Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker visits with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James during a mini-camp practice at The Star in Frisco, June 16, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Nothing heralds football’s arrival like the Cowboys’ annual pilgrimage to Oxnard, their 20th, if you count these things. Given all we’ve endured from Jerry Jones over the last couple decades, seems like we’ve earned the right to summer in bliss instead while the Cowboys sweat it out here in one of Dante’s seven circles of hell.
If there’s any consolation, we’ll learn over the next month that the Cowboys’ defense isn’t half as bad as it was last year, and a plunge into the deep end of the playoffs awaits.
And, no, I haven’t stayed out in the sun too long.
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Let’s start with the obvious: Christian Parker’s defense couldn’t be any worse than Matt Eberflus’, or Mike Zimmer’s before that. Parker is, if you remember, the Cowboys’ fourth DC in four years, a high-turnover rate even for babysitters. Early returns indicate Parker might be at least as good as Dan Quinn was. Let’s hope so. They’re due, anyway.
Parker is a disciple of Vic Fangio, who once professed he knew the secret to beating Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Turns out a lot of people were in on it, but his point was well taken. Frankly, I’m down with anything Parker might have packed from Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, he didn’t smuggle out Cooper DeJean or Zack Baun or Quinyon Mitchell, and that’s the real issue here. Because even if Parker calls everything right, it won’t matter if his charges can’t so much as line up straight.
Parker might, indeed, work the same wonders that Bill Murray did for his troops in “Stripes,” but the real difference will be the quality of the material.
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Doesn’t matter the sport. In case you slept through my World Cup column, the reason the USMNT continues to disappoint through a long history of managers is not unlike the Cowboys’ predicament on defense. Of the tournament’s top 50 consensus players, Spain boasted nine; France, eight; and the U.S. came up at the rear with one, same as Senegal and the Ivory Coast.
Basically, the Cowboys’ defense last year and for a while now has been the Senegal of the NFL.
Dallas Cowboys new defensive coordinator Christian Parker (left) instructs newly drafted safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State during rookie minicamp at the Star in Frisco, on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
The good news is that after years, even decades, of the Joneses devoting most of their cap space to offense, they’re spreading the love, at least a little. They spent big on Quinnen Williams and Kenny Carter up front; brought in Cobie Durant at cornerback and Jalen Thompson at safety; and used their first three picks on defense.
Unless Parker is some sort of wizard, it’s not a descendant of the Doomsday Defense. Even if DeMarvion Overshown remains upright, the Cowboys are still thin at linebacker. At least on paper. ESPN is of the opinion that Jaishawn Barham could fill the edge/linebacker role played so well by Baun and Jihaad Campbell in Philly. If Barham comes anywhere close to that comparison, it would be a considerable upgrade for the Cowboys’ defense.
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If Barham doesn’t, Parker would still lack a dynamic pass rusher upfront, meaning he’ll have to get it with a committee of Malachi Lawrence, Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku.
The Cowboys are counting heavily on rookies Barham, Lawrence and Caleb Downs to turn around the defense. Given their draft history this century on that side of the ball, it might be too much to ask. When I asked Stephen Jones this spring why the Cowboys are so much better drafting on offense than defense, he said he didn’t know, but he’d look into it.
My guess is Jerry Jones knows offense sells tickets. He says he’s learned his lesson. Looks like it, anyway. Trading Micah Parsons was a mistake, but at least he understands you can’t expect to control the line of scrimmage with second-rate tackles. Good ones are expensive. And when it came time to hire a DC, he didn’t stick with his tired history of former head coaches. Parker is considered an up-and-comer. If he does his job well enough this fall, the Cowboys might soon be hiring their fifth DC in five years.
“He’s not coming in with a Super Bowl defense,” Jerry said earlier this year. “And should he end up with one, then he’ll look like one of the greatest defensive-minded coaches there is.”
Fortunately for the Cowboys, they don’t need Parker to be the second coming of Bill Belichick. They just need him to raise the level of their defense to league-average. Do that, and the offense will take it from there.
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Does it mean Super Bowl or bust, as at least one national pundit suggests? Pretty big bet. Dak has to stay healthy, meaning his tackles have to do their part. Tyler Guyton is still a long, long way from inheriting Tyron Smith’s legacy. We’ll see what George Pickens does for an encore. Same with Javonte Williams. But, on the whole, the Cowboys haven’t had this much juice on offense since the Super Bowl days.
The onus, then, is on the defense. If it’s not another embarrassment, it’d be enough to win the division. Better than average, and it could take the Cowboys places they haven’t been since we got used to such things. A long time, in other words. At least four adult children’s worth, by my count.