After the firing of Matt Eberflus, Brian Schottenheimer and Jerry Jones are searching for the next leader of the Dallas defense in 2026.
Below is everything we know about the Cowboys’ search, including candidates, interviews and the latest news.
Interviews
Jim Leonhard
The latest: Dallas scheduled an interview with Leonard for Saturday, Jan. 10, a person familiar with the situation told The Dallas Morning News.
Notable: Leonhard is a former defensive back in the NFL, spending the 2005-14 seasons with the Bills, Ravens, Jets, Broncos, Saints, Bills and Browns. He has some familiarity with Brian Schottenheimer, as his stint as a player for the Jets from 2009-11 overlapped with Schottenheimer’s stint as the Jets’ offensive coordinator from 2006-11. Leonhard has spent the last two seasons as the Broncos’ defensive pass game coordinator, helping guide a Denver defense that has been among the league’s best. He has never been a defensive coordinator at the NFL level, but was the DC at his alma mater Wisconsin from 2017-22.
Daronte Jones
The latest: Dallas completed an interview with Jones on Friday, Jan. 9, a person familiar with the process told The News. The New York Jets have also requested to interview Jones, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Notable: Jones is a name to know during this year’s NFL coaching carousel as one of the hotter defensive assistants. Jones broke through for his first NFL job in 2016 as the Dolphins’ assistant defensive backs coach. Since then, he was a defensive assistant for the Bengals from 2018-19, the Vikings in 2020, then spent the 2021 season as LSU’s defensive coordinator before returning to Minnesota’s staff in 2022 as a defensive backs coach. When Brian Flores arrived in Minnesota in 2023, Jones’ title changed to defensive pass coordinator. Flores has helped transform the Vikings’ defense into one of the league’s best and Jones has been a key part of that transformation.