After the Cowboys parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy, Sanders was a name that was linked to the role, but he was never formally interviewed. Schottenheimer, who along with Robert Saleh and Kellen Moore, was the only other name on the short list of candidates and he was offered an interview.

Dallas was neither ambitious nor thorough in its coaching search. Time will tell whether Brian Schottenheimer was a good hire, but there's a reason the Cowboys way hasn't been working for years.