The Cowboys are moving on to the second round of interviews for their defensive coordinator vacancy, and Broncos pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard has emerged as a top target. Here is a deep dive on Leonhard, his background as a coach, and what he would bring to the Dallas defense.

Background

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Leonhard played both quarterback and safety in high school before walking on at Wisconsin. Quickly becoming a starting safety, Leonhard was twice named to the First Team All-Big Ten team before his senior year, at which point he was finally put on scholarship....

Denver Broncos fans were ecstatic after the 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills, but those feelings are now tempered after receiving devastating news.

QB Bo Nix, who had a breakout season in his second season under HC and quarterback guru, Sean Payton, broke a bone in his right ankle and will undergo season-ending surgery this week.

Nix, with the help of a stifling defense, led the Broncos to the top seed in the AFC, and fans had Super Bowl aspirations for the first time since 2013.

Now, they will have to wait and see if they have enough at...

I’ve gone back and forth on the Cowboys defensive coordinator search more times than I can count, and I keep circling back to Daronte Jones.

Not because he’s trendy, or a big name.

The truth is simple, the more I look at what Dallas needs, Daronte Jones background checks more boxes than I expected.

What Minnesota Did on Defense Keeps Pulling Me In

We can’t ignore what the Vikings put on the field last season. They didn’t just play solid defense, they made quarterbacks think about decisions.

Minnesota landed in the top ten in points per game (19.6),...

When it comes to the successful Dallas Cowboys teams of the past, they’ve had one thing in common. A serious 1-2 receiving combo that defenses had to respect.

They had it with Drew Pearson and Butch Johnson in the 1970s.

And again with Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper in the early 1990s.

Since then, they’ve been searching to recapture that magic. They thought they had it with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup but that never materialized.

In 2025, at least for one year, the Cowboys found that magical combo and the passing game thrived.

CeeDee Lamb entered the season as...

NFL playoffs throw a wrench into the Dallas Cowboys’ search for a new defensive coordinator – A to Z Sports, Mauricio Rodriguez

The Cowboys defensive coordinator search may have to wait some more.

The NFL playoffs just threw a wrench into the Dallas Cowboys’ search for a new defensive coordinator.

After an intense matchup between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills that went to overtime, one of their perceived top candidates will be unavailable for hire for at least one more week.

With the Broncos beating the Bills 33-30 in overtime, Broncos pass game...

DeMarcus Lawrence will get to play in an NFC Championship Game.

In his first season away from the Cowboys, Lawrence will officially reach the territory that has eluded the Cowboys since well before the team traded up to draft him in the second-round of the 2014 NFL Draft. This marks the second year in a row where a former Cowboys player made it to the title game in their first season away from the team, by the way.

Last year it was Tyler Biadasz, Dorance Armstrong, Noah Igbinoghene, and Dante Fowler (who later returned obviously) who were a part of...

The NFL playoffs roll on. Buffalo at Denver, followed San Francisco at Seattle.

This is an open thread for game chat.

The 2025 NFL Playoffs kicked off last weekend with a slate of games in the Wildcard round that set off the postseason with a bang.

Out of the six games played, four of them were decided by less than one score, and all four of those games came down to a defensive stop on the final drive.

New England stymied the Los Angeles Chargers by the score of 16-3, but even that game was within one score until the fourth quarter.

Moving on to the Divisional round, we can expect more competitive games as teams look to advance to the...

Although the Dallas Cowboys’ season was cut short due to a disappointing 7-9-1 record, the offense still thrived. Two of their new additions, Javonte Williams and George Pickens, produced in their first season with the Dallas Cowboys, with the latter being named a second-team All-Pro. Coincidentally, both players did it just at the right time and are set for new contracts at the beginning of the new league year.

Both players are still young and in their primes. Pickens and Williams could be cornerstones for the team’s future. Their upcoming free agency commands a lot of attention, and for good...

I don’t think anything can top the fireworks we saw in the Wild Card round last week, but the time to test that theory has arrived: today, the NFL Divisional round Saturday slate officially kicks off.

Last week, this day started with a phenomenal game in Charlotte between the Rams and Panthers. An incredibly feisty Carolina team nearly pulled off a second huge upset over LA, but fell just short after a signature Matthew Stafford touchdown drive at the end.

In the late window, we watched the game of the week: Chicago vs. Green Bay. Of course, that ended in...

The AFC North is notorious for its high level of competition. Until this year, which saw both the Browns and Bengals fall victim to losing seasons, the division had a three-year streak with three out of four teams having a winning record.

Joe Burrow’s arrival in Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson’s dominance in Baltimore, and Mike Tomlin’s consistency in Pittsburgh have given the AFC North one heck of a run in the 2020s.

Cleveland has even seen two successful seasons in the decade, with now former Head Coach Kevin Stefanski winning Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2023.

2025, of course,...

All year long we’ve looked at the rookie class and given previews and reviews on each player for every game of the season. Now let’s look back the season in its entirety and breakdown each rookie and how they performed. Let’s continue with second-round defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku.

Season stats – Snaps: 603, Total Tackles: 40, Total Pressures: 36, QB Hits: 12, Sacks: 2, Tackles for loss: 9, Forced Fumbles: 1, Safeties: 1, Penalties: 2

Donovan Ezeiruaku’s rookie year with the Cowboys was mostly what you’d hope for from a second-round edge rusher with some interesting production, real flashes of...