Cowboys target familiar but solid DC hire to make up for uninspiring HC pick

The Dallas Cowboys hired “a career assistant” as their head coach. Now, a former head coach — who should have remained a career assistant — may become their next defensive coordinator. 

Dallas parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy nearly two weeks ago, and the list of viable coaching candidates has dwindled down since then. The Cowboys were among the last two teams remaining with a head coaching vacancy, and they lost several key pieces of their coaching staff as instability continued to linger. 

On Friday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stopped the bleeding by elevating offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. Now, Dallas will have to turn their attention to their defensive coaching staff, where they’ve seen a significant brain drain this offseason.

Matt Eberflus seems set to become Cowboys defensive coordinator

Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has emerged as the leading candidate to become the Cowboys defensive coordinator, according to WFAA’s Cowboys insider Ed Werder. 

At this stage, it appears that all that’s left is formalities. Werder initially reported that Eberflus had been hired, before clarifying that the two sides have “discussed the position” but the team “will first conduct interviews as required by league rules.”

Eberflus has a humiliating exit from Chicago. He became the first head coach in franchise history to be fired midseason after his baffling game management on Thanksgiving Day. He finished his first head coaching stint with an abysmal 14-32 record (.304) after just three seasons.

The 54-year-old coach has found better success as an assistant coach in the past. Eberflus began his NFL coaching career as a linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2009. He joined the Cowboys under the same title in 2011, and remained with the team until he was hired as defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. Indianapolis finished with a top-10 ranked scoring defense in three of his four seasons with the team.

The Bears named Eberflus their head coach in 2022, but his first season in Chicago was far from a defensive masterclass. The Bears allowed the most points in the league during the 2022 season. However, they improved to No. 20 in 2022 and only allowed more than 23 points twice before he was fired in 2024.

The Cowboys will have a difficult time replacing Al Harris, their former defensive backs coach, who joined the Bears staff as passing game coordinator under new head coach Ben Johnson. Harris became one of the most well-respected, young coaches in the league after he helped develop players like DaRon Bland, Jourdan Lewis and Trevon Diggs. 

Cowboys special teams coordinator John "Bones" Fassel and assistant special teams coach Rayna Stewart joined the Tennessee Titans, while wide receivers coach Robert Prince left to join the Miami Dolphins. 

Now, Dallas will begin rebuilding their coaching staff with Schottenheimer and, most likely, Eberflus.