Steve Spurrier reacts to former player Brian Schottenheimer landing Dallas Cowboys job

Before Jerry Jones hired Brian Schottenheimer as the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he made a phone call to the Head Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier.

Jones, speaking at Monday’s introductory press conference, said he wanted to know what kind of ballplayer Schottenheimer was when he played under Spurrier at Florida from 1994-96. While Jones didn’t reveal much into the conversation, Spurrier himself gave some insight into Schottenheimer’s time with the Gators during a Monday appearance on “Another Dooley Noted Podcast.”

“He did transfer in here and played a little bit in ’96. In fact, he threw the first touchdown pass of the season when we were playing Southwest Louisiana. We went two possessions and had to punt, and Danny Wuerffel and those guys weren’t very sharp. So, I said second team get in there. So, Schotty went in with the second team and threw Ike [Hilliard] a hitch pass and he dodged about four guys and went 50 yards for a touchdown. And I said OK, now the first team guys can go back in.

“But Schotty was the backup and played a little bit here and there when we got ahead. … Schotty’s been all around I think with five or six NFL teams, think he stopped off in Georgia for a year. So, he’s had a lot of opportunities and now he’s got a chance to be a head coach… I think he’ll do an excellent job and it’s gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out.”

As Spurrier mentioned, Schottenheimer transferred in from Kansas and served as backup to Wuerffel, who the Heisman Trophy in 1996. Florida won the National Championship that season. Schottenheimer kicked off his coaching career the following year, joining the then St. Louis Rams as an assistant.

Jerry Jones defends hiring Brian Schottenheimer as Cowboys head coach

Many stops Schottenheimer has taken along the way to get to this moment and now, he’s the head coach for most valuable franchise in the NFL. For someone with no head coaching experience, Jones said that makes hiring Schottenheimer “as big a risk as you can take.”

“I know that Shotty is no stranger to these guys,” Jones said. “Know he’s no stranger to this building. I get my proverbial ass kicked over needing people in my comfort zone. Without this thing being about me in any way, if you don’t think I can’t operate out of my comfort zone, you’re so wrong it’s unbelievable.

“This is as big a risk as you can take. As big a risk as you can take. No head-coaching experience.”