Matt Eberflus’ debut season with the Dallas Cowboys won’t have a follow-up.
The team on Tuesday fired the embattled defensive coordinator, marking yet another shift for a unit that found itself under fire in 2025.
‘Having known Matt Eberflus for decades now, we have tremendous respect and appreciation for him as a coach and a person,’ Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. ‘After reviewing and discussing the results of our defensive performance this season, though, it was clear that change is needed. This is the first step in that process, and we will continue that review as it applies to reaching our much higher expectations.’
Eberflus, who was the Chicago Bears’ head coach from 2022-24, was hired last January to bring a steadying head to first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s staff. But Dallas ended the year ranked last in scoring defense, with its 511 points surrendered representing a franchise worst.
Despite Dak Prescott leading an attack that ranked second in yards per game, the Cowboys finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs.
Jones had grown increasingly vocal in his public criticisms of the defense in recent weeks. He made it clear, however, that he didn’t believe Eberflus was the sole party at fault for the unit’s performance.
“Make no mistake about it: Everybody had their finger in what we did out there defensively. Everybody,’ Jones said. ‘It’s not just a one-man blame at all. I say that because therein lies what you have to sit down and figure out, what, if anything, you want to change.
‘We’ll get to that pronto. Everybody involved in this thing, I’m sure, has been thinking ahead about how to adjust out of our results this year.’
The outlook of the defense underwent a major shift in late August when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Jones justified the move, which came as tensions regarding Parsons’ contract negotiation boiled over, by pointing to the improvements Dallas could make in its run defense. But the unit would struggle throughout the season against the pass, suffering repeated coverage breakdowns while struggling to generate a consistent edge rush.
Acquiring All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline briefly reinvigorated the unit, which found some success with the deployment of five-man fronts. But the defense reverted back to its early-season form down the stretch, with Eberflus’ move from the sideline to the coaches’ box yielding little change.