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Dallas Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
It’s been almost two weeks since the Dallas Cowboys parted ways with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, and in an effort to replace him, the team has poked and prodded through the coaching staffs of teams across the NFL. They’ve conducted or requested interviews via video connection with nine candidates thus far, though a 10th (Jeff Ulbrich of the Falcons) was requested and denied by the team.
All the while, there has been very little said about the process other than the occasional speculative assertion for Cowboys reporters and observer. But there has not been much concrete information on the process thus far.
Stephen Jones, the son of owner Jerry Jones and the team’s VP, this week did finally address the state of the search. And he seemed to assert that more patience would be required. Last year, the team parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy on January 13, and hired replacement Brian Schottenheimer on the 24th. But this process will move slower.
Cowboys in ‘Initial Run’ for Defensive Coordinator
Jones told DallasCowboys.com writer Tommy Yarrish that the Cowboys are still only in the early stages of the DC process.
“I think we’re in the initial run,” Jones said. “We’re going to cast a wide net, whether it’s half a dozen, ten, 12 coaches when it’s all said and done. I don’t know what that number will be, but then we’ll narrow it down. We’re already starting to narrow it down and we’ll start to bring guys in for in-person interviews, some of the guys that we felt were the guys that would fit.”
Nine Current Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Candidates
The total nine-coach list of candidates that are in the mix for the Cowboys jobs is as follows:
- Broncos assistant and passing game coordinator Jim Leonhard.
- Minnesota Vikings pass game coordinator Daronte Jones.
- Cleveland Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda.
- Ex-Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.
- Current Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton.
- Former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr.
- Philadelphia Eagles DBs coach and pass-game coordinator Christian Parker.
- Giants interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen.
- Green Bay Packers defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington.
Jones told Yarrish that the Cowboys feel any of the above coaches are qualified for the role, but that they’re focused on getting a DC who complements Schottenheimer well and can help them rebuild their personnel pool.
“The guys who fit what we want to be as a defense, the identity that we want to have, that fit with the personnel that we have on the defensive side of the ball because we think we have a lot of good pieces in place,” Jones said. “We know we have to improve not only from a coaching staff standpoint, but we also need to improve from a personnel standpoint.”
GettyJonathan Gannon’s tenure as the Arizona Cardinals‘ head coach came to an end after a brutal 2025 collapse. But he is a candidate for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator role.
Teaching at the Forefront
As for the timing of the Cowboys hire, Jones said there is no deadline or timeline in place. Naturally, hiring coordinators might take a back seat to the process of other teams finding head coaches, and only one new head coach has been hired thus far. This could drag on until later this month.
In the Cowboys’ postseason press conference, Schottenheimer said he wanted a DC who could be a teacher, and Jones echoed the importance of that aspect in this round of interviews.
“When you have the interview, you look for those traits. Are they a great teacher? Can they communicate and verbalize complicated things in a way that makes it easy for the players so he doesn’t have to be out there thinking?” Jones said. “He’s using his skill set and playing 100%, playing fast, playing reckless in terms of being able to make plays and not having to think about what his assignments are because he does have a great feel for what he’s supposed to do.”
“All of those things are the traits that we’re looking for.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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