Matt Eberflus is expected to be fired as the defensive coordinator in Dallas with the Cowboys ranking near the bottom of the NFL in points and yardage allowed this season.
Although he stopped short of naming Jerry Jones specifically, NFL Insider Jordan Schultz is reporting that ownership has been dissatisfied with the production on that side of the ball throughout the dismal 2025 season.
Dallas enters Sunday’s season finale against the New York Giants at just 7-8-1 and will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year despite ranking first in offensive yardage and fourth in points scored.
Of course, the team’s elite offense was undermined by a defensive unit that lost All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons in a trade to the Green Bay Packers before the season. As a result, Eberflus failed to generate much of a pass rush in his first season since he was fired as head coach of the Chicago Bears in the midst of the 2024 season.
After recording 52 sacks in 2024 (third in the NFL), the Cowboys have dropped opposing quarterbacks just 31 times entering Sunday’s season finale. And with plenty of time to throw, opposing passers completed 68.6 percent of their attempts against Dallas, which ranked 30th out of 32 NFL teams in that category.
First-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s job looks safe for now, given his success with the offense dating back to his time as coordinator. But there are no shortage of candidates to replace Eberflus as the team’s top defensive coach.
Although he stopped short of naming Jerry Jones (pictured) specifically, NFL Insider Jordan Schultz is reporting that ownership has been dissatisfied with the Cowboys defenseÂ
Eberflus was fired as Bears head coach in 2024 and might suffer the same fate as Dallas’ DC
Namely, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ contract is set to expire after the season in Minnesota, where his unit ranked has ranked sixth in yards allowed.
Like the middling Cowboys, the 8-8 Vikings only had success on one side of the ball in 2025. In their case, it was on defense, where Flores turned a patchwork of role players into a respectable unit this season.
Other candidates could include recently fired New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Carolina Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley and James Bettcher, the Indianapolis Colts linebacker coach.
Flores famously sued the NFL, New York Giants, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos over what he claimed were violations of the league’s Rooney Rule, requiring teams to interview minority candidates for head-coaching and specific front-office positions.Â
The case is still ongoing after a federal appeals court ruled it can proceed in open court despite the NFL’s efforts to force the dispute into private arbitration.
Although Flores had an up-and-down stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, he made a name for himself in New England, where effectively served as the team’s defensive coordinator en route to a Super Bowl LIII victory.
There is some good news for the Cowboys: Thanks to the Parsons trade, the team does have two first-round picks in April’s Draft.
Unfortunately, due to Dallas’ trade acquisitions of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and wide receiver George Pickens, the Cowboys do not have a second- or third-round pick in the draft.
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Dallas Cowboys set to make dramatic coaching change as NFL’s ‘Black Monday’ looms