If Michael Irvin had been in charge of the coaching search for the Dallas Cowboys, it's safe to say that he would NOT have selected Brian Schottenheimer, who was hired as the team's new head coach on Friday night.

Many would call the Cowboys’ hiring of Brian Schottenheimer on Friday night as the next head coach a decision founded in comfort and safety. While that’s true from a football operations standpoint, it’s also perhaps the riskiest decision Jones could have made. That risk isn’t tied to wins and losses, but something Jones cares about even more.

Jones broke into the league by firing an NFL coaching icon in Tom Landry and replacing him with a college coach. Jimmy Johnson was a successful college coach, but that rarely translated into being a successful NFL coach in the late ’80s and early ’90s.