The Dallas Cowboys caught strays from every which direction after they hired Brian Schottenheimer as head coach after an unserious search. Between interviewing just two external candidates and generating fake excitement with the Deion Sanders rumors, Dallas deserved every bit of criticism.

Schottenheimer, though, deserves the benefit of the doubt and his stock is currently soaring as he continues to put together a strong coaching staff.

Matt Eberflus was the best defensive coordinator Dallas could have made this side of Robert Saleh. The Cowboys also re-signed tight ends coach Lunda Wells and the hire of Klayton Adams as offensive coordinator is considered a slam-dunk around the league.

Schottenheimer also stole Jets defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton for the same position. The Jets hoped to keep Whitecotton in the building, so that’s another job well done by the first-time head coach.

You can go ahead and add another home-run hire to Schotty’s list.

Cowboys hire Kansas State’s Conor Riley as offensive line coach

The Cowboys have officially hired Kansas State offensive coordinator Conor Riley as their new offensive line coach. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic was the first to link Riley to Dallas. Feldman called Riley “one of the most respect O-line coaches in college football amongst his peers.”

Riley was the Wildcats’ offensive line coach from 2019-2023. He reunites with Cowboys 2024 third-round pick Cooper Beebe, whom he helped mold into one of the best offensive lineman in Kansas State history.

Riley is largely credited with flipping Beebe from a defensive lineman to the offensive line. He developed him at multiple spots along the OL, including both tackle and guard spots. Center is ironically the only position he didn’t play at Kansas State.

By all accounts, Beebe had a strong rookie season despite playing a new position. It’s unclear whether he’ll play center or guard moving forward, but he is entrenched alongside star left guard Tyler Smith as a building block for Dallas’ offensive line.

Prior to Riley’s successful stint in Manhattan, he won five national championships with North Dakota State, where he initially served as tight ends and full backs coach before being promoted to offensive line coach and run-game coordinator through 2018.

As for Schottenheimer, what more is there to say? Rather than hire recycled names, he’s targeted young up-and-coming coaches who can develop players and are on the cutting edge as far as designing schemes in their area of expertise.

The tell-tale sign of a good head coach is the staff they surround themselves with. Schottenheimer has hit home run after home run since being hired.

Riley is the exclamation point.