The Dallas Cowboys officially announced Brian Schottenheimer as the team's new offensive coordinator following the departure of Kellen Moore.

The move, as usual, created a wave of discomfort throughout Cowboys Nation. Why? Well, where do I begin?

I'd point towards Schottenheimer's obvious connection to head coach Mike McCarthy first and foremost. The late Marty Schottenheimer, one of 13 coaches in NFL history with over 200 wins and the only one among them to not be in Canton, Ohio, hired McCarthy way back in 1993 in Kansas City.

Now, Mike brings Marty's son into the equation as a coordinator after taking Brian in as an offensive analyst in 2022.

This will always ruffle some feathers among Cowboys and NFL fans. Even more so when the only outside interview (at least the only one reported on) was with Carolina Panthers RB coach Jeff Nixon. 

This is where I really understand frustration among fans. Essentially, the Cowboys made sure to check some boxes and move on with the obvious in-house candidate for offensive coordinator.

But when it comes down to the football reasons behind the move, I don't think Cowboys Nation should be too upset about Schottenheimer's promotion to OC.

Why?

He isn't here to be the architect of the 2023 Dallas Cowboys offense. That's the short answer. Allow me to elaborate.

Brian is here to execute the ideas of one man and one man only; Mike McCarthy. Schottenheimer's role as OC won't be that of Kellen Moore's before him.

It certainly won't be the same as it was when Schottenheimer spent four seasons as the coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. While I'd expect Schottenheimer to be allowed to get some input, it should be clear that McCarthy will be the one running the show.

That's why diving into the numbers behind the Seahawks' offenses that Brian ran isn't very likely to provide valuable insight into what the Cowboys offense will look like next season. If anything, Schottenheimer paired with OL coach Mike Solari will heavily influence the running game. Both ran a lot of inside zone back in Seattle.

But this will be a West Coast offense similar to the one that he ran in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers at the wheel.

In short, Cowboys fans shouldn't see this as a move from Moore to Schotty but a move from Moore to McCarthy. Will that prove to be a good move by itself? We'll find out.

But Schottenheimer's hire as OC doesn't really move the needle at all. He's here to execute, not design plays or even game planning.

Featured image via Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK