FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have installed their defensive plan through normal down and distance and have started third down, with red zone work still ahead, coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday.
Schottenheimer said he is very confident in Christian Parker, who calls his first game as a defensive coordinator Sunday night in East Rutherford.
“Very confident. You know, listening, sitting in on his meetings and the things that he talks about, like I said, there’s a very clear plan,” Schottenheimer said. “This is a unique opportunity because they don’t know what we’re going to do on defense, and we don’t know what they’re going to do on offense. They’ve got Matt Nagy, who’s a terrific coach, Greg Roman, you know, very, very different. One’s the RPO guy and sub-personnel. So in terms of Christian, the plan that he’s put together with the staff, we’re only through normal down and distance. We haven’t done third down or red zone yet. We’ve started third down a little bit, but just like you would imagine, is excellent. And it’s one I think that will allow our players to play fast, play free. And that’s what we want. We don’t want to be doing a lot of thinking.”
Christian Parker’s First Game Calling A Defense
Dallas hired Parker on Jan. 22 as the fourth Cowboys defensive coordinator in four seasons, following Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, and Matt Eberflus. At 34, he is the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history and had never called a defense before this year.
Parker played wide receiver and cornerback at Richmond and began coaching in 2013 at Virginia State. He spent two seasons there, two more at Norfolk State, and worked as a defensive analyst under Mike Elko at Texas A&M and Notre Dame before Green Bay hired him as a defensive quality control coach in 2019. Denver made him defensive backs coach in 2021 under Vic Fangio, and he held the job through Nathaniel Hackett and Sean Payton. He followed Fangio to Philadelphia in 2024 as passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach and won Super Bowl LIX.
Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons in Denver and Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in Philadelphia all made Pro Bowls under Parker. Over his two Eagles seasons, Philadelphia’s most-used coverage was Cover 3 at 32.1%, followed by Cover 1 at 22.2%.
Dallas finished 30th in total defense last season and 23rd against the run, and Schottenheimer sits in on Parker’s game planning during the week. Derrick Ansley is the defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach.
Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, And The Giants Personnel Groupings
New York rotates specific players into specific roles, and Schottenheimer said the front seven has to identify them before the snap.
“Well, I mean, they’ve got very specific people that they do very specific things with. You know, Ricard’s different than Likely. I mean, Malik Nabers is different than Odell,” Schottenheimer explained. “So you have to know, oh, Skattebo’s in the game. Tyrone Tracy’s in the game. So, again, the guys in the box have to do a great job. They do a nice job of shuffling their pieces around. But we have plans for different groupings and different people, and they definitely challenge you with that. And so game one will be tested, but again, I think the fact that we communicate very well and have a good plan going in, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
John Harbaugh took over in New York this offseason and brought a Baltimore contingent with him. Patrick Ricard signed in March after nine seasons with Harbaugh. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound fullback has made six Pro Bowls, was a first-team All-Pro in 2024, and has been a first- or second-team selection in each of the last three seasons. He has 49 catches for 323 yards and 8 touchdowns in 132 career games. Tight end Isaiah Likely signed a day before Ricard. Defensive back Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout also came from Baltimore.
Malik Nabers tore an ACL last September and is expected to play Sunday. He caught 18 passes for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns in four games before the injury, and he has 127 catches for 1,475 yards and 9 touchdowns in his career. Odell Beckham Jr. made the New York roster out of camp after catching 3 passes for 53 yards in the preseason finale.
Cam Skattebo ran 101 times for 410 yards and 5 touchdowns in eight games last season and added 24 catches for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tyrone Tracy Jr. carried 176 times for 740 yards and 2 touchdowns. New York also added Najee Harris and kept Devin Singletary, giving the Giants four halfbacks plus Ricard.
Jaxson Dart returns at quarterback after going 216-of-339 for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions as a rookie. He also ran 86 times for 487 yards and 9 touchdowns and finished fourth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Jameis Winston signed a two-year extension Wednesday and is the backup.
Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
