FRISCO, Texas — Daronte Jones interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys for their defensive coordinator job before taking the same job with the Washington Commanders. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday at The Star that he called Jones himself to tell him Dallas was going a different direction.
Dallas hired Christian Parker in January. Jones came to Washington from the Minnesota Vikings, where he was the defensive pass game coordinator. He coached under Brian Flores in Minnesota and called plays as LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
Jones has been exposed to a lot of different things, Schottenheimer said.
“Very bright, very smart. He’s been exposed to a lot of different things. I mean, he’s not just a Brian Flores disciple when you talk to people,” Schottenheimer said. “I mean, he was a big part of tying Flo’s system of pressures and stuff like that together with the back half. You got to tie the front seven with the back half and that’s obviously Daronte’s strength, but I love his personality too. Real down to earth, easygoing guy. And he’s going to do a heck of a job for them and they’re going to play good defense there for a long time.”
Egos are part of it when a coach Dallas passed on lines up across from the Cowboys, Schottenheimer said.
“No, I mean, yeah, we always have egos and things like that. But when I called Daronte and informed him we were going a different direction, he was very understanding, appreciative of the opportunity,” Schottenheimer explained. “But I’d be lying if I said we’re all not a little bit competitive and things like that certainly sting for a minute and then you get past it.”
Daronte Jones Debuted As Washington Commanders Defensive Coordinator
Washington lost 24-22 at the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in the play-calling debuts for Jones and offensive coordinator David Blough. The Commanders sacked Jalen Hurts three times, with one each from Sonny Styles, Frankie Luvu, and Odafe Oweh.
The Commanders fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. after a 5-12 season in 2025. Blough was promoted from assistant quarterbacks coach. Larry Izzo has been Washington’s special teams coordinator since 2024.
With two new coordinators on the other side, Dallas does not know exactly what is coming, Schottenheimer said.
“It’s a good point. It’s real. I think I said this to you guys. I think the Giants adjusted some things. You study a lot of film and you look at, okay, hey, this is, in this case, this is going to be Minnesota’s defense or this is going to be David Blough, the coordinator on offense, who was there last year, but he’s got ties to Ben Johnson,” Schottenheimer said. “Larry Izzo, the special teams coordinator, he’s been there for a couple years with DQ. But at the end of the day, you really don’t know. You don’t know.”
“So what do you do? You do things you’re good at. And so that’s what we’re emphasizing,” Schottenheimer continued. “It goes back to that 80-20 principle. We don’t know how David Blough and the offensive staff want to attack us. We don’t know what Daronte Jones and DQ are going to come up with on defense. Let’s do what we do well. Usually when we do that, we perform well.”
Brian Schottenheimer Sees Dan Quinn’s Fingerprints On Washington Commanders Defense
Commanders coach Dan Quinn was the Dallas defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. Schottenheimer said Washington is Jones’ defense, and that he still sees Quinn’s play style and physicality in it.
“I can see DQ’s influence. It’s certainly Daronte’s defense. You know that. You see all the shell coverage and things that they did in Minnesota and … all the mug fronts and things like that. They do a nice job with that,” Schottenheimer said. “But knowing DQ as well as I do, I see his fingerprints all over that defense. And I see the play style and the physicality and the way they run to the ball. And you can see that, again, he’s got the culture and the brotherhood right on that team as always.”
Schottenheimer called Jones and Quinn excellent coaches who will have a good plan for Dallas.
“They’re going to have their plan of how they want to attack us, just like we have our plan of how we want to attack them,” Schottenheimer said. “And then at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to execution.”
Dallas lost 28-20 to the New York Giants in its opener. The Cowboys swept Washington last season. Kickoff Sunday at AT&T Stadium is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
