Once again, the Dallas Cowboys have a defensive coordinator problem
The Dallas Cowboys have a talent issue on defense, as well as a concern with their defensive coordinator and his preferred scheme. This is not working.
No one on the Cowboys was hurt by the trade of defensive end Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers more than defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, but that move fails to explain everything.
It’s one thing for your “new and improved defense” to get gashed by the Detroit Lions, it’s quite another to let J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings cut you to pieces, and end your season.
A few hours after Parsons suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the Packers’ loss at Denver, his former team was up to their “old tricks” on Sunday night on NBC’s national broadcast. After losing 34-26 to the Vikings, the Cowboys’ season is effectively done.
Their wild-card chances are dead. They need the Eagles to finish the season 0-3, while the Cowboys need to finish 3-0.
The three-game winning streak the Cowboys put together from Nov. 17 to Nov. 27 was not an indication of the future, but rather a fun aberration. A thunderclap amid a drought. A bender with your buddies where after sobering up you realize your problems are unchanged.
“I’m frustrated,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said after the loss. “This is one of the toughest ones I’ve been a part of.”
Considering how many of these he’s dealt with in his career, it’s rather impressive he narrowed it down to just Sunday night.
The defense is trash, and while moving Parsons did considerable damage, someone not named Jones is going to take the fall for this latest bust of a season. It won’t be their first-year NFL head coach. We know it won’t be the GM, who traded his best player on Aug. 28 to the Packers.
Matt Eberflus may want to check real estate prices.
Eberflus was hired by the Cowboys shortly after Brian Schottenheimer was named the head coach. If the Cowboys dump Eberflus, they will move on to what will be their fourth defensive coordinator in the past four years (Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, Eberflus, TBA).
Eberflus was familiar with the organization after serving for multiple years as a defensive assistant under former head coach Jason Garrett.
The problem Eberflus is having is the same one many of his predecessors have before; the talent on the field was drafted for a different scheme. He wants to run what he wants to run, even if the players don’t fit.
That was something Mike Zimmer was always so good at — adapting to the talent he had. Eberflus hasn’t thus far.
As a result of their 6-7-1 record, this will be the first time since 2019-2020 the Cowboys missed the playoffs in consecutive years.
The deals to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets and linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals were nice, and needed upgrades, but this defense needs so much more. It still needs Parsons.
The absence of a pass rush was embarrassingly evident against the Vikings, who scored a season high in points, led by a quarterback who thus far in his short NFL career looks like the second coming of Mitch Trubisky.
McCarthy finished with a career-high 250 passing yards with two touchdowns passes. His one interception came on a fluky play that was his first pass attempt of the night.
For the “nth” time this season, the Cowboys were pushed around at the wrong times. Anyone who says this pass rush has been effective is swimming in a pool of these “NextGen” stats, which agents love, but too often fail as an accurate indicator of performance.
The interior of the line is getting some push against the passer, but there is no one who consistently finishes the play with a deafening stop. No opposing offensive coordinator is scheming anything to accommodate a Cowboys defensive player, other than Williams.
Adding Williams to the middle is what Kenny Clark was supposed to do when he came to the Cowboys as part of the trade with the Packers. This defense is no longer an embarrassment against the run.
Against the pass ....
The linebackers can’t cover anything, and the secondary is worse. That defensive back Trevon Diggs can’t get on the field because the Cowboys don’t feel “he’s ready,” even though he says he is, tells you just how much the Cowboys are done with him.
This is what Eberflus has to work with, and while he had no say in the trade of Micah Parsons, that move can’t provide effective cover for this entire 2025 season.
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 12:57 AM.
