The Cowboys ran into a solid defensive coordinator Sunday. Time to go get one
All week, the Dallas Cowboys’ offense and head coach Brian Schottenheimer took questions about Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
While the third-year Vikings head defensive play-caller has been a failed experiment as a head coach, his pressure-heavy scheme has the Minnesota defense in the top 10 of just about every defensive metric in the NFL this season.
Coming into Week 15, the Vikings blitzed on 49.2 percent of opponent dropbacks — the highest rate in the league. It’s Flores’ bread-and-butter: Send athletic pass rushers at the quarterback in hopes of forcing opposing offenses into quick, sporadic decisions. On Sunday, the Dallas offense was his latest victim.
“It was a lot of like all-up looks,” Schottenheimer said. “They were checking out of it, and they did a good job. That’s what we talked about this week, that veteran defense in that system is very difficult. They executed tonight, and we didn’t.”
“They are a good defense,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “[Flores] is a hell of a D-coordinator. His defensive backs knew that I had to get the ball out of a [Cover] 0. They were playing top down and making it tough for you to even get past them. ... It was all of them.”
The result? Prescott was pressured on 51.2 percent of his dropbacks on Sunday night — the highest rate he’s faced in a game since Week 12 of the 2022 season, according to Next Gen Stats.
All week, the Cowboys knew the challenge that was in front of them. They found success at times offensively, but ultimately, Flores’ scheme and impact were felt in ways that Schottenheimer’s offense wasn’t prepared for.
It’s a strange sight in Dallas, considering its own defensive coordinator has not had that type of impact all year.
Tough to justify Matt Eberflus returning
Matt Eberflus arrived over the offseason fresh off a failed head coaching tenure with the Chicago Bears. In three seasons, he led defensive units that finished 29th, 12th and 27th in yards allowed per game. Even though he mixed in the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL in 2023, it wasn’t enough to save his job when he became the only head coach in the franchise’s 106-year history to be fired midseason.
In his new outfit, things haven’t been much better.
The Cowboys are 29th in yards allowed per game and 31st in points allowed per game after a 34-26 loss that saw first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy gain the most confidence he’s seen all season with a 250-yard, two-touchdown performance. It would be notable — if he wasn’t the only one who’s seen a season-best performance this season against this Dallas unit.
In Week 2, it was Russell Wilson with a season-high 450 yards. In Week 3, Caleb Williams threw for a season-high 298 yards and the only four-touchdown game of his career. In Week 5, Justin Fields had a season-high 283 yards. On Sunday, it was McCarthy’s dazzler of a game — arguably the first of his career.
A change has to be made. And yes, it will be tough to stomach having four defensive coordinators in four seasons (Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, Eberflus, TBD). But given how we are 15 weeks into this thing, and the same issues are happening despite the unit getting healthier and making big additions at the trade deadline, it’s impossible to justify bringing his services back in 2025.
“The adjustments that we should be making should be with this year, these next three games in mind,” owner Jerry Jones said postgame when asked if he was comfortable with Eberflus. “They should not be made ... [in] the time frame we’re dealing with. That’s a legit question.”
In 2026, Jerry and Stephen Jones have to go get a coordinator like the one they faced on Sunday. One who has a clear schematic trait that succeeds week in and week out. One who plays into the strengths of the personnel the team has signed long-term.
So ... where do the Cowboys go?
No coordinator hire is a sure thing. Shoot, most teams are just trying to get their head coaching hires right.
For the Cowboys, if they decide to go down the road of hiring their fourth defensive leader in four years, it will be the most pressured defensive coordinator hire in the team’s 36 years under Jerry Jones. They have to get it right. If they don’t, they run the risk of extenuating the problem even further and creating even more of an identity crisis.
Who could be on the market?
With the pressure on getting the hire right, the Cowboys would almost assuredly go after a former head coach. A couple of intriguing ones could be unemployed soon: Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Morris spent all six seasons of Dan Quinn’s head coaching tenure with the Atlanta Falcons as his right-hand man. He manned the defensive passing game, while Quinn specialized in the front seven approach.
Considering the Cowboys would most likely retain defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton with any move that could be made around him, Morris could be a solid fit — especially given Dallas’ affection for what Quinn brought in his three seasons as defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. Additionally, his hybrid scheme plays into players’ strengths and adapts to what the unit does best.
While Gannon’s scheme is closer to what Eberflus has had in place this season than what Morris would throw on the table, his experience in the NFC East and familiarity with offensive coordinator Klayton Adams connects some dots on how he could be successful in Dallas. In two seasons as defensive coordinator with the Eagles in 2021 and 2022, he put together the 10th- and second-ranked scoring defenses.
A wild-card option? Pete Carroll.
If he gets canned by the Raiders after their catastrophic season, he may just buy a retirement property in Palm Beach and call it a day, but could he be lured by his former offensive coordinator in Schottenheimer to help him patch up the defense?
While these are just spaghetti noodles thrown at a wall for now, this is the type of headspace the Cowboys should be in moving forward. Eberflus was given his chance, and then he was given another after the deadline additions. He hasn’t cashed in.
Whoever the hire is, the Cowboys have to dip out of their comfort zone. No more hiring old friends. No more conservative decisions. They have to go get the guy.
It’s time to go get a coordinator who can strike fear just like the one on the opposing sideline did on Sunday night. If not, the Cowboys run the bigger risk of seeing their postseason hopes end with multiple games left in the season again and again.
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 1:16 AM.
