FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer said the decision to replace defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after one season was his own, and that he did not view the Dallas Cowboys defense’s 2025 season as Eberflus’ failure alone.
“When we decided to make a change at that position, I didn’t for one second think it was solely Matt Eberflus. If anything, I put it all on me. It was all me. The buck stops with me as the head coach,” Schottenheimer said. “And we got very, very specific in what we were looking for in a defensive coordinator. What’s the personnel fit? I think we’ve done a great job.”
Dallas hired Christian Parker in the offseason. The Cowboys allowed 31.3 points per game in 2025, second-worst in the NFL, and finished 7-9-1 in Schottenheimer’s first season as a head coach.
Brian Schottenheimer On Last Year’s Defensive Roster Turnover
Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram told Schottenheimer that 15 of the 26 defensive players Dallas kept on last year’s initial 53-man roster are not on an NFL team right now. Schottenheimer declined to engage with the number.
“I’m not going to get into the numbers. Great job, Nick. Kudos to you,” Schottenheimer explained. “But what I will say is, maybe that’s me in year two, or maybe it’s just the way it was built, with Jerry and Stephen being involved from the hiring of Christian Parker to the process of getting these players. You put them right there, last year’s roster, this year’s roster, anybody, even yourself, could see the difference. Kudos to the front office, ownership. It’s a remarkable difference.”
Dallas Cowboys Rebuilt The Defense Around Six Additions
Dallas added Rashan Gary, Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Von Miller, Jalen Thompson, and Cobie Durant to the defense over the offseason. The Cowboys drafted Caleb Downs 11th overall and linebacker Jaishawn Barham in the third round.
Schottenheimer would trade for or sign a player who does not know the system if Dallas believes he is better than a player already on the roster.
“If there is a chance to get a player that we deem has more ability, but yet they don’t know the system, I’m all for that,” Schottenheimer said. “We wear C’s on our shirts and visors and hats because we’re coaches. If we get a chance to find someone that we think is a better player than someone that was on our team, we’ll do that. And we’ll teach them the system and we’ll figure out what they do the best. And that’s our job.”
What Brian Schottenheimer Weighed In The Final Cuts
Six of the nine players from Dallas’ 2025 draft class are on the initial 53. Three were waived Sunday.
Some of the players Dallas moved on from were excellent in shorts during spring practice.
“I think it’s what you do when you’re playing real football, right?” Schottenheimer said. “Real football is real football. And so I think the importance of what you do in pads and what you do in training camp matters. What you do in the joints matter. And that’s real.”
Dallas opens the regular season Sept. 13 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
