INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Brian Schottenheimer said he got emotional in the hours before his long-awaited first game as a head coach for the Dallas Cowboys.Stetson Bennett is also viewing this NFL season as a new beginning in a winding football career, and the Los Angeles Rams quarterback got off to a strong fresh start.Bennett passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Rams to a 31-21 preseason victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night in Schottenheimer’s head coaching debut.Although the top players on both teams didn’t play, the game was still a milestone to the 51-year-old Schottenheimer, a well-traveled career assistant with stops including USC, the San Diego Chargers and two stints with the St. Louis Rams. He spent the past two years as Dallas’ offensive coordinator before becoming Jerry Jones’ surprising choice to replace Mike McCarthy last January.“I got a little bit choked up coming to the stadium, and then when Jerry and I talked a little bit, I’ll be honest, I got a little emotional,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s been a dream of mine to be in this chair, and he and I were just talking about our journeys, and we were telling some stories. … It was just the two of us, and I’m very appreciative of him and the Jones family for having me in this chair.”Although he has no intention of showing many offensive tendencies in the preseason to start his first year as Dallas’ play-caller, Schottenheimer got right to work in the other privileges of his new job: He unsuccessfully challenged a sideline catch by the Rams’ Xavier Smith on a 39-yard pass from Bennett on the game’s opening drive.“I think we’ve got some good film to look at from an evaluation standpoint, but at the end of the day, I’ll remember this day for a long time,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s not …
