A hypothetical Matt Eberflus firing could lead to weird domino effect in Cowboys’ coaching staff
If Dallas Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus is fired, who would take over?
Firing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus mid-season is starting to look like a very realistic scenario for the Dallas Cowboys. Even though their public stance at the moment is they trust him, things can drastically change quickly if improvement doesn’t happen soon.
The Cowboys are the NFL’s worst defense by most metrics. And while a lot of it has to do with personnel and player execution, the truth is coaching is doing little to use the players’ strengths to its advantage. And yet, what would firing Eberflus actually do?
I’m not saying the Cowboys should dismiss the idea. They should think long and hard about moving on from him. But my biggest concern in that scenario is Dallas’ coaching staff doesn’t seem to have a natural successor for Eberflus. Keep in mind, in all likelihood, Eberflus would be replaced from within. Adding an outside coach in the middle of the season is not feasible in the NFL.
In years past, fans assumed assistant coach Al Harris would take over Mike Zimmer in a hypothetical departure. In the Dan Quinn days, it was Joe Whitt Jr. In 2025, I’m not sure we know who is that guy. But I’ve got a couple of guesses, one of which would be quite a weird turn of events and the other one is the one I’d consider the likeliest. Let’s start with the odd scenario.
Nick Sorensen, special teams coordinator
One of the problems with the Cowboys’ defensive coaching staff is that there isn’t a former defensive coordinator nor a young hotshot on the rise. That could lead to a weird domino effect in which your special teams coordinator hops over to the defensive side.
Oddly enough, Sorensen does have defensive coordinator experience. He ran the San Francisco 49ers defense last year and while it wasn’t a successful stint—the 49ers underperformed and ranked 26th in EPA/play—he could have a case.
While this would be a wild-card scenario, Sorensen has experience. However, there’s a more likely candidate that would be my prediction to step up to the plate if Eberflus is fired.
Andre Curtis, defensive passing game coordinator
The title alone makes Curtis the clear successor on the defensive staff. He’s the only Cowboys coach on defense with a job that goes beyond a single position group. Curtis held the same title for four years with the Seattle Seahawks. The question, of course, is how would the defense improve with him at the wheel. Some of the biggest defensive woes are miscommunications in the backend versus the pass, which would seemingly fall on Curtis.
But among those working on defense in-house, he’s clearly the most experienced in a leadership position.
Dallas Cowboys News
Jerry Jones’ comments on George Pickens hint at easy Cowboys decision, but there’s one big caveat
It won’t be easy.
