Cowboys will love to hear what Nick Sirianni said about Dallas' new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after securing Super Bowl berth
With Brian Schottenheimer in as the tenth head coach in Dallas Cowboys history, it's now time to build his staff and we already know about a few candidates being requested for interviews. That includes Matt Eberflus, who has been officially hired to be the Cowboys defensive coordinator. Last weekend, multiple insiders reported he had been hired […]
With Brian Schottenheimer in as the tenth head coach in Dallas Cowboys history, it's now time to build his staff and we already know about a few candidates being requested for interviews.
That includes Matt Eberflus, who has been officially hired to be the Cowboys defensive coordinator. Last weekend, multiple insiders reported he had been hired to be DC before corrections followed noting the team needed to interview additional candidates to fulfill Rooney Rule requirements.
Comments made by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni caught my attention on Sunday night. Sirianni, who is headed to Super Bowl LIX with the Cowboys' division rival, had a unique bit of praise for Eberflus, crediting him for an important lesson he's applied in Philly. Cowboys fans will love to hear it even though they won't enjoy watching the Eagles battle for a Lombardi Trophy two weeks from now.
"We do a lot of drills that go into (forcing turnovers), we talk a lot about that, we show any time that there's a missed opportunity to take the ball away," Sirianni told reporters postgame. "That's something I learned as I watched Matt Eberflus and how he preached defense of how you take the ball away, I really learned a lot from him when I was in Indy with him."
Including the postseason, the Eagles sit +20 in turnover differential and are +9 in the postseason alone. Eberflus' Bears ranked 10th in takeaways for the year and 9th in turnover differential. Though he was fired at the end of November for leadership and time management issues, his defense was a strength of the team and upon his departure, the unit declined.
There's no doubt Eberflus' defense will be different than the versions designed by Mike Zimmer and Dan Quinn before him. Quinn can't help but be aggressive with single-high looks, man coverage, and a healthy dose of blitzing. Zimmer loves to play chess against opposing quarterbacks, showing off exotic looks and disguised coverages behind simulated pressures.
Meanwhile, Eberflus is only an occasional blitzer, usually rushing with four and playing a mostly static defense. However, his units make up for it through an aggressive, one-gap style up front. In other words, defensive linemen are responsible for one gap only, which allows them to attack with more intention and intensity instead of reacting to blocks and where the ball is going.
While a lack of blitzing might not sound sexy to fans who like the aggressiveness, it's true Eberflus' units make up for it with discipline and strong fundamentals. Additionally, a big part of coaching is adapting to the personnel you have. With Micah Parsons, I would be surprised if Eberflus doesn't increase his blitzing frequency to generate one-on-one matchups for one of the best defenders in the NFL.
