In a decisive move, the Dallas Cowboys have dismissed defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus following a challenging season that saw the team concede a record-breaking number of points and achieve the fewest interceptions in the history of the franchise.
For Eberflus, this marks the second consecutive year facing termination. He was previously released midseason in 2024 during his tenure as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Despite making it through the entire season upon his return to Dallas—where he previously served as an assistant from 2011 to 2017—Eberflus’s tenure seemed all but doomed before the season finale. The Cowboys’ 34-17 defeat to the New York Giants set a new low for the team, marking their ninth game allowing 30 or more points.
“Having known Matt Eberflus for decades now, we have tremendous respect and appreciation for him as a coach and a person,” said Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. “However, after thoroughly reviewing our defensive results this season, it became evident that changes were necessary. This is the first step as we strive to meet our higher expectations,” he added.
Eberflus’s exit signifies a continued carousel at the defensive coordinator position for the Cowboys, marking the fourth change in as many seasons. His predecessors include Dan Quinn in 2023 and Mike Zimmer the year before. Notably, the Cowboys’ last five defensive coordinators have all been former NFL head coaches.
This season, the Cowboys endured a disappointing 7-9-1 record, finishing last in the NFL for both scoring defense and passing defense, while ranking 30th overall. This overshadowed a stellar performance by quarterback Dak Prescott, who led the league’s second-ranked offense.
Dallas gave up 500 points for the first time in club history, allowing 511 for an average of 30.1. The only higher average was the 30.8 points per game given up by the franchise’s winless expansion team in 1960.
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The defense’s six interceptions fell one short of the previous franchise low, and the 12 takeaways were the second fewest in club history. The Cowboys finished tied for 29th in the NFL with a minus-9 turnover margin.
Jones didn’t do Eberflus any favors by trading star pass rusher Micah Parsons a week before the season started.
One of the two first-round picks acquired from Green Bay in that deal led to a trade for standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets, a move that sparked a three-game winning streak under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Jones has said the most surprising moment of the season was the 44-30 loss at Detroit that ended the winning streak and sent the Cowboys tumbling to a 1-4 finish. Trailing most of the game, Dallas couldn’t get a fourth-quarter stop after trimming the deficit to three with 10 minutes remaining.
Dallas has consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the last of three in a row in 2002. The Cowboys had three straight 12-win playoff seasons from 2021-23 but just one postseason victory.
Schottenheimer replaced Mike McCarthy after a 7-10 finish in 2024, and the Cowboys went with a coach they knew to complement Schottenheimer, who calls the plays on offense.
The zone-heavy scheme under Eberflus never seemed to fit with personnel that was more familiar with man-to-man coverage, leading to blown assignments and plenty of open space in the secondary. Plus, the pass rush struggled without Parsons.
Eberflus moved to the coaching booth from the sideline with three games remaining, but the results didn’t change much.
“I don’t really think about it that way,” Eberflus said when asked before the season finale what he might have done differently. “I think about being in the moment and just keep adjusting and learning and growing and getting better. I don’t think I’d do anything differently.”
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