Cowboys must avoid a massive mistake in their search for a new defensive coordinator following Matt Eberflus’ firing
The Dallas Cowboys need to stay out of Brian Schottenheimer’s way in new search for defensive coordinator.
For a long time, it’s been said that Dallas Cowboys’ ownership and front office have too much say in the team’s decisions. One of the most recent examples is being widely discussed in the heels of the firing of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
And it’s important that this time around, they avoid meddling with a decision that should be coming completely from head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Failing to do so would be a massive mistake.
Cowboys’ ownership needs to step back
Since Eberflus was hired a year ago, it’s been speculated he was the front office’s hire more than he was head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s. And though it hasn’t been explicitly revealed by the team, the signs have been clear all along. Reports on Eberflus emerging as a DC candidate preceded those that pinged Schottenheimer as HC. Additionally, last year, Jerry Jones went as far as saying that he jumped on the opportunity to hire Eberflus as soon as it came up.
Not to mention, the Cowboys have imposed coordinators on head coaches over the last few years, most notably when Mike McCarthy was hired but Kellen Moore was retained as offensive coordinator and play caller. So imposing Eberflus on Schottenheimer wouldn’t have been an uncommon practice for the front office.
But here’s the bottom line: They need to avoid a similar approach in 2025.
This needs to be Schottenheimer’s hire
This shouldn’t be controversial at all. It’s how successful head coaches do things. And to make things even more crystal clear, we need to consider Schottenheimer’s approach to building his offensive staff last year.
Schottenheimer built his offensive staff in 2025 and found great results, albeit not perfect. Offensive coordinator Klayton Adams—with whom he had not coached before—was hired based on Schotty’s intensive research, which included calling around the league looking for potential assistants he didn’t know about. Adams is already popping up as a future HC candidate in NFL circles.
Schottenheimer also added coaches from the collegiate ranks, including OL coach Conor Riley (Kansas State) and WR coach Junior Adams (Oregon). His hires yielded a Top 5 scoring offense led by Dak Prescott, George Pickens, and CeeDee Lamb.
Fortunately, it indeed sounds like the Cowboys will allow Schottenheimer to spearhead the search for a new defensive coordinator. Insider Bobby Belt from 105.3 The Fan recently provided some insight on that front.
“I do think that this will be a Schotty hire, this is going to be his coach,” Belt said on live radio.
Schottenheimer hasn’t been perfect. But one of the best things he’s done as Cowboys HC is build out his side of the staff. There’s reason to believe he could nail the defensive side of the ball, as well.
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