Cowboys Hire Matt Eberflus As New Defensive Coordinator

Cowboys Hire Matt Eberflus As New Defensive Coordinator

Does anybody recall what I said in the post I wrote when the Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer? I’m not sure why you people don’t listen to me, but I called it. Dallas has hired Matt Eberflus as the new defensive coordinator to replace Mike Zimmer.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the news:

The #Cowboys are closing in on a deal for former #Bears HC Matt Eberflus to be their new defensive coordinator, sources say.

The favorite all along, Eberflus joins Brian Schottenheimer’s staff and returns to Dallas — where he was LBs coach from 2011-2017. pic.twitter.com/Chfd1nEQ2L

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 28, 2025

Nick Sorensen was also announced as the new special teams coach under Schottenheimer. Sorensen spent last season as the 49ers DC but didn’t exactly thrive in that role. It’s hard to know if special teams suits him better given that he’s mostly coached defense.

Kevin Warren Admits The Bears Handled The Matt Eberflus Firing Poorly

Eberflus, 54, was a linebackers coach from 2011 through 2017 with the Cowboys so this is a bit of a reunion tour. Eberflus held that role before leaving for the Colts defensive coordinator job before ultimately getting the Bears head coaching job. A 14-32 record with the Bears speaks for itself. Chicago only won one game after they fired him and it clearly wasn’t totally his fault either.

Eberflus wasn’t fit to be a head coach but he’s not a terrible DC hire. The good news is he doesn’t have to manage the clock anymore (that guy will have PTSD on Thanksgiving every single day for the rest of his life). The only problem with Eberflus is that he runs basically all zone coverage and needs his defensive line to win. It’s pretty similar to what Sean McDermott runs and nobody likes him sooooo.

Dallas ranked 28th in yards allowed (355.2) and 31st in points allowed (27.5) per game last year so the bar isn’t exactly high for Eberflus to improve this unit. That’s the good news in all of this.

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