Something has to change with the Dallas Cowboys. After a lifeless 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football in Week 6, the team has dropped to a dismal 2-4 on the season and the same problems persist. The defense is bending to the will of the opposing offense drive after drive, the offensive play-calling is all over the place and the world feels like it's being placed upon Dak Prescott's shoulders. In the wide-open NFC East, though, the Cowboys aren't out of it — but they soon will be if drastic moves aren't made and people don't lose their jobs.
Whether we're talking about coaches or players, Dallas has to swallow the tough pill in some instances and clean house. They need to get their best players on the field, their best calls into the huddle and try to turn this season around.
EDGE Von Miller
Whenever the Cowboys signed veteran Von Miller, it felt like the ideal depth piece for this group, even if he'd lost a step from his prime. Unfortunately, it's quickly become apparent that Miller has lost an additional step to the one already previously put aside, because he's been overall ineffective whenever he's seen the field so far this season.
The loss to Green Bay was no different in that regard. Mercifully, Miller only got 13 snaps in the outing, but he converted zero of his seven pass-rush snaps into pressures and, though he did come up with one run stop, he was not the primary factor on the play. Oh, and let's not forget how brutal it's been when he's been asked to drop into coverage in this scheme.
Of course, the issue with moving on from Miller is that the Cowboys aren't overly deep on the edge. Rookie Malachi Lawrence's snap share has been on the rise, but he's been up and down early in his career. That leaves Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku taking the bulk of the load, and Tyrus Wheat or James Houston aren't cure-all replacements for Miller. But as to what we've seen thus far, there is little reason to keep trotting Miller out there, which means there's little use in him being on the roster at this point.
CB Shavon Revel
Frankly, not a whole lot is going right with the Cowboys secondary as a whole through the first six weeks. Even with the addition of Joey Porter Jr., who has obviously been banged up since he arrived in Dallas, including missing a week, this group is both injured and trying to fill in the gaps with players out of position and, moreover, not playing well for the most part with the guys on the field.
That stands most chiefly for Shavon Revel Jr. The second-year cornerback who was a third-round pick in 2025 returned midway through last season after recovering from a torn ACL in college, but was routinely picked on in coverage. That led to questions this offseason about his viability. However, I was a defender of Revel, thinking that a healthy offseason could transform him into the near-first-round pick he was projected to be prior to tearing his ACL. And training camp reports only furthered that belief.
Turns out, that was a fool's errand. Revel has continued to be one of the worst coverage players in the league, but the Cowboys have to keep turning to him for snaps right now. Ideally, Dallas can get Cobie Durant back in the fold, which would move Caleb Downs into his more natural hybrid safety role and DaRon Bland back into the slot with Durant and Porter on the outside. But Revel is making it abundantly clear that, even as depth, he can't be relied on to provide quality defensive play.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer
Whenever the Cowboys are winning or whenever it's the preseason, it's quite easy to like head coach Brian Schottenheimer. He's entertaining, the players in the locker room (at least at some points) clearly like him, and he really does seem like he can be a galvanizing force. Unfortunately, it also seems like a lot of those good vibes that we get publicly are overshadowing the reality of the situation in Dallas and his shortcomings as a head coach.
The Cowboys committed 11 penalties for 108 yards, which clearly highlights a lack of discipline on a roster full of frustrated players. Then there's the secret sauce of this offense wearing off, as there is no element of surprise against opposing defenses, forcing Dak Prescott to press and try to do everything himself. That's directly on Schottenheimer. And to boot, let's not forget the fact that he's allowed two defensive coordinators in the building who have led the team to a league-worst unit on that side of the ball.
It's somewhat unfair to say but nonetheless true, Jerry Jones tried to take the cheapest path in replacing Mike McCarthy, which was retaining Schottenheimer to be the next head coach after a year as offensive coordinator. The phrase "you get what you pay for" looks painfully accurate in this instance, and there's mounting evidence that the Cowboys' best path forward might be with new leadership in the locker room.
TE Jake Ferguson
The Jake Ferguson contract extension looks like another brutal misfire from the Jones family and the front office. The veteran tight end has certainly had his moments in the NFL, no doubt, but those moments look like a thing of the past. He's gotten worse almost every season that he's been in the league to this point and the 2026 campaign thus far has been his magnum opus, which is not a good thing in this capacity.
While the offensive line should shoulder some of the blame for the poor run game this season, Ferguson hasn't been helping the cause, as he's been one of the 10 worst run-blocking tight ends in football through the first six weeks of the year. Throw in his issues with drops and overall just not being a difference-maker in the passing game, it's been tough to watch.
What's made Ferguson even more painful to watch out there beyond his contract is the fact that Brevyn Spann-Ford has simply been a superior player in every facet. Forget the money that's owed to Ferguson at this point. If the Cowboys want to have the best chance to win games, then it should be Spann-Ford leading the tight end room. Thankfully, we're already seeing that shift start to take hold, but it needs to be even more dramatic — meaning we see even less of Ferguson moving forward.
OT Terence Steele
Speaking of bad contract extensions, I'm all set on Terence Steele. Once upon a time, it looked like the right tackle was going to develop into one of the better players at his position in the league. Instead, things have gone the other way, and he's been one of the 10 worst overall offensive tackles in the NFL this season. He's consistently giving up pressure, he doesn't have any real push and he's the quite obvious weak point on an overall good and healthy offensive line.
Many fans were against the idea of cutting Steele this past offseason despite the cap relief it could've provided. I get that, especially when it would also upset the order of the offensive line too. But at a certain point, there have to be changes when a player is actively performing this poorly. We've reached that point with Steele, especially when there are higher-upside and cheaper options on the roster.
Broderick Jones needs time and patience after coming over from the Steelers, and rookie Drew Shelton is very much in the same boat. However, they have a longer runway and more potential than Steele at this point in Steele's career and for a fraction of the price. Once again, the Joneses need to quit tying playing time to money being spent, because this clearly isn't helping the offense.
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker
In all likelihood, the first person to go in any kind of Cowboys house cleaning is going to be first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Not to be too blunt, but what has he done this season? The talent on Dallas' defense is improved from last year with the addition of guys like Rashan Gary, Cobie Durant, Caleb Downs and several others. While injuries haven't helped, the fact that Parker's defense has looked as bad (if not worse) as Matt Eberflus' a year ago puts that squarely at the feet of the coordinator.
Dallas has already started to push Parker out the door. Prior to the loss to the Packers, they brought in veteran defensive coach Mike Pettine, someone who Parker has worked under previously when they were together in Green Bay. However, more so than making the first-year coordinator comfortable, it seemed more like a way of pushing him out and having an experienced replacement who runs the same scheme already in the building.
All of the talk this offseason, and rightfully so, was that the Cowboys just needed Parker to provide a shot in the arm for this defense. The defense only needs to be average for this offense to be good enough to make Dallas a contender. Right now, they're playing at a level that's actively a detriment to winning. This isn't the time to keep giving it time. It's time to find something that works, and that's clearly not Parker calling the defense.
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