It doesn’t take a football savant to realize that Matt Eberflus has not gotten the job done as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. It took Eberlfus far too long to dial up more five-man rushes, mix in some man coverage, and make long overdue personnel changes.
With that said, it’s fair to wonder if any DC would thrive with the personnel that Eberflus got saddled with this season. There are holes all over the field, which prompted the front office to trade for Quinnen Williams, one of the five best defensive tackles in the NFL, as well as veteran linebacker Logan Wilson, a clear upgrade over Dallas’ current options.
Those moves were made with an eye on 2026, which suggests Eberflus will be back next year unless the defense (somehow) performs as poorly in the final eight games as it did in the first half of the season.
Cowboys fans need to brace for Matt Eberflus’ return in 2026
While Jerry Jones has an undying need to keep the Cowboys relevant, he wouldn’t trade for Williams if there wasn’t a semblance of belief in the organization that Eberflus can get the job done. It stands to reason that Eberflus had some influence in those trades.
Jones has doubled and tripled down that Eberlfus is a great defensive mind. More importantly, Jones recently expressed regret that Dallas has had a revolving door of defensive coordinators.
“I’ve errored over the last three years with the changing of defensive coordinators or defensive philosophies or the adjustments there,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “When I look back, if I see one thing that I had to do over again, I would’ve tried to not change out our coordinator every year over the last three years. Continuity, I know better.”
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The Cowboys have had three defensive coordinators in as many years: Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, and now Eberflus. Between the constant scheme changes and the wonky mix of personnel, it’s impossible to build any real consistency. Many of Quinn’s players are still on the roster, which only adds another layer of fit issues for each new coordinator.
Now, Eberflus could be doing a better job of overcoming the personnel headache. Continuing to play Donovan Wilson deep is an avoidable detriment. The same goes for waiting until the last week of October to finally start Donovan Ezeiruaku and Jadeveon Clowney and reduce Sam Williams’ snap share.
But there are a lot of players who don’t belong on the field. Between Kaiir Elam, Trikweze Bridges, Kenneth Murray, Jay Toia, and Mazi Smith, who was sent to New York in the Williams trade, Eberflus has been forced to play a lot of deeply flawed players.
It only seems fair to give Eberflus a clean slate in 2026 with a defense that isn’t devoid of talent. Between the Williams blockbuster and Jones wanting to keep continuity, Cowboys fans should brace for Eberflus to be back next year.
