Blogging The Boys
Matt Eberflus is the newest Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator.
The Dallas Cowboys have been making some major changes to its coaching staff. The first domino came when Brian Schottenheimer was hired as the new head coach on a four-year deal. With Mike Zimmer not returning, the next biggest obstacle was the defensive coordinator role.
It's no secret that the Cowboys love to operate with people they're familiar with, which is likely a big reason why they promoted Schottenheimer. Well, they're doing the same at defensive coordinator as former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus will take over.
Eberflus was the Cowboys linebackers coach from 2011 to 2015. He continued that role while also taking on the pass game coordinator position from 2016 to 2017. The next four years for Eberflus would be spent as the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. He made an immediate impact as he took over a defense that was ranked 30th in scoring and total defense. In 2018, the Colts finished 10th in scoring defense (21.5 points) and 11th in total defense (339.4 yards per game). Also, their passing defense improved from 28th to 16th (237.8 yards per game).
Over the next three seasons, the Colts would finish No. 16 in total defense twice (2019, 2021) and climbed up the eighth in total defense in 2020. So, Eberflus routinely had the Colts in the top half of the league in total defense, which is a good floor to have as a unit. The Cowboys front office will need to give him some pieces, mainly through the NFL draft, since they all but ignore impact players in free agency. Positions like defensive tackle, defensive end, linebacker, and cornerback need to be addressed quickly.
The Cowboys were a good defensive team under Dan Quinn before a drop-off under Zimmer, which wasn't all his fault. Now, Eberflus is in charge of getting this back to where they can be a more competitive team overall in 2025 and beyond.
