Report: Cowboys Interview Bears' Andre Curtis for DC After Brian Schottenheimer Hire

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly interviewed Chicago Bears secondary coach Andre Curtis for the team's defensive coordinator position under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, according to ESPN's Todd Archer.

The Cowboys are "going through a number of interviews" as Schottenheimer begins the process of putting together his staff.

Curtis, 48, has spent the past two years coaching Chicago's safeties. He previously had stints on the coaching staffs of the New York Giants (2006-08), St. Louis Rams (2009-11) and Seattle Seahawks (2015-21). He coached Seattle's defensive backs between 2016-21.

There have also been reports that former Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus is a candidate—and potentially the heavy frontrunner—to serve as the team's defensive coordinator:

As for the 51-year-old Schottenheimer, his hiring was not a popular choice among NFL pundits and Cowboys' fans:

The backlash to Schottenheimer's hiring is multi-faceted.

For one, Dallas spent a week in head-coaching purgatory with Mike McCarthy, who was out of contract after the 2024 season. Rather than make a decisive decision to either sign him to an extension or hire him, they spent a week in discussions before the sides parted ways, costing the Cowboys a week they could have otherwise utilized to interview top candidates on the market like Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson.

Then, the hype train built around a potential Deion Sanders hire, even if that was never likely. And it all resulted in hiring the team's offensive coordinator for the past two seasons, Schottenheimer, whose offense took a step back in 2024 (17th in yards, 21st in scoring) after a strong 2023 effort (fifth in yards, first in scoring).

The perception of team owner Jerry Jones, fair or not, is that he prefers to hire "yes men" at head coach rather than bigger, more established names who will push back against his hands-on approach and decision-making as the team's general manager. Outside of Bill Parcells' stint in Dallas (2003-06), Jones has generally avoided hiring head coaches who would rock the proverbial boat since his infamous falling out with Jimmy Johnson, the architect of the team's success in the early '90s.

Schottenheimer isn't a rock-the-boat hire. And fans and pundits believe this particular boat, which hasn't sailed in championship waters since 1995, needed to chart a course in a different and more daring direction.