Frisco, Texas – The return to Dallas de Matt Eberflus is the opposite of the triumphant.
The new defensive coordinator of the Cowboys left Dallas after seven seasons as a team coach (2011-2017) to become a defensive NFL coordinator for the first time with the Indianapolis Colts (2018-2021). Eberflus got on the top of the training profession, winning a head training work with the Chicago Bears shortly after. However, Chicago’s possession there was short duration after it was 14-32 in almost three seasons (2022-2024). That race ended later A TIME MANAGEMENT DEBACLE In a loss of 23-20 bears in the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving at week 13 last season.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to really work with this [Cowboys] Crew, “Eberflus said Tuesday.” I really want to thank the Jones family for bringing me as a defense coordinator and [new head coach] Brian Schottenheimer, really excited about the opportunity to do so. In the future, just attack this work and work with players to have an attack defense. “
Before being associated with Schottenheimer, someone whose enthusiasm and acceptance of Eberflus got excited, took some time to reflect on his process as a chief coach before deciding to train again in 2025. He also joked in some way that his wife Kelly was the Drivinger behind him did not take a sabbatical training, something that coaches like Pete Carroll, Mike Vrabel and Mike McCarthy have done it in past years. The opportunity to train in Dallas again was too attractive to reject for the 54 -year -old man.
“It was mainly my wife. She wanted her to go to work now, and I did it too,” Eberflus said. “I was excited after a couple of days, a couple of weeks after taking that break [following his Week 13 firing]. I was excited to do it again and had several phone calls from a group of different people. I was excited to look at different opportunities, and this was the best opportunity I felt that it was really great to return to Dallas. ”
Working with Parsons, Diggs and Bland
Eberflus will build his 2025 defense in Dallas around the set of fundamental skills of the three-time All-Pro Edge Micah Parsons corridor. Why wouldn’t I? The 52.5 captures of Parsons are the fifth in the first four seasons of a player played since the NFL began to track individual captures as an official metric in 1982, and the four times PRO Bowler is the only one with at least 12 captures in its First four seasons in the League. Give lIke was the last three seasons.
“Micah is a premium passes runner,” Eberflus said. “We will certainly use it that way. It is a great athlete and do many different things for us in defense. When you have such a guy, you want to use your skill set. We are more around it, we can see what that set of skills is And really take advantage of that. “
Thanks to the NFL collective bargaining agreement, coaches cannot demand much of the time of their players at this time in the low season, but the two have up to date to begin to meet.
“I really can’t talk much football at this time of the year with the boys, just talk to him more personally what he was doing,” Eberflus said about his relationship with Parsons. “I think he was in Disney with his children at that time. He knows that we will adapt to do it in the best way he can be in terms of position, in terms of passing pass. Really use what he does best and that is to hurry the pin “
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The talented Dallas Back End tandem of All-Pro Corners in Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland also attracted Eberflus to the DC opening of the cowboys despite the fact that Diggs will probably not be ready for the beginning of the season after undergoing a Knee surgery.
“I think the boys we have here [at corner] They are the two best in the league, they really are, “Eberflus said about Diggs and Bland.” They are first category, the first five surely. Excited to work with those guys. They put length, they obtained speed, they have a really good coverage capacity. It all starts to play man’s coverage, I think. “
He also believes that he can obtain even more from the first round of 2023 to the defensive Tackle Mazi Smith, who has not lived up to his draft state in two seasons of the NFL.
“I’m excited about Mazi,” Eberflus said. “I liked it to come out [in the draft]. Real explosive athlete, large body type that can move very well, so we are excited to bring their game to the next level. And you can certainly do that. “
Eberflus’s defense presentation card, in his words, will generate ball losses. During his mandate in Chicago, the 75 conclusions of the Bears were tied for the sixth more in the NFL of 2022-2024. The cowboys were the elite in that under the former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, with a great meal from the League 93 of 2021-2023. However, his 22 in 2024 under Mike Zimmer was the 12th most in the NFL in a campaign tarnished by injuries and growth pains associated with his scheme.
“It’s quite simple. We remove the ball,” Eberflus said. “That’s what we do. We leave the race. We want to make exciting plays for our football team. That is really what we do.”
Fixing the defense of the career
The last time the Cowboys had a defense of the 10 Top 10 was in 2018 under the defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, when the 94.6 yards per game per game of Dallas allowed the fifth best in the league. That is with whom Eberflus worked in his last four seasons as a team’s coach, something with which he will move forward.
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“It’s really about fundamentals … playing your technique and obviously the better players, the better they will be, so it is also important to have that,” Eberflus said about stopping the race. … “We have had some good defenses in the past here when I returned with Marinelli. I know we had a few years in which we were really good. So we are excited to recover that.”
Ultimately, it will not matter what Eberflus elaborates if he does not obtain the depth of the personnel that he needs throughout his defensive line, especially in the defensive Tackle position. The Super Bowl Lix champion, Philadelphia Eagles, one of the largest NFC rivals of the NFC in Dallas, closed Patrick Mohomes and the Kansas Chiefs when he arrived home with his first four. It will take a lot of work from Eberflus and the main office of Dallas to reach that level.
“It’s about obtaining the depth there we need,” Eberflus said about the closure of the gap with the eagles. “I know that we have had some free agents leave us in recent years, but in reality there are some good pieces that are there to work. Therefore, it is exciting to see the future in terms of draft and acquire other players. They are boys from Special talent, and we are excited to do it. “
Family faces
The good news in the Talent Acquisition Department is the Vice President of Personnel of Dallas players, Will McClay and Eberflus have a connection that dates back to when the new DC was in their capacity as coach of supporters with the team. That helps McClay’s exploration department to take a leap on the type of players Eberflus wants in his defense.
“Will McClay has done incredible job here acquiring talent with the Jones family and excited to return with him,” Eberflus said. “He knows what we are looking for, but we are not giving that for granted … We have spent seven years … the same page again.
One of those players is the interior defensive liner of the cowboys, Osa Odighta, who is a free -pending free agent this low season. His 60 Quarterback pressures were the second most in the defensive Tackle position throughout the NFL in 2024, only behind the second team of the Denver Broncos All-Pro Zach Allen 75.
“Certainly, Osa is a guy that we like a lot, and is a very good player for us,” Eberflus said. “We will also look at other types, and we are in the midst of that process at this time.”
