's factually accurate. They're in a 30-year drought when it comes to NFC Championship appearances, the longest in the conference by 15 years.

Fans want to know how hiring Schottenheimer will make it rain wins. Jerry seems to be far more interested in making it rain dollars, and in spending as few of those bills as possible.

In all, this could be the tipping point where the habitual absence of on-field success could begin to impact the franchise's history of off-field profitability.

Could the hire work? Sure. But if the Cowboys had a high degree of confidence it would, the news of the hire wouldn't have been buried on a Friday night.