Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb opens up about controversial hiring of Brian Schottenheimer

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones continues to receive criticism from pockets of fans for replacing accomplished head coach Mike McCarthy by promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer rather than via a big-name acquisition. 

During a recent chat with Ryan Morik of Fox News Digital, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb explained why he's excited to continue working with Schottenheimer. 

"I feel like there’s not gonna be a drop-off," Lamb said about the McCarthy-to-Schottenheimer transition. "He understands how we operate, very familiar with the area and the Jones family. He understands the talent he has around, so just incorporating that and be better every week. Looking forward to it."

Lamb and others in the Dallas locker room had Schottenheimer as an offensive coordinator over the last two seasons. While playing under Schottenheimer and McCarthy, the 2023 Cowboys went 12-5 before they suffered a 48-32 wild-card playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers. Dallas then endured an injury crisis this past season before the club ultimately ended the campaign at 7-10.

"Having a new coach, they have to come in and proclaim their dominance and be able to control the room. I know that’s a lot of stress on them," Lamb said about the mindset that Schottenheimer, a first-time head coach, should embrace before springtime workouts begin. "They gotta get us to understand why we should follow you."

Per ESPN stats, Lamb finished the 2024 campaign tied for seventh in the league with 101 receptions, seventh with 152 targets and tied for eighth with 1,194 receiving yards. He also tallied six touchdown grabs across 15 games. 

Such stats are impressive considering QB Dak Prescott went down with what became a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9.

"It’s kinda easy to throw [last season] in the trash," Lamb added during his comments. "A lot of bad came out of it, but it showed the toughness of the team, the commitment and resiliency we had as far as going out there and fighting for one another. We know what it feels like to be on the opposite side, so it was unfortunate. Hopefully we don’t get injured, because that was terrible. A lot of our key guys got out early. For us, I feel like that’s where we gotta get better, taking out bodies and durability."

Late last summer, Lamb and the Cowboys agreed to a four-year, $136M deal after he missed the entire preseason amid a holdout. The 25-year-old should now be available for Schottenheimer throughout upcoming training-camp practices as everybody involved looks to put the disappointing 2024 campaign behind them.