Brian Schottenheimer explains declining Philadelphia Eagles from interviewing OC Klayton Adams

When the Philadelphia Eagles were looking for their offensive coordinator, a division rival coach caught their eye. Nick Sirianni wanted the opportunity to interview Klayton Adams, the Dallas Cowboys OC. Adams had just wrapped up his first season in Dallas after previously being the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line coach.

Well, Brian Schottenheimer denied the request. Since there was no promotion at stake for Adams, Schottenheimer had the right to. He explained how the entire situation unfolded, actually directly talking to Sirianni. While Schottenheimer understood the sentiment, the decision appeared to be an easy one.

“It was funny because when Nick called me — there’s different ways you can do it,” Schottenheimer said of the request. “You can send in slips and things like that. Nick, of course, called me and said ‘Hey, I’ve got a question to ask you. I want to send a letter in for Klayton.’ I said, ‘Uh, don’t bother, buddy. I’m going to have to deny you on that one.’ He said, ‘I’m not calling the plays.’ I said, ‘I’m going to have to deny you.’

“So then, we started talking about our kids. He’s like, ‘Yeah, I would’ve done the same thing but I had to ask.’ Look, Klayton is a stud. His energy is amazing. Nick wasn’t wrong for trying.”

As Sirianni referenced when making his case to Schottenheimer, the Eagles are looking for a play caller. Adams does not do that for the Cowboys, instead leaving the responsibility to Schottenheimer. But the NFL does not designate going from an OC to a play-calling OC as a promotion. Thus, the request was denied from the Dallas end.

Now, Adams will continue his role — which is a big one — inside the Cowboys offense. There are multiple facets he helped the team with during the 2025 season. First up is the young offensive line, still looking to come together. Injuries did not help but Adams, along with OL coach Conor Riley, put together a solid unit.

And then there is the run game. Adams also served as the run game coordinator for Arizona. It’s something Dallas desperately needed to improve upon after a lackluster 2024. Well, mission accomplished as a top-10 team in rushing yards. Javonte Williams has to be quite thankful too, performing well enough to earn a three-year deal priced around $24 million.

Seeing Adams in Philadelphia might have been a scary sight in Dallas. Which is why Schottenheimer had to go ahead and throw water on the idea before it came to fruition.