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FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Friday the defenses Dallas played under former coordinator Dan Quinn gave up strength against the run to create takeaways, and that the Cowboys changed direction because of what happened in the playoffs.
Jones made the comments during his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan’s K&C Masterpiece, the morning after Quinn’s Washington Commanders beat the New York Giants 24-21. Quinn ran the Cowboys’ defense from 2021 through 2023 before leaving to become Washington’s head coach in 2024.
Pressure and blitzes in big moments were Quinn’s trademark in Dallas, a host said, and Jones said he and Quinn talked through the trade-offs that came with them.
“Absolutely, and in the end, to get something positive like that, then you’re leaving yourself open someplace else. It’s give and take,” Jones said. “There’s no such thing as a situation where you haven’t lightened the load. In our particular case, we would be weak on the run.”
“During those years, when we got in playoff situations, teams would know that those turnover opportunities were being created by a weakness in our scheme on the run. It was understood. We knew it, preferred it. We wanted to play it that way. We wanted those turnovers,” Jones continued.
“But by the same token, in those years when we got into the playoffs, we had a problem,” Jones added. “That’s why we’ve changed it and are going in a different direction.”
Dan Quinn’s Takeaway Defenses In Dallas
In 2021, Quinn’s first season as coordinator, Dallas led the NFL with 34 takeaways. The Cowboys lost a 23-17 wild-card game at home to the San Francisco 49ers that January.
Dallas lost 19-12 at San Francisco in the divisional round after the 2022 season. After the 2023 season, the second-seeded Cowboys lost 48-32 at home to the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round, Quinn’s last game with Dallas.
Christian Parker’s First Season As Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator
Dallas hired Christian Parker as defensive coordinator in January after one season under Matt Eberflus. Parker, 34 when he was hired, had been the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator since 2023.
A host raised whether Parker can find that balance, and Jones said Dallas has “some outstanding players that can execute where we’re trying to go with this defense.”
Dallas put extra emphasis early this season on its offense making up for its “learning experience on defense,” Jones said.
“That’s had a tough time working out this year,” Jones explained. “Hopefully, we can get it together against these 49ers.”
Dallas allowed 33 points in its overtime loss to Arizona on Nov. 1 and 23 in its 27-23 win at Indianapolis on Nov. 8. The 7-1 49ers visit AT&T Stadium at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday, with the game on Fox.
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