Matt Eberflus out as Cowboys DC, and now Jerry Jones is forced to face a problem he wished to avoid
The Dallas Cowboys have fired Matt Eberflus, and now continuity is the enemy once again.
As expected, the Dallas Cowboys are making a drastic but necessary change to their coaching staff. On Tuesday, the team fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after a historically bad year for the defense, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
And though it was probably the right move for a desperate Cowboys team, it will force the team to deal with the absence of continuity on the defensive side of the ball. Let’s break it all down.
Matt Eberflus’ firing is justified
No one should have any questions about why the Cowboys are moving on so quickly from Eberflus.
For the first time in franchise history, the Cowboys’ defense gave up over 500 points in a single season. It is also the first time ever that Dallas finished last in the league in points allowed, per Pro Football Reference. And it gets worse.
The Cowboys gave up the highest third-down conversion rate, the second-most yards per play, and surrendered the fourth-highest red zone scoring percentage (TD).
After Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted Eberflus’ final three-game stretch would be a “big” criterion to determine his future, the Dallas defense gave up the second-highest EPA per play across the league.
To make matters worse, Eberflus failed to adapt his scheme to the talent in Dallas. When the Cowboys struggled in zone coverage, he insisted on it. When the pass rush wasn’t getting home, Dallas rarely blitzed. Eberflus’ scheme didn’t work at first, and it never really felt like serious tweaks were made.
As for warning signs, they were clearly there. Eberflus moved from the sidelines to the coaching booth for the first time since he started calling plays at the NFL level. Jones consistently blamed the defense for the Cowboys’ shortcomings, and even quarterback Dak Prescott admitted he couldn’t match the team’s record to his individual performance.
No continuity for the Cowboys
Whoever is hired as the next defensive coordinator will be the fourth in four years. In November, Jerry Jones acknowledged he didn’t like that.
“I’ve errored over the last three years with the changing of defensive coordinators or defensive philosophies or the adjustments there,” Jones said during an interview on 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.”
At the time, Jones’ comment felt like a good sign for Eberflus. But now, it’s a reminder of the challenge ahead. The Cowboys will need to install a new defense yet again. But the philosophy aspect of it is intriguing. Do the Cowboys go for someone more similar to Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer? Or try again with a more traditional scheme like Eberflus’?
Whoever it is, the Cowboys sure hope he can adapt to what the team has on the roster.
