Bears fans can only laugh as Matt Eberflus gets thrown into Jerry Jones-sized mess

Matt Eberflus returned to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason after a turbulent three-year stint as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Once the Cowboys' linebackers coach from 2011 to 2017, Eberflus will now serve as the defensive coordinator under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. It's a chance for Eberflus to rebuild his reputation on a competitive team with excellent personnel.

One has to imagine Micah Parsons was a huge selling point for Eberflus as he scoured the market for a new job. He may very well be the best linebacker in the NFL, which is why we cannot discount Dallas as a contender just yet. But it's also why Parsons wants an exorbitant new contract, one that would presumably make him the highest-paid defender in football. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys sound less enthused by such a proposition.

So, rather than a normal and seamless transition into his new role, Eberflus will begin training camp with his best player in the middle of a contract dispute. No team has a flare for the dramatic quite like the Cowboys, and it threatens to undermine their efforts to bounce back from an abysmal seven-win campaign in 2024.

New Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus has huge Micah Parsons distraction hanging over training camp

Jerry Jones took the Parsons drama to a whole new level on Monday, when he cited Parsons' recent injury history and expressed doubt about the viability of paying him significant guaranteed money. He even threw a sideways shot at Dak Prescott in the process.

"Just because we sign (Parsons), doesn't mean we're going to have him," Jones said. "He was hurt six games last year. I remember signing a player for the highest-paid at the position in the league, then he got knocked out two-thirds of the year. Dak Prescott."

Jones' quote isn't even entirely accurate — Parsons only missed four games last season, and those are the only four games he has missed in four NFL seasons — so the Cowboys are just digging themselves an unnecessary hole. Parsons will report to training camp and be a good sport about things, but Dallas is complicating these negotiations and giving Parsons every reason to back out of a potential deal.

That has to leave Eberflus pulling his own hair out. The situation was stressful in Chicago last season, but Eberflus could probably see the writing on the wall and make peace with it. He's just getting started in Dallas and now he already has to wonder if he'll actually have his centerpiece pass-rusher on the field in Week 1.

Cowboys need to work overtime to rebuild trust with Micah Parsons

Jones should probably issue an apology of some kind, but we know his ego won't allow such overtures. He is going to double and triple down on this stance before eventually relenting and dropping the bag anyway, not unlike what we saw unfold with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb last summer. Jones loves the spotlight. He's essentially peacocking to the media. Whether it drives Parsons to take drastic action is the concern.

Odds are Parsons, who has done nothing but embrace his status as the face of America's team, will eventually relent and agree to terms. There will be a meeting in the middle somewhere — a middle that makes Parsons comically expensive and puts Dallas in a tight spot financially, something Jones will no doubt milk in future free agent negotiations.

Now to break out my best Kittridge in Mission: Impossible voice: That's the pattern, isn't it?

This is just how Jerry Jones likes to operate. And because he owns the Dallas Cowboys and the football gods happen to bend in that direction more often than not, it will probably work out in the end. Just don't expect Parsons to win any Super Bowls on his new contract. Same for Eberflus, unfortunately.